best world cup nations of all time!

ok, let's take a little break from club football. after a comprehensive statistical data gathering of all world cups, i will now countdown the top 32 fifa world cup nations of all time. the numerical breakdown will follow this sequence of six numbers:

world cup participations - 2nd round qualifications - top 8 finish - top 4 finish - finalist - world cup championships

32. Croatia & Turkey 3-1-1-1-0-0

31. Scotland 9-0-0-0-0-0

29. Republic of Ireland & Denmark 3-3-1-0-0-0

28. Northern Ireland 3-2-2-0-0-0

27. Peru 4-2-2-0-0-0

26. Paraguay 7-3-0-0-0-0

25. Korea Republic 7-1-1-1-0-0

24. Romania 7-3-1-0-0-0

23. Bulgaria 7-2-1-1-0-0

22. Chile 7-2-1-1-0-0

21. Portugal 4-2-2-2-0-0

20. United States 8-3-2-1-0-0

19. Switzerland 8-5-3-0-0-0

18. Poland 7-4-3-2-0-0

17. Belgium 11-5-2-1-0-0

16. Austria 8-4-4-2-0-0

15. Mexico 13-6-2-0-0-0

14. Soviet Union 7-6-5-1-0-0

13. Czecheslovakia 8-4-4-2-2-0

12. Yugoslavia 9-7-6-2-0-0

11. Netherlands 8-6-4-3-2-0

10. Hungary 9-6-5-2-2-0

9. Spain 12-8-6-1-0-0

8. Sweden 11-8-6-4-1-0

7. France 10-6-6-5-2-1

6. Uruguay 10-7-5-4-2-2

5. England 12-10-9-2-1-1

4. Argentina 14-10-9-4-4-2

3. Italy 16-11-9-8-6-4

2. Germany 16-15-15-11-7-3

1. Brazil 18-15-14-10-7-5

the top two, brazil and germany, are isolated from the rest. both qualified from initial group stages or first round 15 times, germany in only 16 attempts. germany has reached the top 8 and the top 4 once more than brazil, respecively, but the southamericans have won 5 out of 7 finals, germany only 3 out of seven. italy won four out of six finals, but only reached a total of 8 semifinals and 9 quarter finals, which is six shy of germany.

Manchester United are the best team in Champions League History!

there certainly have been quite a few changes in the continental tournaments over the year. if a few decades ago, nine matches was enough to be European Champions, in 2002 you needed almost twice the number of games. the modus has changed constantly, and even some names: from inter-fairs cup to uefa cup to europa league, and from european (champions) cup to champions league. by the way, this might have been the most significant change, the founding of the UEFA Champions League in 1992. since then, a new time has arrived for european football, mostly in marketing and importance. this is why we will have a quick countdown of the best 32 clubs of the Champions League era. 32, because this is the number of teams who are allowed to play the group stage. in this ranking, only results in the eighteen Champions League seasons counted. you might be surprised...

32. Steaua Bucaresti (Romania)

seven times in the Champions League, four of them in the best sixteen (currently Round of 16).

31. RSC Anderlecht (Belgium)

nine times in the Champions League, out of 18 seasons; not bad, with a top 8 finish in 1994.

30. IFK Göteborg (Sweden)

five appearences in the CL, the last one in the 97/98 season; but on top 4 finish in 93, and a top 8 finish in 94.

29. Olympique Marseille (France)

only six times in the CL, but they won the very first one in 1993.

28. Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)

nine times in the CL, but none better than a top 16 finish (four times, last one in 2004).

27. AS Roma (Italy)

the 2001/02 was the first for the romans, but six appearences since then, and two quarterfinals (2007 and 2008).

26. Deportivo La Coruña (Spain)

five seasons in a row from 2000/01 to 2004/05, one semifinal and two quarterfinals.

25. Olympiakos Piräus (Greece)

twelve out of eighteen seasons in the Champions League, but only one quarterfinal finish.

24. Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

six times in the League, one final in 2002, another quarterfinal.

23. Spartak Moscow (Russia)

nine times in the CL, two times a top 8 finish.

22. Glasgow Rangers (Scotland)

eleven times in the League, one top 4 finish; another three times Top 16.

21. Rosenborg BK (Norway)

twelve times in the CL, last time in the 2007/08 season; once in the Top 8, hasn't been Top 16 since 2000.

20. Panathinaikos Athens (Greece)

nine times in the CL, a semifinal in 1996. 2002, Top 8 status.

19. Galatasaray Istanbul (Turkey)

ten times in the League, twice in the Top 8.

