Europa-East: football rankings

     The concept of ranking teams is very foreign to many (associate) football supporters.  The system is widely used in American collegiate sports where most teams (schools) do not play each other during the course of the regular season.  The way football (soccer) is set up, there is no need for a system to arbitrarily compare teams even on the continent-wide level.  Knock-out competitions like the UEFA Champions League serve efficiently to determine club hierarchy of Europe.
     Since the break-up of the Soviet Union its been difficult to compare the growth of football in Eastern Europe.  Occasional meetings in European competitions serves as a poor barometer for such a diverse region.  The two main countries in question are Ukraine and Russia.  For years football fans and analysts compared teams from both countries based on their European campaigns.  In recent years there have been talks of a combined cup or even a league, but at this point these progressive projects remain just that.  The caveat of these types of competitions is the renewed rivalries that were put on hold in the early 90s.  A few years ago a popular Russian TV channel organized a mini tournament between top teams from both countries during the mid-season (pre-season in Russia) campaign in Israel.  The tournament proved popular among the fans and lasted for three seasons.  The tournament was canceled in 2009 due to financial obligations and closeness to the spring European campaign.
     Since the level and popularity of the game is growing in Eastern Europe, I though it would be interesting to create a ranking system for the region.  The rankings will be updated weekly when domestic campaigns resume in the spring.  The ranking also may include teams from Belarus and Moldova, since both of these countries are tied closely to the region and both have made significant progress in Europe this fall.  The rankings will be based on a win-lose ratio.  Since both the Russian and Ukrainian leagues are similar in competitiveness, each win for a team will count equally.


Criteria for the rankings:
First, since ten teams from the region, which I will call Europa-East made it to the group stage of either the Champion League or Europa League, those teams will form the top 10 in the rankings.  FC Shakhtar Donetsk finished first in the group stage of the Champions League with 15 out of 18 points, and are the only team in the UCL play-offs, so they are ranked first.  FC Zenit follows close in second.

The main criteria for the top 25 will be the league standings at the end of 2010.  The ranking will measure top 25 clubs.

The minimum requirement for a club to be ranked is that it has to be at least in the top 12 of it's domestic competition.  Wins in European competitions will not be weighed differently since additional wins on any level will improve a team's standing.  A newly promoted side can also enter the rankings after the lower level competitions are over.  Additional criteria may be added as the season goes on.  More teams from Moldova and Belarus will be added based on a strong domestic form.

Europa-East rankings, pre-season.

1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)

3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)

4. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)

5. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

6. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)

7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)

8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL)

9. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS)

10. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR)

11. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR)

12. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS)

13. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD)

14. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR)

15. FC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR)

16. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS)

17. FC Tom Tomsk (RUS)

18. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)

19. FC Metalurgh Donetsk (UKR)

20. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR)

21. FC Terek Grozniy (RUS)

22. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR)

23. FC Zoria Lugansk (UKR)

24. FC Anzhi Makhachkala (RUS)

25. FC Kuban Krasnodar (RUS)

Additional suggestions are welcomed.

Ukrainian Football Premier League: week in review.

In the time of the year when the weather doesn't permit to train domestically, football clubs from Eastern Europe train in warmer climates.  The most popular training destination for top level clubs from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus is Turkey.  The country provides teams with numerous hotels and training fields plus plenty of teams to play friendlies against.  The affluent teams from the region choose places like Spain, UAE, or Israel.  Each of those countries usually organizes a tournament for teams training in their land.  Here is a short list of top teams from Ukrainian league and were they are currently located.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk- Spain (Copa del Sol Jan. 27-Feb. 11, 2011).

FC Dynamo Kyiv- Israel

FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk- Spain

FC Metalist Kharkiv- UAE

FC Karpaty Lviv- Spain (Copa del Sol).

FC Metalurg Donetsk- Turkey

FC Vorskla Poltava- Turkey

FC Arsenal Kyiv- Turkey

Clubs to watch in 2011.

FC Arsenal Kyiv (Premier League)

The first team continues to show good results finishing 7th in the league after 19 games and a semifinalist in the domestic cup.  With the signing of two quality players from Metalurg Zaporizhzha the club has a good chance of breaking into Europe for the first time in its history.  The major concern for the club is infrastructure: the club doesn't have a stadium for domestic games, and the contract for a training base in Shchaslyve expired in late December.

FC Zhemchuzhyna-Yalta Yalta (PFL- Persha Liga)

A new club on the block formed in December of 2010.  The team will take place of now defunct FC Feniks-Ilichevets Kalinino.  The project seems to be related to a Russian team by the same name, which was started few years ago.  The financing of the club comes abroad presumably from Russia.  Both clubs have same colors and same shirt makers.  If the club is financed to the same levels as the one in Russia, we would expect to see the team in the top devision in few years.  The club posses little infrastructure but is the only professional club from the city.  The warm climate will help the club to develop quicker since it can train at home almost all year long.

FC Sumy (PFL- Druga Liga)

After decade of uncertainty the football club in Sumy (the current one founded in 2008) finally has a bright future.  Last year the club was acquired by a local businessman who promised to turn the club around.  The city of Sumy has a good stadium build in 2001 with capacity of 25,000, which will insure strong support if the club plays in higher divisions.

Useful links:

www.ua-football.com

turnir.com.ua

terrikon.com