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SBI European Club Top 25

Lionel Messi 1 (Reuters)

Somebody finally slowed down Barcelona last week. Now there is a team this week capable of handing Barca its first loss in months.

Sevilla has moved up to No. 14 in the SBI Top 25 European club rnakings, but Freddy Kanoute's club could crack the Top 10 with a crucial home win against the seemingly unstoppable boys from Barcelona.

After a week off, the SBI Top 25 European club rankings are back and, while there isn't much of a change among the top three, the rest of the rankings have shaken up considerably as some teams get hot (like Bayern Munich and Aston Villa) and other teams start to cool off (like Arsenal and Udinese).

Here is this week's SBI European Club Top 25, including the upcoming schedule for the Top 10:

SBI European Club Top 25

1. BARCELONA (9-1-2 league record). Last week- tied Getafe,1-1, last Sunday, beat Sporting Lisbon, 5-2, last Wednesday (UCL). This week- at Sevilla on Saturday.

2. LIVERPOOL (10-1-3). Last week- Tied Fulham, 0-0, last Saturday, beat Marseille, 1-0, last Wednesday. This week- vs. West Ham on Monday.

3. CHELSEA (10-1-3). Last week- Tied Newcastle, 0-0, last Saturday, tied Bordeaux, 1-1, last Wednesday (UCL). This week- vs. Arsenal on Sunday.

4. INTER MILAN (9-1-3). Last week- Beat Juventus, 1-0, last Saturday, lost to Panathanaikos (UCL), 1-0, on Wednesday. This week- vs. Napoli on Sunday.

5. REAL MADRID (8-2-2). Last week- Beat Recreativo Huelva last Saturday, beat BATE Borisov, 1-0, last Tuesday. This week- at Getafe on Sunday.

6. MANCHESTER UNITED (7-2-4). Last week- tied Aston Villa, 0-0, last Saturday, tied Villarreal, 0-0, last Tuesday (UCL). This week- at Manchester City on Sunday.

7. VILLARREAL (7-1-4). Last week- Lost to Valladolid, 3-0, last Saturday, tied Manchester United, 0-0, last Tuesday. This week- at Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.

8. BAYERN MUNICH (8-2-4). Last week- Beat Energie Cottbus, 4-1, last Saturday, beat Steaua Bucahrest, 3-0, last Tuesday. This week- at Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

9. AC MILAN (8-2-3). Last week- tied Torino, 2-2, last Sunday, tied Portsmouth, 2-2, last Thursday (UEFA). This week- at Palermo on Sunday.

10. JUVENTUS (7-3-3). Last week- lost to Inter Milan, 1-0, last Saturday, tied Zenit St. Petersberg, 0-0, last Tuesday. This week- vs. Reggina on Saturday.

  • 11. Lyon (10-2-3)
  • 12. Napoli (7-3-3)
  • 13. TSG Hoffenheim (10-3-1)
  • 14. Sevilla (7-2-3)
  • 15. Aston Villa (7-4-3)
  • 16. Atletico Madrid (5-4-3)
  • 17. Valencia (7-2-3)
  • 18. Arsenal (7-5-2)
  • 19. Olympiakos (8-1-2)
  • 20. Bordeaux (7-4-4)
  • 21. Lazio (7-4-2)
  • 22. Ajax Amsterdam (8-3-1)
  • 23. Dinamo Kiev (12-1-2)
  • 24. Standard Liege (8-2-3)
  • 25. Anorthosis Famagusta (8-1-1)

OTHERS RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Bayer Leverkusen (9-4-1), CSKA Moscow (16-6-8), AZ Alkmaar (8-2-2), Udinese (6-4-3), Fiorentina (7-4-2), Celtic (13-1-1), Marseille (7-2-6), Hamburg (8-4-2), Benfica (6-0-3), Sporting Lisbon (5-3-1)

What do you think of the rankings? Which match-up of ranked teams are you looking most forward to? Which team do you think deserved a much higher ranking?

Share your thoughts on the rankings in the comments section below.

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Comments

  1. Hoffenheim for number 1!

    a virtually unknown team last year,gettin promotion two years running is now three points ahead of bayern munich in the bundesliga

    Reply
  2. scott your joking me right?rangers?

    they just lost to hearts,and there out of europe already,so how can they crack the top 25

    celtic are 7 points ahead,so thinking that rangers should be ahead of celtic on the list is just plain sad.