18. AS Monaco (France)

only five times in the League, but three of them in the Top 4, and one lost final in 2004.

17. Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Champions in 1997, one other semifinal and one other quarterfinal - in only six appearences.

16. Valencia FC (Spain)

Six appearences, two times finalist in the first two tries. since then, two quarterfinals.

15. PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

thirteen out of eighteen Leagues, they always seem to be there. one semifinal, two quarterfinals.

14. Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

they only missed two Leagues, but they only reached the semifinal once (1999) and the quarterfinal another time (1998).

13. Olympique Lyon (France)

ten seasons in the League, and in a row. first time semifinal this year, three times quarterfinals before that.

12. Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands)

eight times in the League, five less than PSV; but one title, one final, one semifinal and one quarterfinal.

11. Liverpool FC (England)

also only eight times in the League (less than half), but those are in the last nine years; one historical title in 2005, one final in 2007, one semifinal in 2008, and two more quaterfinals.

10. Internazionale Milan (Italy)

nine times in the League, and first title this year; only one other semifinal, and three additional quarterfinals.

9. Chelsea FC (England)

eight times in the League, the last seven in a row. quarterfinals six times, semifinals five times, but only one final and no title yet.

8. Arsenal FC (England)

twelve times in the League, and all of those in a row. six of those with advances to the quarterfinals (the last three in a row), in one of them the semifinal was the end, in the another, the final - so no titles here, too.

7. FC Porto (Portugal)

fifteen times in the League, with one title in 2004, one more top 4 finish, and four additional quarterfinals.

6. Juventus Turin (Italy)

twelve times in the League, and into the quarterfinals in seven of those (none since 2006). four finals for Juve, but only one title and three times heartbreak. one additional semifinal appearance means that Juve reached the semis five times.

5. Bayern München (Germany)

thirteen times in the CL, five semifinals, three finals, but only one win in 2001.

4. Real Madrid (Spain)

fourteen times in the CL, five semifinals (last in 2003), three finals - all of them won! but no quarterfinals since 2004.

3. FC Barcelona (Spain)

fifteen times in the CL, seven semifinals, three finals, two titles - not bad at all!

2. AC Milan (Italy)

thirteen times in the CL, seven semifinals, six finals (more than anyone else), three of them victorious!

1. Manchester United (England)

sixteen out of eighteen seasons in the League, eleven times in the quarterfinals, six of them in the semifinals; three finals, two titles.

97: FC BASEL

FC Basel was founded a good 117 years ago. it is one of the most important clubs in swiss football's history, and currently the most financially potent. before the 1973/74 season, the club had had seven seasons of quite to very unsuccessful runs in the continental tournaments, so it was quite a surprise to see them beat belgian tradicionals and champions Clube Brugge in Round of 16 of the European Champions Cup. The 1x2 loss in belgium was reverted with an impressive and historical 6x4 home win. in the quarterfinals, though, scottish giants Celtic proved to be too much. the 3x2 home win in the city boardering france and germany was equalized with a 2x3 in glasgow. Celtic scored another one in extra time and qualified.

it took almost 30 years for the club to leave a lasting mark again. ironically, it was a matchup against Celtic, now only light favorites, that started the season in 2002. the third qualifying round of the Champions League was on, and Basel suffered a 1x3 defeat in scotland. but that away goal by Gimenez was important: the team, with the Yakin brothers and Rossi in the starting lineup, eliminated Hendrik Larsson's Celtic with a 2x0 win and finally was in the group stage of the Champions League for the first time.

Rossi and Hakan Yakin scored the goals in their first match against Spartak Moscow, the 2x0 cause euphoria in Basel. but the two strongest opponents, Liverpool FC and Valencia FC, were still to come. hernan rossi scored an equalizer at anfield, and with the 1x1 tie in england, Basel continued second in the group. but they lost that spot after a 2x6 thrashing by Valencia, at the time coached by Rafa Benitez. Basel was able to tie the return game 2x2, but would have to beat both Spartak and Liverpool to still advance to the second group phase. it worked out in moscow, with goals from their argentinian strikers Rossi and Gimenez, and Michael Owen's 3x3 equalizer five minutes from the end wasn't enough for Liverpool after losing again to Valencia - Basel were in the top 16!

