NationStates Jolt Archive

This is the place to tell everyone what the top football/soccer team is... rank your top 10 or top 20 (or whatever) teams in Europe or the world... etc.

For what it's worth, this is my Euro Soccer Club Top 20:

1. Chelsea
2. AC Milan
3. Barcelona
4. Juventus
5. PSV
6. Manchester United
7. Bayern Munich
8. Arsenal
9. Real Madrid
10. Inter Milan
11. Lyon
12. Porto
13. Liverpool (got to get it done in the Prem to move up)
14. Valencia
15. Schalke
16. Feyenoord/Ajax (pick one)
17. Udinese
18. Werder Bremen
19. Villarreal
20. Sporting Lisbon/Benfica (pick one)

And why is it that recently (at least the past two years), the Champions League winner has not been anywhere near being the real best team in Europe (no offense to Porto or Liverpool, but Porto's lineup can't stand up to the top teams in Europe and Liverpool finished 5th in the Prem, for crissakes!)?

The whole hullabaloo of Liverpool having to go through the qualifying rounds this season just goes to highlight how discredited the 'Champions' League is. It's almost as inappropriate a name as the 'World' Series.

Liverpool were not the Champions of their league, they shouldn't have been in the competition in the first place- how exactly can a team be the best in Europe if they're not even the best in their own country?

So using the Champions League as a measure of the 'best' team in Europe is redundant. Now an international club league (assuming league format is the most accurate given that anyone can beat anyone on their day, especially in knockout competitions) featuring only the champions of each domestic division... that'd be something to savour.

The whole hullabaloo of Liverpool having to go through the qualifying rounds this season just goes to highlight how discredited the 'Champions' League is. It's almost as inappropriate a name as the 'World' Series.

Liverpool were not the Champions of their league, they shouldn't have been in the competition in the first place- how exactly can a team be the best in Europe if they're not even the best in their own country?

So using the Champions League as a measure of the 'best' team in Europe is redundant. Now an international club league (assuming league format is the most accurate given that anyone can beat anyone on their day, especially in knockout competitions) featuring only the champions of each domestic division... that'd be something to savour.

well that's the chance you take in a tournament ... the best team doesn't always win. It's the same with the NCAA basketball tournament here in the US.

But... I'll take a playoff/tournament any day over the college football "championship" format, where two teams are chosen to play in a championship game.

Like AC Milan but why didnt you put Liverpool in the poll?

and also, let's face it... some national leagues are just stronger than others.

imagine top 2nd-place teams (from last year) like AC Milan (#2 Serie A), Real Madrid (La Liga) and Arsenal (Prem) not having a chance at European glory while inferior league champions from Greece, Turkey, Norway (etc.) get a chance.

Arka Gdynia in Poland is good and Wista Krakow.

Like AC Milan but why didnt you put Liverpool in there?

based on the whole of last season, is liverpool really better than any team on that list?

liverpool have a line-up full of talent... as talent-rich as any team in europe except for maybe Chelsea, AC Milan and Real Madrid... but they finished 5th in the Prem. They lost games against teams near the bottom of the Prem table and were clearly inferior to the Big Three of Chelsea, Arsenal and Man U in Premiership play. They had European glory but if not for that would be ranked near the bottom of Europe's top 20... imo their C League win got them up toward the top 10 but not in it.

Arka Gdynia in Poland is good and Wista Krakow.

Who are the top Polish players (IE, players on the Poland national team)?

Is Dudek the starting goalkeeper?

Who are the top Polish players (IE, players on the Poland national team)?

Is Dudek the starting goalkeeper?

Yupp on the Polish National team. Dudek once was a goalkeeper in Liverpool but I dont know what happened that he doesnt play there anymore

oh yea Marcin Wocheoski is good at the attack! never saw him miss a shot

top talent... these teams are all deep (other clubs and their depth are welcome... i'll do four teams):

*Obviously, starting teams are not set in stone... these are my guesses at the players who start most of the time*

-----------------------
AC Milan

G: Dida

D: Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Stam
D reserves: Simic, Kaladze, Costacurta

M: Kaka, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf (starter?)
M reserves: Rui Costa, Jankulovski, Serginho, Vogel, Ambrosini

F: Shevchenko, Inzaghi
F reserves: Vieri, Gilardino
-------------------------

Chelsea

G: Cech

D: Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Ferreira
D reserves: Huth, Johnson, Del Horno, Bridge

M: Duff, Lampard, Essien, Robben
M reserves: Wright-Phillips, Tiago, Jarosik, Cole, Diarra, Geremi, Makelele

F: Crespo, Drogba (if they went with two)
F reserves: Gudjohnsen, Cole
---------------------------