    Reply
  3. Scott, the rankings are for the current European season, not the calendar year. And Celtic is NOT ranked. Rangers isn’t going to be cracking the Top 25 this season, not without European competition.

    And in case you missed it, Rangers lost to Hearts today, so you’ll find it tough to make a case for Rangers on any front.

    Reply
  4. where’s Rangers… sure the trip to the UEFA Cup final wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing thing, but performances against Stuttgart, Sporting, Lyon, etc were and they have a better away record for celtic…. no respect.

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  5. Sean –

    I’m assuming that was for my Celtic crack. I’ve watched parts of almost all of their CL matches, and 2 pts off 2 goals in 5 games has me severely unimpressed.

    Maybe they’re better than Famagusta, but then again the underdogs from Cypress have 6 points in their CL group and are alive for a spot in the knock-outs going into the last matchday.

    And yeah, I catch some SPL trying to watch Beasley play. That’s why I’m so down on it.

    Reply
  6. Finally, a Dutch team has earned a place in the top 25! Pretty sad that Ajax’s UEFA Cup win over Hamburg is probably the best win all year for anyone out of Holland. Pretty lame to quibble over the bottom of the list, but I have to say that in head to head, wouldn’t you pick Standard over Ajax?

    I don’t trust Atletico at all, but I guess they’re in the CL 16 convincingly, so I guess they’re on the list, but they have stunk in Spain. Glad to see neither Rangers nor Celtic make the cut! SPL is a joke.

    Reply
  7. Yes Anon, the Port-Benfica-Sporting thing is interesting. All three merit consideration, as does Leixos, but I don’t see any being a Top 25 team unless either Sporting or Porto pulls a Round of 16 shocker or Benfica starts to do some damage in the UEFA Cup (and by damage I mean something other than getting blown out by Olympiakos).

    Nice to hear that somebody heard that show. Does that mean you will also listen to the SBI Podcast when it launches? Nice, that’s one listener.

    Reply
  8. They were ahead before they had the game in hand, but a Benfica win puts them second, so I take your point. Porto qualified for the round of 16 as well and….well im not in the mood to argue against my team, but u see where i could go with that.

    Ive made my argument regarding Celtic already so i wont continue that discussion. Other than that, all i can say is, i heard u on the Footy Show podcast. I wont tell how u did though. lol 😛

    Reply
  9. A few things:

    Why shouldn’t Bayern be ahead of Hoffenheim? I know Hoffeinheim is currently in first place but Bayern Munich is in second place and enjoying a good run in the Champions League. For my money, Bayern has enjoyed a better overall year to date. That will get sorted next week so we don’t have to spend too much time arguing that.

    Now, Anon, I love your contributions, but you need to relax. First off, the rankings are a Top 25, not a Top 35. My list of others receiving consideration is an informal list of teams that have either just been in the rankings or who I recently considered for the rankings.

    That said, I did actually consider Leixoes, but just don’t think they should be ranked yet. Yes, they are in first place in Portugal right now but they have a game in hand on Benfica, which they have a home draw against. Leixos has victories against Sporting, which gets consideration because, in case you forgot, they just qualified for the Champions League round of 16, and Porto, which isn’t even in the running to be ranked. One quality win with zero European competition isn’t enough to get ranked, but I did consider them.

    As for Celtic, as I said before, the Others Receiving Consideration is NOT an official part of the ranking so getting disgruntled over who is and isn’t in the list is silly. That said, Celtic showed me enough in its first Villarreal loss and Man Utd tie to make me think they deserved to crack the Top 25. They reached the very fringe of the Top 25 and then lost to AaB last week. That will pretty much signal their last gasp at the Top 25 since they’re out of Europe, but we’re just two weeks removed from them tying Manchester United, which is what helped them crack the 25 when they did.

    Reply
  10. u must be a Celtic supporter. Newcastle and Everton tied Man U too, and Vallodolid beat Villarreal. Kaunas beat Rangers. I dont think moral victories are part of Ives’ criteria.