at the time, a second group phase was played, and the competition seemed overwhelming: Manchester United with Van Nistelrooy, Barthez and Giggs; Deportivo La Coruña with Roy Makaay and Capdevila; and Juventus Turin, with Buffon, Del Piero, Thuram, Edgar Davids and Pavel Nedved. any chance for (now) star coach Christian Gross and his men? Giménez scored the fastest goal in Champions League history in the first match at home, against Manchester United, but Van Nistelrooy's two goals helped the brits win 3x1. In Turin, 0x4, with goals from Trezeguet and Del Piero. finally, february 19, a 1x0 win over Deportivo to keep up the hope. but the loss in spain settled it, Basel were out. they did manage an impressive tie at the old trafford, and they beat Juve 2x1 with a goal in overtime. it was still an exciting season and a good job by the swiss underdogs.

in the 2005/06 season, the swiss now in europe every year, Christian Gross was even more successful. although it didn't look like it: FC Basel once again played the Champions League qualifiers and beat germans Werder Bremen 2x1 at home - it was not enough, since Werder beat them 3x0 in the Weserstadion. so it was UEFA Cup for them, and the team was quite fine: Mladen Petric, today at Hamburg, was the star, together with Julio Hernan Rossi, hero from that 2002/03 season. Basel qualified for the group phase easily, and the group seemed doable: Racing Strasbourg, Tromso, Red Star Belgrade - and Roma, the favorites. but the matches started with a shock: 0x2 loss at home to Strasbourg, and Basel were almost written off the top 3 already. by the way, Boka, from the Ivory Coast, scored the second goal; he plays for Stuttgart and will play his second world cup this season. Rossi and Delgado scored, though, for an imporatn away win in Belgrade. Basel beat tough norwegian team Tromso after coming back from 1x3 down with a 4x3, so even the 1x3 loss in Roma wasn't enough to eliminate the swiss team.

Basel were now to play AS Monaco in the round of 32, a team that had Maicon (current European Champion with Internazionale) and veteran striker from italy, Christian Vieri. 1x0 at home, 1x1 in monte carlo, round of 16 was reached! Basel now were to play Strasbourg once again (Roma also were still in the running), and this time they beat the french 2x0, with the second goal scored by Kuzmanovic, today a starter in Serbia's national team and playing for VfB Stuttgart, same club where Christian Gross is now coaching. this was enough to get to european quarterfinals for the first time since 1974. there, they managed a 2x0 against the english club Middlesbrough, where two-time European Cup finalist Gaizka Mendieta played alongside dutch striker Jimmy Hasselbaink. Steve McLaren was their coach, even before his spell as English Team manager. and they did come back, even after being 0x1 down at home: the fourth goal came in the last minute, and the 4x1 ended Basel's european dream traumatically.

FC Basel has been in the Champions League since, and even beat FC Barcelona 1x0 in the Nou Camp this 2009/10 season - but they are still searching for some real european glory. 21 seasons in Europe, though, make them a quite well established brand.

the sixties: Eusebio's Benfica rules Europe!

here is a look back at the 60s, the first full decade in european football. Real Madrid dominated the five seasons in the 50s, but after then, the competitiveness was at a much higher level. have a look at this top 30 countdown of the decade. some great clubs like Arsenal FC (56th) and Bayern München (31st) are not in the list.

30. Partizan Belgrade (YUG) - European Cup finalist 1966

29. Borussia Dortmund (GER) - Cup Winner's Cup champions 1966

28. Liverpool FC (ENG) - 2 semifinals in Champions Cup

27. Ujpesti Dosza (HUN) - finalist in 1969 Inter-Fairs Cup

26. Gornik Zabrze (POL) - runners up in Cup Winner's Cup 1970

25. AS Roma (ITA) - Inter-Fairs Cup 1961 champions

24. Hamburger SV (GER) - Cup Winner's Cup 1967 finalist

23. Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) - Cup Winner's Cup champions 1963

22. Standard Liege (BEL) - European Cup semifinalist 1962

21. Rapid Vienna (AUT) - European Cup semifinalist 1961

20. Ajax Amsterdam (NED) - European Cup runners-up 1969

19. RSC Anderlecht (BEL) - Inter-Fairs Cup 1970 finalist

18. Juventus Turin (ITA) - European Cup semifinalist 1968

17. Real Zaragoza (SPA) - Inter-Fairs Cup champions 1964

16. AC Fiorentina (ITA) - Cup Winners Cup champions 1961

15. Feyenoord Rotterdam (NED) - European Champions 1970

14. Ferencvaros Budapest (HUN) - Inter-Fairs Cup Champions 1965

13. Valencia FC (SPA) - Champions and defending champions of Inter-Fairs Cup 1962 and 1963

12. Dukla Prague (CZE) - European Cup semifinalist 1967

11. Dinamo Zagreb (YUG) - Inter-Fairs Cup champions 1967

and here, the top ten of europe in the 60s:

10. Leeds United (ENG)

great last half of the decade, including an Inter-Fairs Cup win in 1968 and a semifinal in the Champions Cup in 1970

9. Atletico Madrid (SPA)

they won the Cup Winner's Cup in 1962, and almost defended their title in 1963, losing in the final.