Juventus

G: Buffon

D: Zambrotta, Thuram, Cannavaro, Tudor
D reserves: Birindelli, Chiellini, Pessotto, Zebina

M: Nedved, Vieira, Emerson, Camoranesi
M reserves: Olivera, Blasi, Giannichedda

F: Ibrahimovic, Trezeguet
F reserves: Del Piero, Mutu, Miccoli, Zalayeta
--------------------------

Manchester United

G: Van der Sar

D: Heinze, Ferdinand, Silvestre, G. Neville
D reserves: Brown, O'Shea

M: C. Ronaldo, Roy Keane, Scholes, Giggs
M reserves: Fletcher, Richardson, Fortune, Miller

F: Rooney, Van Nistelrooij
F reserves: Saha, Alan Smith, Ji-Sung Park, Solskjaer, Rossi, Bellion

At the moment it has to be Chelsea.

They have the best team/squad and the best coach/manager in the game at the moment. Plus the huge financial capability of the owner which gives them the best potential to win and continue winning the top trophies in the game over any other team.

AC Milan and Juventus are very close of course but as they are more consistent form year to year they lack the current momentum that Chelsea have. Possibly due to the fact that the Chelsea players (with the exception of Makelele, and now Crespo again) have yet to win the same accalades that AC Milan's player's have one. But that is what gives AC and Juve their tight grip to remain at the top, as I back them to reach the last 4 of the Champions League and finish in the top two of their league than I back Chelsea to do the same. Where as I think it's a very distinct possibility that Chelsea could flop this year as last years performance wasn't habit for them, so it will be more likely for them to have a relapse of the inconsistent performances that was reminiscent of Liverpool last season. But if Chelsea do challenge for european and domestic success, I do fancy them to succeed should they give themselves the chance.

As for Real Madrid; they have a team that doesn't mesh together well, and a very weak squad when you look at the replacements for some top players. I don't see any improvements on their patchy performances of last year.

Barcelona I feel, needs atleast one more season before its ready to go full out for the top place in European football.

At the moment it has to be Chelsea.

They have the best team/squad and the best coach/manager in the game at the moment. Plus the huge financial capability of the owner which gives them the best potential to win and continue winning the top trophies in the game over any other team.

AC Milan and Juventus are very close of course but as they are more consistent form year to year they lack the current momentum that Chelsea have. Possibly due to the fact that the Chelsea players (with the exception of Makelele, and now Crespo again) have yet to win the same accalades that AC Milan's player's have one. But that is what gives AC and Juve their tight grip to remain at the top, as I back them to reach the last 4 of the Champions League and finish in the top two of their league than I back Chelsea to do the same. Where as I think it's a very distinct possibility that Chelsea could flop this year as last years performance wasn't habit for them, so it will be more likely for them to have a relapse of the inconsistent performances that was reminiscent of Liverpool last season. But if Chelsea do challenge for european and domestic success, I do fancy them to succeed should they give themselves the chance.

As for Real Madrid; they have a team that doesn't mesh together well, and a very weak squad when you look at the replacements for some top players. I don't see any improvements on their patchy performances of last year.

Barcelona I feel, needs atleast one more season before its ready to go full out for the top place in European football.

yeah, on sheer overall talent and depth of talent, Chelsea.

Think of this second team, and wonder if it could win the EPL (i think it could):

G - Cudicini
D - Bridge, del Horno, Huth, Glen Johnson
M - Joe Cole, Tiago/Jarosik, Makelele, Wright-Phillips
F - Gudjohnsen, Carlton Cole

that team would be at least top-four in the EPL, challenging ManU, Arsenal and Liverpool for the title... that's how deep Chelsea is.

oh yea Marcin Wocheoski is good at the attack! never saw him miss a shot

You guys kicked our butts (USA) at the 2002 World Cup.

Our group was weird -- Portugal were the heavy favorites but the US and Korea both beat them.

Poland beat the US.

I felt badly for Portugal in their game against Korea... if memory serves, 3 or 4 Portugal starters got red cards. What horrible reffing when you tip the balance so far in favor of one team (Korea). They did the same thing to Italy when they gave Totti a red card for falling down after he was stomped in the penalty box. Italy would have won that game without that terrible call.

Those Korea games had some of the most biased homer reffing i've ever seen, in any sport or any competition... i'm surprised the refs didn't give Hakan Sukur and/or Emre red cards so the Koreans could advance past Turkey.

so... champions league isn't enough... there should be a "cream of the crop" championship too. hehe. i propose 6 groups of 4 comprised of the top 24 teams in Europe. There will be a 1, 2, 3 and 4 seed in each group, to keep the groups fairly equal in strength.

