We have a frightening Top 25 for you this week. At least it's frightening for a few. Levante, for example, who lost its first match of the season in the Primera División, which dropped it from first to third in the table and, consequently, dropped it from number two in the rankings to number eleven.

This was a tough week for a lot of the clubs at the top of last week's rankings. Needless to say (thought that won't stop me), the toughest week was had by Manchester United, whose 1-6 loss to intercity rivals Manchester City was its worst home loss since the 1930-31 season. That wasn't the only slip near the top, though.

As you know if you've followed these rankings for a while, it's difficult for anybody to take over the top spot from the first place team in the English Premier League table until that club has been eliminated from the Champions League. It has happened before, but it doesn't happen often.

What have we been telling you about for weeks? Months, even? Have you been paying attention? Do you know what's happening this week? If you guessed that all hell was breaking loose in the rankings then you've been paying attention.
A few weeks ago, when English and Portuguese clubs had last season's numbers drop out of the equations, it didn't cause a huge tremor in the rankings.

When we started this blog, we had no idea that we would be here, doing this for so long but it's now been almost four years and this is our five hundredth entry. Now, as far as we can tell, we are the longest-running and most successful weekly football ranking site on the web. Thanks for your support!

Every year around this time, we warn you that turmoil is ahead in the rankings. That is because when domestic leagues complete five full matchdays (where everybody plays), all of the prior season's numbers are purged from the database. Of the top five domestic leagues in the world, the first two to reach this point in the season, Germany and France, had it happen to them this week.

Arsenal + Tottenham = 5 matches, 0 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses, 3 GF, 18 GA, -15 GD. I'm half-expecting the rioting to return to North London.
Speaking of chaos, we're getting close to the chaos part of the year in the Weekly Rankings. There were a few changes this week due to moves in domestic schedules.

It's still too early in the season for the rankings to be but so meaningful. Hell, they haven't even started playing in Spain, Greece or Italy and I don't know if they'll ever start playing in Turkey. Still, if we don't rank everybody, there's no reason to come back so we continue to do so.

We are two weeks from resuming the publishing of our weekly rankings and we are two weeks from publishing our pre-season rankings so it's time for the one in the middle. Some of the top leagues are now under way, as the River Plate-less Argentine Apertura began this weekend along with the French Ligue Un and the German Bundesliga.

Thank God that club season is starting. I've been waiting for months. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for Uruguay for winning the Copa América and somewhat less happy for Mexico winning the Gold Cup, and we have had some fun crunching the numbers for the Monthly International RPI Rankings, but what we really care about here is club football.

We've been focusing recently on international football with the recently completed Gold Cup and soon-to-begin Copa América, but of course our focus always on club football. For years, we've been known for our weekly rankings of clubs around the world.
In the past week or so, we have seen the conclusion of the 2010-11 season as Santos defeated Peñarol to win the 2011 Copa Libertadores and book its ticket to the 2011 Club World Cup.

Welcome to the final "weekly" version of the rankings for the 2010-11 season. We waited an extra day to publish these rankings because the most important of the few matches that were played this week in domestic league action took place Monday night in Argentina. There, three different clubs could have finished the weekend atop the Argentine Clausura, but in the end, Vélez Sarsfield remained at the apex with two matches to go.

Welcome to the final "weekly" version of the rankings for the 2010-11 season. We waited an extra day to publish these rankings because the most important of the few matches that were played this week in domestic league action took place Monday night in Argentina. There, three different clubs could have finished the weekend atop the Argentine Clausura, but in the end, Vélez Sarsfield remained at the apex with two matches to go.

All season long, in order to knock off the top team in the best domestic league in the world out of the top spot in the rankings, somebody was going to knock that club out of the Champions League. It took until the final match of the season, but that finally happened as FC Barcelona played its game and manhandled Manchester United 3-1 in a match that wasn't even that close.

All season long, in order to knock off the top team in the best domestic league in the world out of the top spot in the rankings, somebody was going to knock that club out of the Champions League. It took until the final match of the season, but that finally happened as FC Barcelona played its game and manhandled Manchester United 3-1 in a match that wasn't even that close.

As we finish up this past weekend, we also have finished up the season for most of the clubs playing in Europe. As has been the case in the past few weeks, more championships have been decided, e.g., Lille taking home the French Ligue Un title and Porto winning the Taça da Portugal. Much more was decided this past weekend with respect to clubs that are destined for relegation, but we don't publish a Bottom 25 Clubs of the Week, so you can find discussions of those on other sites.

As we finish up this past weekend, we also have finished up the season for most of the clubs playing in Europe. As has been the case in the past few weeks, more championships have been decided, e.g., Lille taking home the French Ligue Un title and Porto winning the Taça da Portugal. Much more was decided this past weekend with respect to clubs that are destined for relegation, but we don't publish a Bottom 25 Clubs of the Week, so you can find discussions of those on other sites.

No changes in the Bonus Points this week so there aren't any huge moves in the rankings. That may change this week after the Copa Libertadores reaches the semifinal stages and the South American clubs hit the Super Bonus Point stage, but again, that's next week.
This week is a celebration of championships.

No changes in the Bonus Points this week so there aren't any huge moves in the rankings. That may change this week after the Copa Libertadores reaches the semifinal stages and the South American clubs hit the Super Bonus Point stage, but again, that's next week.
This week is a celebration of championships.

As we close in to the end of the season, championships galore abound. In Europe, not to surprise of anyone, Manchester United and Barcelona qualified for the finals of the UEFA Champions League. In South America, meanwhile, Brazil suffered a Bloody Wednesday that saw four of its five remaining clubs in the Copa Libertadores kicked out of the Copa Libertadores.

