The World’s Top Five Soccer Clubs: Jan. 1, 2023
Two English teams, one German, one Spanish, and one Italian (not in that order) make up this year’s inaugural ranking…
It’s been a long time since we put together one of these rankings. Too long. But with a new year come new priorities — and keeping this blog-come-substack humming is among them! As part of this newfound priority, we will of course have to do regular rankings. Once upon a time this was much more ambitious with 25 clubs. Good memories. But those were different times.
How the ranking works
At the risk of mentioning the obvious: this entire ranking is by its very nature subjective. We are simply comparing the best teams in Europe across all competitions and trying to come up with a ranking. Yes, Europe. Other regions in the world have storied clubs with storied histories and passionate fan bases, but we can all agree that none of them pose any threat to the top sides in Europe. So we compiled records, tracked key matches, crunched a lot of numbers, watched a lot of games and highlights.
Continental competition is important, though a spot in the Champions League is not required. ‘Quality of competition’ is vital, as is the overall look and feel of the team’s performance. Like we said, subjective.
Anyway, not all leagues are back after the World Cup break quite yet. The German Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A are the main ones that have yet to return to action. But that still leaves the English Premiership, Spanish Liga, and French Ligue Un. Three out of the ‘big five’ is enough for us to take a look at where things stand.
Honorable Mentions
Speaking of the French league: A quick spoiler right off the bat. No French clubs are found here this week. Sorry Paris St. Germain supporters. You’re still in the running, especially if you advance in the Champions League.
Other clubs that didn’t make the list this week but were close include Barcelona, AC Milan, and Benfica.
Well then, let’s get to the rankings, shall we?
The Top 5 Clubs in Ascending Order
5. Arsenal
Record: 18-2-1
Key wins (league matches unless otherwise identified): Liverpool, Chelsea
Key losses: Man United, PSV Eindhoven (EL)
Upcoming fixtures of interest: Host Man Utd on Jan. 22, Man City on Feb. 15.
It’s hard to deny Arsenal’s class this season. Gunners started the season with five straight league victories and have yet to look back. Granted the Europa League is not the Champions League (or even close) and the league schedule was quite friendly in the early going. You figure Arsenal will get tested before too long — or certainly by Feb. 15 when they host Man City. Gunners have started seasons strong before only to implode after the calendar turned, if not before. But Mikel Arteta’s men are playing beautifully and are worthy members of the Top 5, with the caveat that the ranking committee will be unforgiving should Arsenal slip up with their easy schedule.
4. Real Madrid
Record: 17-3-2
Key wins: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, RB Leipzig (UCL), Eintracht Frankfurt (UEFA Super Cup)
Key losses: RB Leipzig (UCL)
Upcoming fixtures of interest: Visit fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao on Jan. 22. Host third-placed Real Sociedad on Jan. 29. Face Liverpool in the UCL elimination round. First game: March 15 at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid have won when they needed to this season and topped their Champions League group rather easily. It was admittedly not the most difficult group, with Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic rounding out the quartet, but still. Real’s league form has been very good, including key wins against Barca and at Atlético. A loss at Rayo Vallecano (yeah, no clue) on Nov. 7 was their lone blemish and they actually sit second behind Barca if only on goal difference. Real have the look of a good team. How good will be determined. If they can’t get past a Liverpool side who sit sixth in the Premiership, then they probably don’t have any business in this list.
3. Manchester City
Record: 16-5-3
Key wins: Dortmund (UCL), Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea
Key losses: Liverpool (twice, including the Community Shield)
Upcoming fixtures of interest: Visit Chelsea Thursday and Old Trafford Jan. 14. The clash with Arsenal looms on Feb. 15 at the Emirates.
Man City bossed their Champions League group with 14 points from six matches and face RB Leipzig in the elimination round. The dominance has been similar in the Premiership where they have just two losses (a home loss to Brentford back on Nov. 12 was the non-Liverpool one). Not good enough for first place in the Prem however, which is the one blemish on their record. Yesterday saw a disappointing 1-1 draw with Everton that leave them seven points adrift. This hurt their ranking for sure, as they otherwise might have been second. Erling Haaland & Co. still have time to overcome that however. Will this be the year Man City finally break through in the Champions League? Stay tuned…
2. Napoli
Record: 18-2-1
Key wins: Liverpool (UCL), at Lazio, at AC Milan
Key losses: At Liverpool (UCL)
Upcoming fixtures of interest: Visit Inter Milan Wednesday. Host Juventus on Jan. 13. Face Eintracht in the UCL elimination round with the first game at Frankfurt on Feb. 21
Go ahead and scoff, but Napoli’s one defeat this year came at Anfield when they had effectively wrapped up first place in the group already. That leaves Luciano Spalletti’s squad with a formidable record and solid eight point lead atop the Serie A table. Good enough to be ranked the second-best soccer club in the world at present, says us. These are exciting times in the Partenope. Led by 21-year old Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli are seeking to capture their first scudetto title since 1990. Who knows, maybe there could be continental glory as well? Besides their Georgian phenom (acquired last summer from Rubin Kazan for $10 million. Talk about a coup), the Ciuciarelli have 24-year old Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen (nine goals in 11 Serie A matches this season) and Cameroon’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa in central midfield. (As an aside, the names on this Napoli squad are not easy on spellers). This is otherwise a pretty veteran team, with 31-year old Mario Rui, 28-year old Slovak Stanislav Lobotoka, and 28-year old Piotr Zielinski the main contributors.
1. Bayern Munich
Record: 17-4-1
Key wins: Barcelona (2x, UCL), Inter Milan (2x, UCL), Freiburg
Upcoming fixtures of interest: Visit third-placed RB Leipzig on Jan. 20. Host fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Jan. 28. UCL Clash with Paris Saint-Germain (first leg Feb. 14).
Bayern’s lone loss came at Augsburg back on Sept. 17. They ran the table in a tough UCL Group and finished with six wins, no losses, no ties. They only have a four-point lead over second-placed Freiburg in the German Bundesliga. How many times in a row have Bayern won this competition now? Seven? More? Anyway it is hard to argue with putting Bayern at number one here as their record domestically and in Europe speaks for itself. Barcelona may have bowed out of the Champions League already but they top the table in Spain (on goal difference, but still). PSG should be a very good test and there is still an outside shot that somebody will upset them in the Bundesliga.