Sweet home Chicago

2008-09-10T07:16:32-04:00

Sweet home Chicago

2007-08-23T13:19:54-04:00

2008-09-10T06:40:27-04:00

2007-08-27T21:51:07-04:00

DavidW14

Brooklyn 98130

I was going to point out that obvious about Arsenal and Liverpool not having more than 6 points in 3 matches because they had only played 2 matches . . . . But I see others have made the point. So I'll state something else that is obvious. Jonah is an idiot. 54450

2007-08-25T04:12:17-04:00

rinpowestar

Glendale 96251

Manchester City? They beat two mediocre teams before their victory against Manchester United, and they were completely dominated throughout the Manchester derby despite the win. How could Liverpool get the boot when they outplayed Chelsea and the referee admitted that he wrongly awarded the penalty to Chelsea? 52894

2007-08-24T15:15:18-04:00

SteveW

Louisville 88565

How do you watch or stay current with all of World Football? Do you actually watch the Dutch league and the Asian teams and the East European teams and the Brazilian league and the Russian league etc. etc.? I know this is your job, but there are only so many hours in the day. It seems like your World Power Rankings are really the "Very Biggest Leagues Power Ranking with the Occasional Nod to the Rest of the World" 52384

2007-08-24T13:46:08-04:00

liverpoolforever

Maplewood 95554

This ranking is an absolute disgrace. I can not use Si.com for football news anymore...going back to BBC. How anyone in their right mind can put City in the top 10 in the World is beyond me...and to drop Liverpool (I admit I am a Liverpool supporter) and Utd. (as much as I hate to admit it) is absurd. Here is the real top 10 list: 1. Barcelona 2. AC Milan 3. Man Utd 4. Liverpool 5. Bayern Munich 6. Inter Milan 7. Chelsea 8. Arsenal 9. Celtic 10. Real Madrid 52499

2007-08-24T11:15:36-04:00

crgclark

No City 95423

Forgot whether you're a Liverpool or Arsenal fan, isn't it just wrong to say that the "Blues are still the only member of England's Big Four to grab more than six points through their first three games"? Okay, so Man Utd have got off to a bad start, but Liverpool and Arsenal have only played TWO games (they were playing CL qualifiers mid-week). And both of them, if they win, will have 7 points after three games. The exact same as Chelsea. So, no, Chelsea don't go up by default. 52003

2007-08-24T10:22:18-04:00

Lab_Rat

Saint Louis 95383

I's just like to point something out to Mr. Freedman (who seems to be obsessed with loading his rankings with European teams). If you do a statistical analysis of Europe vs. South America over the entire history of their competition (both at club level and international), you will arrive at the conclusion that European soccer is not (as the "experts" claim) far superior. The only valid conclusion that such an analysis permits you to draw, is that South American teams win when they score a lot, and European teams win when they avoid being scored on. 53256

2007-08-24T04:27:23-04:00

109

viajero

Washington 95299

Though I'm not particularly a fan of Mexican soccer, I actually agree with placing Pachuca in your Top-10. I don't think any team in the world has been as consistently successful in both international and domestic competition over the past year, including the way they simply rolled over top level South American opposition in last year???s Copa Suramericana. Pachuca right now is like an all-star team with some of the best South American talent outside of Europe, combined with several young Mexicans who showed their worth in this last Copa America. Their offence really is almost unstoppable with two class forwards up front in Jimenez and Cacho, supported by extremely technically gifted midfielders like Chitiva and Alvarez. Whether they would be competitive day in and day out in a top European league is another story, but in part simply because they would have to adjust their tactics to the European game. They remain way too vulnerable in the air (as Houston proved). But give them a couple of top-notch defensive players in the middle and they could probably end up in the upper half of the standings in any European league. As it is, I wouldn???t bet against them at this year???s World Club Championship. If a Concacaf team is ever going to win that trophy, this current Pachuca side is it. 53686

2007-08-24T02:51:47-04:00

Aussie Mick

No City 95259

what are you all getting so excited about? Rankings of this kind are ultimately meaningless as you can only move up or down them according to the whims and vagaries of Mr Freedman's addled mind. and this is from a man city fan! 54083

2007-08-24T00:41:05-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/286/29/thumb/images.jpg 1291 CO

j11forbes: Go Jo-Jo Go!

Denver 28709

Okay. Liverpool lovers. Stop bragging about how close you came to winning a trophy last year. The rankings aren't about last year. They're about right now. And, whether it's their fault or not, Liverpool haven't done much this year yet. The Spanish and Italian sides get a pass on this so far because their seasons have not started. 53782

2007-08-23T22:10:52-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/856/30/thumb/kb.gif 1713 PA

Buck Feckham

Philadelphia 85930

the top three are solid picks... but chelsea up to 4? i wouldnt go that far especially with bayern munich is an absolute beast this year. they dispatched werder bremen fairly easily and should run away with the bundisliga title this year since they dont have to endure the champions league. the bottom five is so-so to me. im still not sold on pachuca, but man city deserves some love...even if they played some fairly weak teams and a man U team in disarray... we will see how it works out after they play the gunners this week. it should be a great match. 52827

My connections to the Windy City are limited. I did, after all, live there for a year while I slogged it through grad school. I've still got a handful of friends there and I still get mad cravings for Italian beef sandwiches (or if I get the rare bonus, the ceviche at <a href="http://www.fronterakitchens.com/restaurants/restaurants.html" target="_blank">Topolobampo</a>).So I happily accepted an invitation to guest-blog for Chicago Tribune soccer beat writer Luis Arroyave while he's on vacation. Luis runs the excellent <a href="http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/" target="_blank">Red Card</a> blog, and is having fellow footie scribes -- and even some players -- fill in for him while he's off galavanting. Of course, Luis asked me to write about the <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jonah_freedman/08/23/rankings/index.html">World Power Rankings</a>, which I was only too happy to accept. It's always a good topic for debate, and an even better test of the thickness of my skin. So <a href="http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2007/08/guest-blogger-s.html" target="_blank">here's the link</a> to my contribution. Enjoy!And as always, this week's top 10:1. AC Milan2. FC Barcelona3. Sevilla4. Chelsea5. Bayern Munich6. Real Madrid7. Boca Juniors8. Pachuca9. Inter Milan10. Manchester City 2629 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/459/8/thumb/freedman_jonah.jpg 12 CA

Jonah Freedman

San Francisco 4618