As we close in to the end of the season, championships galore abound. In Europe, not to surprise of anyone, Manchester United and Barcelona qualified for the finals of the UEFA Champions League. In South America, meanwhile, Brazil suffered a Bloody Wednesday that saw four of its five remaining clubs in the Copa Libertadores kicked out of the Copa Libertadores.

We're starting off this week's rankings with a pair of congratulations. First, we congratulate Mexico's Monterrey for becoming the first qualifier for the 2011 Club World Cup by defeating Real Salt Lake for the CONCACAF Champions League title. Next, we should also congratulate Borussia Dortmund for mixing its own victory with a Bayer Leverkusen loss to clinch its first German Bundesliga title since 2001/02.

We're starting off this week's rankings with a pair of congratulations. First, we congratulate Mexico's Monterrey for becoming the first qualifier for the 2011 Club World Cup by defeating Real Salt Lake for the CONCACAF Champions League title. Next, we should also congratulate Borussia Dortmund for mixing its own victory with a Bayer Leverkusen loss to clinch its first German Bundesliga title since 2001/02.

If you compare this week's rankings to last week's rankings (and you don't really have to since I sort of do that myself below), you'll see that things are kind of stagnant at the moment. That's typical for this time of the season, though things should start moving around again once Super Bonus Points are awarded for the Copa Libertadores, but that's getting ahead of ourselves.

If you compare this week's rankings to last week's rankings (and you don't really have to since I sort of do that myself below), you'll see that things are kind of stagnant at the moment. That's typical for this time of the season, though things should start moving around again once Super Bonus Points are awarded for the Copa Libertadores, but that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Sorry for the long absence. I've spent the past two months in Mexico and Central America and it turned out that finding free and convenient wifi in the area wasn't so convenient. Plus, I was just having way too much fun. (Feel free to read about the adventures here.)
But, we're back.

Sorry for the long absence. I've spent the past two months in Mexico and Central America and it turned out that finding free and convenient wifi in the area wasn't so convenient. Plus, I was just having way too much fun. (Feel free to read about the adventures here.)
But, we're back.

I'm sorry for being so lax on this site, but I'm having a great time in Mexico and despite the fact that there is a lot of stuff going on in the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores at the moment, the sad fact is that those results don't affect the rankings until the end of each round.

I'm sorry for being so lax on this site, but I'm having a great time in Mexico and despite the fact that there is a lot of stuff going on in the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores at the moment, the sad fact is that those results don't affect the rankings until the end of each round.

Sorry to be way, way, way late with this, folks, but I'm back in travelling mode and will be for the next eight weeks. During that time, the posts will be as timely as I'm able to make them and that'll depend on where I am and how my luck is with wi-fi. At the moment, I'm in Mexico City, so wi-fi hasn't been an issue, but my time as a tourist has taken away from my dedication to this particular post.

Sorry to be way, way, way late with this, folks, but I'm back in travelling mode and will be for the next eight weeks. During that time, the posts will be as timely as I'm able to make them and that'll depend on where I am and how my luck is with wi-fi. At the moment, I'm in Mexico City, so wi-fi hasn't been an issue, but my time as a tourist has taken away from my dedication to this particular post.

And the season continues. Yet again, there's a lot of action going on in the world but not so much movement in the rankings. Much of the action going on right now is domestic cup action that doesn't factor into the rankings. It can make for some interesting matches, particularly in the later rounds, but it just doesn't affect the WCR Top 25.

And the season continues. Yet again, there's a lot of action going on in the world but not so much movement in the rankings. Much of the action going on right now is domestic cup action that doesn't factor into the rankings. It can make for some interesting matches, particularly in the later rounds, but it just doesn't affect the WCR Top 25.

Okay, the travel has ended for a few weeks so we are going back to a full schedule of entries starting now. Of course, now isn't the best time to be at a full schedule because there's really not a hell of a lot going on. Oh, sure there's a lot of domestic cup action but those are just glorified exhibitions, at least for the top clubs and at least until the semifinals.

Okay, the travel has ended for a few weeks so we are going back to a full schedule of entries starting now. Of course, now isn't the best time to be at a full schedule because there's really not a hell of a lot going on. Oh, sure there's a lot of domestic cup action but those are just glorified exhibitions, at least for the top clubs and at least until the semifinals.

Sorry Sports Fans, but due to a combination of travel, alcohol and influenza, the publishing of Monday's WCR Top 25 has been delayed significantly. Since it will be Friday evening by the time I publish this entry, it's going to be an abbreviated version. You can look forward to a return to the full version on Monday when, whether or not I'm over the flu, at least I'll be home and be able to get it published in a timely manner.

Sorry Sports Fans, but due to a combination of travel, alcohol and influenza, the publishing of Monday's WCR Top 25 has been delayed significantly. Since it will be Friday evening by the time I publish this entry, it's going to be an abbreviated version. You can look forward to a return to the full version on Monday when, whether or not I'm over the flu, at least I'll be home and be able to get it published in a timely manner.

Not many changes in this week's WCR Top 25. Real Madrid dropped a few points; I'm not sure why because its Copa Del Rey loss doesn't factor into the ranking process. Lazio and Tottenham dropped a few points, but those both make more sense since both those clubs suffered disappoint domestic league losses during the week.

There's really not much change in the rankings from two weeks ago. The changes that there are derive from movement at the top of the table in the English Premier League. There also has been action in the past two weeks in the Portuguese League Cup and the Spanish Primera Division but the Portuguese League Cup doesn't affect the rankings and the top of the Spanish Primera Division table never changes.