In Real, Milan, old men are stirring

Yikes. What a drop from No. 2. The top duo is easy to call in this space, but during an extended period with only limited league and domestic-cup play on which to draw, this has been one of the more challenging rundowns your fearless ranker has had to do.

Do we penalize Liverpool for getting bounced from the FA Cup by its crosstown rival, even though it's hanging tough in the English Premier League? And if we do, can we really justify putting Inter -- the least convincing first-place club of the world's Big Three leagues -- above the Reds? I think not. What about Juventus, into the semis of the Coppa Italia? Two Serie A losses in a row and a drop to third place are too big of a mountain to overcome.

Over in Latin America, we've been representing with the two most consistent powers over the past few years, São Paulo and Boca Juniors (my buddy Bernard, a true-blue Paulista and mega-fan of Corinthians, admits that's so). But how do you compare both clubs that are, for our purposes, still in preseason?

In the end, we'll stick with three English clubs, two Spanish, two Italian, and one each from Portugal, Germany and Argentina. No one said this is an exact science, but based on the past 14 days, this is our snapshot of what's going on in the club world. Don't agree? Just wait a couple weeks.

Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Feb. 4.

World Soccer Power Rankings

1 Previously: 1	FC Barcelona Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, hands down. "The Messiah" seems to get better with every game, every ridiculous run past bigger players, and every goal. As often as we saddle young Argentines with the "Next Maradona" label, you have to admit, it's getting harder to poke holes in this one. And Thierry Henry agrees. "I don't want to put pressure on Messi," said the Frenchman last weekend, "but you have to say it, he is very similar to Maradona, the best player I have ever seen."
2 Previously: 2	Manchester United If anyone can challenge Barça for No. 1, it looks like Man U is the one to do it. The Red Devils are on a roll in the Premier League, with seven straight wins (and 12 without a loss). Meanwhile, keeper Edwin van der Sar has set an English record with 1,120 straight minutes without conceding a goal. United's defense is plenty good, but considering how often injuries have messed with the back four, the Dutchman's accomplishment is that much more impressive.
3 Previously: 3	Liverpool Man, did Rafa Benítez save himself a world of hurt with Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea or what? Liverpool may be out of the FA Cup, but more important, it's dangerously close to tumbling out of contention in the EPL for good and is without captain Steven Gerrard for three weeks. Still, getting a win over your closest pursuer is clutch. It doesn't change the fact that the boardroom drama and lack of transfer-window acquisitions are probably costing the club dearly, but for now, the Reds hang on here.
4 Previously: 4	Inter Milan "I am so disappointed with the criticism coming our way, because we do not deserve it," whined wing-back Maicon to Sky Sports last week. "We are first in the standings, however still people have negative things to say about us, in regards to the fact that we are not playing well." Well, if you keep squandering your lead atop Serie A, allowing inferior teams to score easy goals and fail to keep up on the other end of the field, we'll keep harping. Inter is still six points up, but no lead seems more unsafe.
5 Previously: 7	Real Madrid He's past his prime, lacks the speed and agility of his younger days and isn't the focal point he used to be. But Raúl deserves every bit of credit for tying the legendary Alfredo di Stéfano's mark of 307 career goals for Real. The Madrid captain is also the all-time leader in European competitions with 66 goals (64 in the Champions League) and leads the Spanish national team with 44 strikes in 102 matches. Best of all, though, is that embattled Real is solidifying itself as Barça's main challenger in La Liga. "Let's see if they slip up and we can catch up," the ever-humble Raúl said last weekend. "I only want trophies."
6 Previously: --	AC Milan Do we dare lift a club that isn't even in the Champions League this high? We sure do, if it's the Rossoneri, who are undefeated in their past six Serie A matches, have overtaken Juventus and suddenly trail only Inter by only six points. Let's not overstate the David Beckham factor. Yes, he has set up some beautiful goals. But, as has been said 100 times, these are to players like Kaká and Alexandre Pato -- not Alan Gordon and Edson Buddle. Milan will be fine with Goldenballs or without him. The Galaxy, on the other hand... (Read my take on that here.)
7 Previously: --	FC Porto Quite a drop from No. 6, but hey, someone's gotta be here. At least Os Dragões make the return appearance thanks to two straight wins that have seen them regain the lead in the Portuguese league. Tops in a Euro league just below the first tier plus Champions League knockout phase equals Rankings gold. They're spreading the wealth to do it, with four players scoring five or more goals this season. We've got a new favorite to add to our best-nicknamed Porto players. Tied with our boy Hulk for the team lead with six goals is Uruguayan winger Cristian Rodríguez. His handle? Cebolla. As in, "onion" -- because he makes defenses cry.
8 Previously: 9	Boca Juniors It has been an eventful preseason for the defending Argentine champs, who have beaten archrival River Plate twice and are enjoying an explosion of young talent from their ranks. New stars such as Pablo Mouche, Facundo Roncaglia and Nicolás Gaitán look like they could be the next studs. They won't be joined, however, by 24-year-old attacking mid Jesús Dátolo, who followed in Maradona's footsteps and signed with Napoli this week, joining the Italian club's trio of young Argentines.
9 Previously: 8	Chelsea Will getting Ricardo Quaresma on loan from Inter be a shot in the arm for lackadaisical Chelsea? Or will the enigmatic Portuguese underachiever continue to show the form that earned him the "Golden Bin" award as the worst player in Serie A? The former Porto man is sickly talented, yet is known for an underwhelming work ethic. If his former national-team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari can't motivate him, perhaps no one can. The Blues sure could use that kind of spark.
10 Previously: 6	Bayern Munich One loss to resume Bundesliga and Bayern is suddenly in fourth place. So why is it still here? It's only three points back and I'm not prepared to put league-leading Hoffenheim -- with no other tournaments to worry about -- in this space yet. I'm not convinced the newbies can hang, either. Bayern's main concern now should be Hamburg, which outclassed it last week despite a narrow 1-0 victory at home. The good news for U.S. fans is that Landon Donovan appears to be integrating himself well, and the speed of Bundesliga play clearly isn't over his head.
Honorable mentions: São Paulo, Juventus, Aston Villa, Hamburger SV, TSG Hoffenheim, Olympique Lyonnais, Olympiakos, AZ Alkmaar Dropped off: Juventus, São Paulo