8. Glasgow Rangers (SCO)

lost the 1961 Cup Winner's Cup final to Fiorentina, and the same tournament final in 1967 to Bayern München.

7. FC Barcelona (SPA)

European Cup finalist in 1961, Barca won a trophy in 1966: Inter Fairs Cup. they were also runners-up of the 1969 Cup Winner's Cup competition.

6. Manchester United (ENG)

European Champions 1968, semifinalists 1966 and 1969.

5. Celtic Glasgow (SCO)

European Champions 1967 and runners-up in 1970.

4. AC Milan (ITA)

European Champions in 1963 and 1969, they also lifted the trophy in the Cup Winner's Cup 1968 competition.

3. Internazionale Milan (ITA)

two-time champions of europe in 1964 and defending in 1965, Inter reached the semifinal in 1966 and another final in 1967. it was an era!

2. Real Madrid (SPA)

not number one? but still, quite successful: 1966 European champions, finalist in 1962 and 1964.

1. Benfica Lisbon (POR)

Eusebio & Co were the best side in the sixties: European champions in 1960 and 1961, they reached the final three more times: 1963 and 1965, losing to the teams from Milan, and 1968 losing to Manchester's historical side. still, the best in the decade!

98: ASTON VILLA

it took Aston Villa more than a 100 years of history to play their first european match. founded in 1874, the club woke up to europe way later then their fierce local rivals, Birmingham City. until 1910, Villa had six english titles to their belt, but after that, the drought was long.

in the 1977/78 season, the club first appeared in europe - and eliminated Fenerbahce Istanbul with two wins and a 6x0 aggregate scoreline in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Villa made it to the quarterfinals after eliminating spanish traditionals Atheltic Bilbao, but then lost to spanish giants FC Barcelona in a tight 3x4 aggregate. still, Aston Villa now wanted more.

and they would get more: in 1981, the club celebrated their seventh english title, the first and only one in the modern era. it was their one and only chance to play the Champions Cup. first round icelandic champs were no match, and Aston, although only in their second season in Europe, were one of the favorites - although defending champions Liverpool FC were seen as the even bigger favorites. Aston Villa beat Dynamo Berlin, from east germany, 2x1 away, but were almost eliminated at home after losing 0x1. in the quarterfinals, soviet powerhouse Dynamo Kiev were eliminated by the brits, after a dull 0x0 draw at home and a 0x2 loss in Aston, birmingham. Liverpool were eliminated at the hands of bulgarian champs CSKA Sofia, so now they greatest competition seemed to be Bayern Munich, with world stars Karlheinz Rummenigge and Paul Breitner. in the semifinals, Aston Villa were able to eliminate the belgians from RSC Anderlecht, at the time one of the top clubs in europe, once again without suffering a goal.

the final against Bayern Munich was played in Rotterdam, and the germans, three-time winners, were favorite after reaching their fourth final ever. but Peter Withe gave Aston the title after his goal in the 67th minute - and Aston Villa was the European Champion 1982!

next season, the holders attempted to defend their title and had no problems with turkish champions Besiktas in the first round. but after defeating romanians Dinamo Bucharest in the quarterfinals, a Juventus Turin side with Michel Platini and Paolo Rossi beat Villa twice, the european dream was over.

since then, Aston Villa has been present in europe only nine other times, and only in the 97/98 season they left anything resembling a mark. in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup, a 0x0 was achieved at Girondins Bordeaux, who had been finalists in the 95/96 season. at home, the winning goal only came in overtime. against spaniards Bilbao, a 0x0 was achieved once again, away. at home, the 2x1 victory saw the british team through to the round of 16, were they went to bucaresti to play Steaua, away. and they came back with a 1x2 loss, which they were able to revert with a 2x0 win at home. but the run came to an end against Atletico Madrid - the 0x1 loss in spain was answered with a 2x1 win at home, but the away goal rule played against Aston Villa.

some great players have played in the Villa park: Peter Schmeichel, one season at the club after his Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon spells, is the greatest name. currently, Brad Friedel (US keeper), James Milner (will represent England this World Cup), John Carew (Norwegian legend) and Emile Heskey (ex-England team attacker) defend the team.