Seeding:

1: Chelsea, AC Milan, Barcelona, Juventus, PSV, Manchester United
2: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Lyon, Porto
3. Liverpool, Valencia, Schalke, Feyenoord, Udinese, Werder Bremen
4: Villarreal, Sporting, Benfica, Rangers, Marseilles, Leverkusen


Groups:

Group A
Chelsea
Inter Milan
Schalke
Marseilles

Group B
AC Milan
Lyon
Feyenoord
Rangers

Group C
FC Barcelona
Arsenal
Werder Bremen
Sporting Lisbon

Group D
Juventus
Porto
Valencia
Benfica

Group E
PSV
Real Madrid
Liverpool
Leverkusen

Group F
Manchester United
Bayern Munich
Udinese
Villarreal

Now, you play everyone in your group twice... 6 group games for each team (home and away ties)... top team in each group plus the top two 2nd-place teams form an 8-team playoff to decide the real european champion. hehe

Wow, Americans who are interested in European football! I thought they didn't exist!

Wow, Americans who are interested in European football! I thought they didn't exist!

now that the EPL season is rolling around, i'll have something to watch.

Baseball is okay too... NFL is in pre-season mode.

i'm learning

This is the updated fifa world cup 06 standings in Europe. Poland is doing really good


Group 1Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Netherlands 8 7 1 0 20 3 22
Czech Republic 8 7 0 1 28 7 21
Romania 9 5 1 3 15 10 16
Finland 7 3 0 4 13 14 9
Macedonia FYR 9 2 2 5 10 16 8
Armenia 9 1 1 7 5 20 4
Andorra 8 1 1 6 4 25 4

Group 2Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Ukraine 9 7 2 0 15 3 23
Turkey 9 4 4 1 19 7 16
Greece 9 4 3 2 12 7 15
Denmark 8 3 3 2 13 8 12
Albania 9 3 0 6 7 16 9
Georgia 7 1 2 4 10 16 5
Kazakhstan 7 0 0 7 2 21 0

Group 3Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Portugal 8 6 2 0 24 4 20
Slovakia 8 5 2 1 22 7 17
Russia 7 4 2 1 15 10 14
Latvia 8 4 1 3 15 14 13
Estonia 9 3 2 4 12 15 11
Liechtenstein 8 1 1 6 9 19 4
Luxembourg 8 0 0 8 4 32 0

Group 4Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Ireland Republic 7 3 4 0 11 4 13
Switzerland 6 3 3 0 13 4 12
Israel 7 2 5 0 10 8 11
France 6 2 4 0 5 1 10
Cyprus 6 0 1 5 4 12 1
Faroe Islands 6 0 1 5 3 17 1

Group 5Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Italy 6 4 1 1 9 5 13
Norway 6 2 3 1 6 3 9
Slovenia 6 2 3 1 6 5 9
Belarus 6 1 4 1 10 7 7
Scotland 6 1 3 2 3 4 6
Moldova 6 0 2 4 1 11 2

Group 6Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Poland 7 6 0 1 22 5 18
England 6 5 1 0 13 3 16
Austria 6 3 2 1 11 8 11
Northern Ireland 6 0 3 3 5 13 3
Wales 6 0 2 4 5 11 2
Azerbaijan 7 0 2 5 1 17 2

Group 7Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Spain 7 3 4 0 10 2 13
Serbia & Montenegro 6 3 3 0 10 0 12
Lithuania 6 2 3 1 7 3 9
Belgium 6 2 2 2 7 7 8
Bosnia-Herzegovina 6 1 4 1 7 8 7
San Marino 7 0 0 7 2 23 0

Group 8Key
Overview | News | Analysis | Matches
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Croatia 6 5 1 0 16 3 16
Sweden 6 5 0 1 23 2 15
Hungary 6 3 1 2 9 11 10
Bulgaria 6 2 2 2 11 11 8
Iceland 7 1 1 5 10 18 4
Malta 7 0 1 6 2 26 1

yeah, but you have to play at England, which is likely a loss for Poland.

but if they finish second, they'll get in the playoff for the second-place teams (i think).

I follow Italy (have friends there) and was happy to hear that Lippi is finally going to stop playing scrubs against countries I Azzurri should beat by 3 goals... going to start playing the regular starters.

that's how the FIFA world rankings are such a joke...

a)you get teams like the US who play weak competition and become overrated (the USA is a decent team but no way are they better than England, Italy, Spain, etc.)

b)you get great teams like Italy who sit their starters and get ties or even losses against teams they'd cream if they put their best 11 on the pitch.

yeah, but you have to play at England, which is likely a loss for Poland.

but if they finish second, they'll get in the playoff for the second-place teams (i think).

If they finish second Poland still have a chance for the cup

Great idea in makin this thread my friend Frangland I once had a simular one but I like this one better great work

Wow, Americans who are interested in European football! I thought they didn't exist!

Lol good one