THE WORLD'S BEST PROGRESSIVE TEAM IN THE FIRST DECADE (2001-2010)
Picture : Silver Trophy for FC Shakhtar Donetsk at the IFFHS World Football Gala in Barcelona 2012.
THE WORLD'S BEST PROGRESSIVE TEAM IN THE FIRST DECADE (2001 - 2010) - FC SHAKHTAR DONETSK (UKRAINE)
Since the Club World Ranking only start with 1991, the continental club rankings for the 20th century had to be calculated using a different method, one which also took into account other factors and could be applied equally to all continents. Having honoured the top club of each continent for the 20th century, it appeared sensible to forget an all-time Club World Ranking and replace it with a Club World Ranking for the 21st Century Club World Ranking for that decade. which would then be expanded every year by simply adding the points each club earned in the Club World Ranking up to December 31. Thus we have a uniform system for calculating the world and the continental club rankings based on the result of every match played by each club. After ten years of the first decade of the 21st century (2001-2010), FC Barcelona topped this Club World Ranking, just 27 points ahead of FC Manchester United, and 136 ahead of the Reds of Liverpool. Arsenal came in fourth, ahead of both Milan clubs, FC Bayern München and Real Madrid CF. Chelsea FC took place 9 just before CA Boca Juniors BuenosAires, the first non-European club to place 10.
An outstanding question was which club had developed most on global level - towards end of the 20th century - and has progressed most in the top group of the Club World Ranking of the 1st Decade of the 21st Century. The World‘s best promoted Team of the 1st Decade is FC Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainian team with its long-standing Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu was not placed in the 20th century rankings for European clubs but catapulted to the 24th place in the Club World Ranking of the 1st Decade. In this category two Spanish clubs follow: Villarreal CF from the same 20th Century starting point achieved only 65,5 points fewer than Donetsk in the period 2001-2010, and took 28th place. It is also remarkable that Sevilla FC improved from 192nd place in the European club ranking of the 20th century to 21st place in the Club World Ranking of the 1st Decade of the 21st Century.
FC Barcelona was honoured as the World‘s Club of the 1st Decade at the occasion of the World Football Gala 2012 with a certificate and a golden trophy, and FC Shakhtar Donetsk, as the World‘s best Progressive Team of the 1st Decade, with a silver trophy.
