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Ready for the stretch run Clubs set for return to action after World Cup qualifying
Updated: Monday March 26, 2001 6:43 PM
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- With many of the world's clubs idle last week due to World Cup qualifying, Manchester United holds No. 1 for the second straight week in the CNN/World Soccer Top 10. European clubs return to action this weekend for the season's stretch run, with the last eight in the Champions League kicking off the quarterfinals next Tuesday and Wednesday. No Italian clubs remain in the running for a European title. Defending English champion Manchester United is paired with Bayern Munich in the Champions League as it seeks to recapture its 1999 European success. With a 16-point lead, United is running away with another Premier League title. UEFA Cup titlist Galatasaray stands in the way of a repeat for last year's Champions League winner, second-ranked Real Madrid. The Spanish club holds a five-point lead over nearest challenger Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga, which has emerged as arguably the strongest league in Europe. No. 3 Deportivo -- preparing to face Leeds United in the Champions League -- currently has four players under investigation by the Spanish football federation over allegations of passport irregularities. Brazil's Vasco da Gama remains fourth after defeating Deportivo Táchira 1-0 on the road in the Copa Libertadores and then twice refusing to play an match away to Friburguense in Brazil's Carioca championship. Free of European obligations after being ousted from the UEFA Cup, No. 5 AS Roma can focus on holding on to its seven-point lead in Italy's Serie A. Last year's Champions League runner-up, Valencia, is paired against Arsenal in the quarterfinals this time around. In La Liga, Valencia currently sits third, seven points behind the leader. No. 7 Bayern Munich leads the Bundesliga, in position for a possible repeat, while eighth-ranked Galatasaray has found success in Europe while falling from its perch back home. Ranked fifth in the Premiership, Leeds remains No. 9 in the CNN/World Soccer Top 10, while third-place Italian side Lazio again rounds out the list at No. 10. Other teams receiving votes include Boca Juniors (Argentina), Liverpool (England), River Plate (Argentina), Anderlecht (Belgium), Kaiserslautern (Germany) and Arsenal (England). The CNN/World Soccer Top 10 is a unique ranking of football clubs determined Mondays through voting by correspondents from CNN Sports and World Soccer magazine.
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