To echo our host's views on this, what took place between France and Ireland on Wednesday night really was a travesty. And lo and behold, here to rub salt in still-fresh wounds is soccer's top authority, FIFA.
For those who don't know, FIFA is about as honest, fair-minded and interested in bettering the world as your average African dictator -- and even that's probably an insult to African dictators. Click to continue reading...

(Just in case the thousands of others weren't doing it for you).
Thierry Henry's despicable handball in today's deciding World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland was probably the biggest soccer fraud since Diego Maradona's infamous "hand of God" act in 1986. The stakes, then as now, are massive: a quarterfinals berth at the World Cup then, a spot in next year's South Africa tourney now. Click to continue reading...

For ranking methodology and other information about the series, see the original post. To read the about the No. 6-rated stadium, the Estadio Bernabeu in Madrid, click here. To see all "soccer mecca" entries click here.
No. 5 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland
Open since: 1903
Capacity: 52,000
Tenant(s): Queen's Park, Scotland
World Cup hosts: Never
What's this? Click to continue reading...

For ranking methodology and other information about the series, see the original post. To read the about the No. 7-rated stadium, the Camp Nou in Barcelona, click here. To see all "soccer mecca" entries click here.
No. 6 Estadio Bernabeu, Madrid
Open since: 1947
Capacity: 80,000
Tenant(s): Real Madrid
World Cup hosts: 1982
We have now had two stadiums in Argentina (Bombonera at No. Click to continue reading...

There was a lot of action in topflight soccer last week, with a full suite of Champions League, Europa League and domestic competition on tap. After the dust settled, however, the number one team is the same one it's been for three weeks running now. Not that anybody should be surprised by that. There was plenty of movement elsewhere in the top 25 however. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's chances of advancing to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage are on life support after the team's 1-1 draw at Olympique Lyon earlier today. With the point from the draw, Lyon become the first team in the group to advance. Likely to join them are Fiorentina, who sit second on nine points. Click to continue reading...

Welcome to November. A week of domestic competition is behind us. This week clubs go back to work in the Champions- and Europa Leagues (as well as the Copa Sudamericana but those clubs do not figure in the Top 25 at this point). Here's where they stand ahead of a crucial week in those competitions:
1. Click to continue reading...

To read Part I in this series, please click here.
To read Part II.
Yes, this again. Soccer hooliganism is coming to the USA. Check that: it's already here.
In fairness, the "analysis" is a bit different this time. Whereas in the past hooliganism was all about things that were (supposedly) going on in Major League Soccer, it is now all about stateside supporters groups of English teams. Click to continue reading...

If you've been anywhere near Major League Soccer this season you will have heard of the Seattle Sounders FC, the league's newest club. Not so much for what they've done on the field--this being MLS most clubs do pretty much the same thing--but for the attention they've attracted locally.
The team is a massive hit in the Pacific Northwest, where it has become a pop culture phenomenon. Click to continue reading...

It was a crazy week in European club soccer with the top three clubs all getting upended at key points. The fourth didn't do much better, drawing a Champions League encounter at home. So who was left to take over the top spot? Or would we forgive one of the top four's transgressions? Read on to find out. Click to continue reading...

Four losses, two wins, one draw. It was not a good week for Spanish clubs in European competition. Champions League title holders Barcelona, previously thought to be all but unbeatable, kicked things off with a dispiriting home loss to Rubin Kazan Tuesday. A day later, the Madrid clubs turned in a pair of stinkers; Real played poorly in losing to AC Milan at home and Atletico were trounced 4-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Click to continue reading...

In one of the most shocking UEFA Champions League matchdays in recent memory, no fewer than four of Soccer Source's Top 25 clubs were upset or had to settle for draws. The biggest, undoubtedly, was No. 1 Barcelona's fall from grace in a stunning 2-1 home loss to No. 23 Rubin Kazan. Few soccer fans had even heard of the Russian upstarts before the group stage draw, and the club appeared destined to fade from memory just as quickly when it lost at Dynamo Kiev on the first matchday. Click to continue reading...

For ranking methodology and other information about the series, see the original post. To read the about the No. 8-rated stadium, the Monumental in Buenos Aires click here. To see all "soccer mecca" entries click here.
7. Camp Nou, Barcelona
Open since: 1957
Capacity: 98,000
Tenant(s): FC Barcelona
World Cup hosts: 1982
In its relatively brief (by soccer mecca standards) history, Barcelona's Camp Nou has hosted some memorable matches: a World Cup, a memorable Champions League final (very memorable for Manchester United fans) and an Olympic gold medal game, to name but a few. Click to continue reading...

And we're back. Is it just me or did the internationals break feel a lot longer than two weeks? Anyway, club soccer was back in action this weekend, with several surprising results. How did that affect our rankings? Let's take a look:
1. Barcelona
Last ranking: 1
Record (wins-losses-ties, in all competition; two-leg match-ups count as one): 9-0-2
Results of note: Beat Shakhtar Donetsk (at the time ranked 14th) in overtime in the UEFA SuperCup, Aug. Click to continue reading...

Fellow soccer bloggers Caught Offside yesterday offered up seven reasons why football (soccer) will never be a major success in the U.S. It got lost in all of the hullabaloo over Charlie Davies' accident but I wanted to take the time to address it now.
First things first: Caught Offside are wrong on all but one count, namely that the sport is not stat-intensive enough to become a major deal in the U. Click to continue reading...