    Everyone has injuries, im not making excuses for Sporting who lost in a meaningless match without 3 of their best players and started the season without their top striker, they havent been impressive but are still going to the Round of 16. And ive never once talked about Sporting’s win against Porto in the Supercup because Cup wins are not included in Ives’ criteria.

    Sporting has not been impressive and considering your post’s lack of substance I could make a better argument to keep them off the list then u can.

    If u dont know who they are then u r drinking too much Sky Sports kool-aid.

    Ive presented facts to support my argument, all u have done is given me excuses for a team that has done nothing of significance.

    btw, someone did ask my opinion; “What do you think of the rankings? Which match-up of ranked teams are you looking most forward to? Which team do you think deserved a much higher ranking?

    Share your thoughts on the rankings in the comments section below.” Ives Galarcep

    Reply
  11. It’s not that I don’t mind The Hoff at #13, but it’s that they are below Bayern that bugs me.

    Also, Totally agree with the poster about the Russian Premier League. It and the Bundesliga are so overlooked all the time! The fact that Rubin won is nuts, and watch out for CSKA now that they have their groove back. There’s a reason Russia got to the Euro08 semis, and why Zenit won the UEFA cup last year.

    Reply
  12. Hey, Moose, mind your pie-hole. If anybody cared what you thought they would ask you. Who the f*ck are a Leixos? Celtic fell out of Europe but gave Manchester United and Villarreal all they could handle despite a TON of injuries. Losing to Aalborg was regrettable but by then the dream of the Round of 16 was dead and Celtic just didn’t have the healthy bodies.

    Who is your team Moose, or do you just like showing up every time the rankings come out to talk Sh*t?

    Reply
  13. Why isnt Leixoes there? They are first in Portugal, unbeaten in their last 10 league matches, have beaten Porto, Sporting, Braga and got a draw against Benfica in Lisbon.

    Who have Celtic beaten thats in your Top 35? Their most significant win was against Hearts. They couldnt even qualify for the UC. They didnt even beat the 6th place team in Denmark and they had two tries against them. Atleast Sporting, who have not been impressive, beat the 1st place team in Switzerland.

    I seriously can not see what Celtic has done to be in your list other than their domestic record in a weak league. 12th in Europe according to UEFA coefficient possibly as low as 14th by the end of the year.

    Reply
  14. So NOW the Russian Premier League 2008 IS done. So No Rubin I can understand. And keeping CSKA “under consideration” I can also understand, given their UEFA Cup play. The most unpredictable league in Europe that I know of had one of it’s most unpredictable and entertaining seasons. Here’s how it ended and the European positions for 2009-10:

    1. RUBIN KAZAN – UCL Group Stage (First time champs!)

    2. CSKA MOSCOW – UCL Group Stage

    3. DINAMO MOSCOW – UCL Round Qualifier (Historically a big club, but crap for, well, decades.)

    _______________

    4. AMKAR PERM – “Europa League” (that’s what they’re calling the UEFA Cup next year, yes?) 4th Round Qualification (Amkar were another surprise team. The frozen Ural Mountain Field Turf could be tough on some European visitors next December.)

    5. ZENIT – EL 4th Round Qualification (Tremendously inconsistent year for Zenit, but they secured a spot in Europe on the last day)

    6. KRYLYA SOVETOV SAMARA – EL 2nd Round Qualification

    Former champs Lokomotiv and Spartak (7th and 8th respectively) are out of Europe, although I suppose Intertoto play may save them. I don’t know how that works. Four out of the top six not Moscow teams, and one of the Moscow teams (Dinamo) was itself something of a surprise.

    RELEGATED

    15. SHINNIK YAROSLAVL

    16. LUCH ENERGIYA (No more road trips to Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast for Premier League clubs!)

    Reply
  15. Celtic above Arsenal? Come on, this is wrong on every level. Lemme see, Famagusta may get a UEFA Cup spot or even move on to the next round of Champion’s League. Arsenal is has already qualified for the next round of Champion’s League but a team at the bottom of their group in Champion’s League and it’s not a Group of death is rated above two sides still very much alive in Major European tournaments? Come on, why so much love for a club that’s more hype than they’ve delivered since the days of Jock Stein?

    Reply
  16. Certainly Arsenal is having problems domestically but to be not included in the top 25 and below a team like Celtic or Kiev that they have beaten twice? What’s the thought behind that?

    Reply

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