Days like this are dangerous -- there's far too much good soccer on TV. On Wednesday, I subjected myself to a footie mini-marathon from mid-morning through primetime. Starting with the Champions League, I flipped back and forth between Arsenal vs. AC Milan on ESPN2 and Man. Utd vs. Lyon on Setanta. Then I caught Barcelona vs. Celtic on replay on ESPN Classic. Then I shifted my attention back toward this side of the globe and watched Boca Juniors vs. Unión Maracaibo in Copa Libertadores action on Fox Sports Español, followed by Club América vs. Universidad Católica (sorta -- I actually paid more attention to the Lakers and Suns and missed the amazing finish). I finished the night with quick glances of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Gamba Osaka in the opening game of the Pan-Pacific Championship. That makes 10 straight hours of continuous soccer ... well, minus that last game, of course. I did say "too much good soccer." Onward. Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Feb. 20.
| World Soccer Power Rankings |
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Arsenal
With shaky fingers, we return the Gunners to No. 1. Their recent results have been very mixed, as they were spectacularly ousted from England's two cup tournaments over the past four weeks by a combined score of 9-1. In the meantime, they've widened their gap in the Premier League to five points, but were held by AC Milan in a scoreless draw at Emirates Stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday. All of which adds up to slightly better than a wash, we'll say -- for now.
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1 |
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Inter Milan
Uh-oh. Even down a Materazzi, Inter's defense was playing great, and looked like it was going to hold on at Anfield on Tuesday. Then the Nerazzurri collapsed in the final five minutes under the weight of the moment. Sound familiar, Inter fans? If this is the squad that will finally break the Champions League jinx, it's going to have to come up huge in the second leg at the San Siro on March 11. Don't write the obit just yet.
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Manchester United
By our own logic, we can't deny Sir Alex Ferguson's boys anything -- other than their loss to Man. City, they haven't been on the wrong side of a score sheet in the New Year, unbeaten in 10 of 11. Carlos Tévez made sure of that Wednesday, netting a last-gasp goal at Lyon to keep United alive in three competitions at once, even if it is slipping behind Arsenal again in league play.
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FC Barcelona
This is what we were waiting for, footie fans. We didn't get all of the "Fantastic Four" on the pitch at the same time Wednesday, but if a fresh-legged Samuel Eto'o doesn't come in for Ronaldinho in the 73rd minute, perhaps Celtic's defense doesn't get distracted long enough to let Lionel Messi slip through unnoticed for the winner at a thunderously loud Celtic Park. And how great is it to see Roni's ear-to-ear smile again? Barça's swagger may be back.
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3 |
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Real Madrid
Never mind Real's spectacular 7-0 thrashing of Valladolid on Feb. 10 -- that's the only match the La Liga frontrunners have won this month, as their lead is now down to only five points. Worse, they're heading home to the Bernabéu in two weeks down 2-1 to AS Roma in their Champions League tilt. Someone has to stop the bleeding. Robinho, we're looking in your direction.
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Chelsea
Chelsea's inevitable creep back up the Rankings continues as it lurks a manageable five points back in the Premiership. And honestly, is a scoreless draw at Olympiakos all that bad considering what the three-time defending Greek champs are in for at Stamford Bridge in a couple weeks? It's also worth mentioning that the Blues are currently the only English team still alive in all four competitions: league, Europe and the FA and Carling Cups.
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FC Porto
Maybe when the Dragons kept talking about the "magic of '04" at Veltins Arena, the year and site of their last taste of Champions League glory, they should have realized that their opponents on Tuesday actually use those two numbers in the proper name of the club. ("Magic of 1904," anyone?) Schalke knocked Porto off its game badly, and considering how well the Germans were rolling, the Dragons are lucky to head home down only 1-0. "We do not perform this way usually," said shell-shocked manager Jesualdo Ferreiro. "Still, everything is possible."
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Bayern Munich
Things look like they're back to normal in the Bundesliga, with Bayern, Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke taking up the top five in the standings. The frontrunners are still trying to carve out their identity, but Italian national-teamer Luca Toni is an enormous difference-maker. His hat trick against Hannover last weekend was a perfect example of what he gives Bayern that it had been lacking: precision and a deft touch in a big (6-foot-4) package.
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AS Roma
It's hard to know what to make of the Giallorossi. Their Serie A chances keep slipping away, as they're now 11 points back of Inter (and perhaps more important, only one up on Juventus). But they pulled off a stunner of a rally against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, despite getting outplayed in nearly every facet of the game. Can they finish the job in two weeks when Real will be missing as many as four defenders?
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9 |
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São Paulo
We're going to write off the Brazilian champs' first loss in the Paulista state championship last weekend (to a second-division club) because, after all, it's essentially a glorified preseason tournament. As we've been saying, the big show starts next week when the favored Tricolor Paulista kicks off its Libertadores campaign. And the three-time kings dodged a huge bullet in not losing Adriano to a more serious punishment for his ode to Zidane. Yes, we somehow worked the main protagonists of the '06 World Cup final into one column yet again.
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Honorable mentions: Fenerbahçe, Chivas de Guadalajara, Boca Juniors, Olympiakos, Juventus, Werder Bremen, Rangers, Hamburger SV, Everton
Dropped off: None
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