IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organization recognized by FIFA[1][2] that chronicles the history and records of Association football.[3] It was founded on 27 March 1984 at Leipzig (Germany) by Dr. Alfredo Pöge with the blessings of general secretary of the governing body of world-wide football at the time, Dr. Helmut Käser.[3] The IFFHS was based at Al-Muroor Street 147, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) for some time but has recently been relocated to Bonn, Germany.[4]
During its early stages, and through the years until 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing quarterly magazines like Fußball-Weltzeitschrift, Libero spezial deutsch, and Libero international[5]. When these had to be discontinued for reasons which were not officially told, the organisation took to publishing their material in a series of multi-lingual books in co-operation with sponsors.[6] They have now confined their publishing activities to their website, receiving logistical support from FIFA.[6]
A large number of well-known journalists and statistics experts have contributed to Weltzeitschrift and Libero. The former include Colin José[7][failed verification] and Karl-Heinz Jens[8], among others. The magazines´ back issues can still be obtained through internet sources.
Club World Ranking
Since 1991, the entity has produced a monthly Club World Ranking.
The ranking takes into consideration the results of twelve months of continental and intercontinental competitions, national league matches (including play-offs) and the most important national cup (excluding points won before the round of 16).
All countries are rated at four levels based upon the national league performance—clubs in the highest level leagues receive 4 points for each match won, 2 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. Level 2 is assigned 3 pts. (win), 1.5 (draw) and 0 (lost), and so on with the next lower levels.
In continental competitions, all clubs receive the same number of points at all stages regardless of the performance level of their leagues. However, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores yield more points than UEFA Europa League and Copa Sudamericana, respectively. The point assignment system is still lower for the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC continental tournaments. Competitions between two continents are evaluated depending upon their importance. Competitions not organized by a continental confederation, or any intercontinental events not recognized by FIFA, are not taken into consideration.
Criteria
| Competition | Points for a win | Points for a draw |
|---|---|---|
| National Leagues in Level 4 | 4.00 | 2.00 |
| National Leagues in Level 3 | 3.00 | 1.50 |
| National Leagues in Level 2 | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| National Leagues in Level 1 | 1.00 | 0.50 |
| Competition | Points for a win | Points for a draw |
|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 14.0 | 7.0 |
| UEFA Europa League | 12.0 | 6.0 |
| Copa Libertadores | 14.0 | 7.0 |
| Copa Sudamericana | 12.0 | 6.0 |
| CAF Champions League | 9.0 | 4.5 |
| CAF Cup | 7.0 | 3.5 |
| AFC Champions League | 9.0 | 4.5 |
| AFC Cup | 7.0 | 3.5 |
| CONCACAF Champions League | 9.0 | 4.5 |
| FIFA Club World Cup (semi-finals) | 14.0 | 7.0 |
| FIFA Club World Cup (final)[10] | 21.0 | 10.5 |
Current ranking
Last updated on: 2 August 2010 - Current Standings
The World's Club Team of the Year
The following table shows the clubs that finished top of the ranking for each year since 1991:[11]
- 1991 -
Roma[12] - 1992 -
Ajax [13] - 1993 - Juventus[14]
- 1994 -
Paris Saint-Germain [15] - 1995 - Milan [16]
- 1996 - Juventus [17]
- 1997 -
Barcelona [18] - 1998 - Internazionale [19]
- 1999 -
Manchester United [20] - 2000 - Real Madrid [21]
- 2001 - Liverpool [22]
- 2002 - Real Madrid [23]
- 2003 - Milan [24]
- 2004 - Valencia [25]
- 2005 - Liverpool [26]
- 2006 - Sevilla [27]
- 2007 - Sevilla [28]
- 2008 - Manchester United [29]
- 2009 - Barcelona [30]
IFFHS recognised these clubs as The World's Club Team of the Year.[11]
The World's Club Team of the Month
In the same case of the The World's Club Team of the Year, since January 2000 IFFHS recognizes those teams that have the greatest performance in the world during a month as The World's Club Team for the Month.[31]
All-Time Club World Ranking
The All-time Club World Ranking is determined by taking into account all the results of the national championships, the national cup competitions, the club competitions of the six continental confederations and the Intercontinental Cup (defunct), which was replaced by the FIFA Club World Cup. It is therefore only possible to determine an All-time Club World Ranking from 1 January 1991, when the Club World Ranking began taking all these details into consideration.
The All-time Club World Rankings are updated annually. For this ranking the IFFHS takes into consideration the "Top 50 Clubs" on the Club World Ranking at 31 December of each year, and awards them points from 50 points for the top club down to 1 point for the club in the 50th place. Adding the points from individual years for each club provides the All-time Club World Ranking (shown below).
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Barcelona
|
807 |
| 2 |  Manchester United
|
726 |
| 3 | Real Madrid
|
633 |
 Juventus
|
633 | |
| 5 | Milan
|
620 |
| 6 | Internazionale
|
605 |
| 7 |  Bayern Munich
|
599 |
| 8 | Arsenal
|
594 |
| 9 |  River Plate
|
503 |
| 10 | Chelsea
|
491 |
| 11 | Liverpool
|
455 |
| 12 |  Porto
|
447 |
| 13 | Roma
|
445 |
| 14 |  Ajax
|
421 |
| 15 | Boca Juniors
|
420 |
| 16 | Valencia
|
398 |
| 17 | Parma
|
373 |
| 18 |  São Paulo
|
368 |
| 19 |  Rangers
|
364 |
| 20 | Lazio
|
342 |
| 21 |  Lyon
|
339 |
| 22 | Atlético Madrid
|
319 |
| 23 | Werder Bremen
|
317 |
| 24 | Borussia Dortmund
|
285 |
| 25 | Paris Saint-Germain
|
284 |
Last updated 21 January 2010 - Current Standings
Continental Clubs of the 20th Century
On 2009 the entity has released the results of a statistical study which determined the best continental clubs of the twentieth century.[32] That ranking has not considered the performance of the teams in national football tournaments (except in the Oceania's club ranking due to limited editions held under OFC club competitions), the performance in the intercontinental or world-wide club competitions or those submitted in the IFFHS Club World Ranking, available since 1991.[33]
Based on this statistical study series, Spain's Real Madrid, Uruguay's Peñarol, Ghana's Asante Kotoko, Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, Costa Rica's Saprissa and Australia's South Melbourne were named as "continental clubs of the century" by the IFFHS between 10 September and 13 October 2009. These clubs were awarded with a golden trophy and a certificate during the World Football Gala celebrated at Fulham, London (England) on 11 May 2010.[34][35]
Strongest National League in the World
Rankings 1991–2009
| Year | Pos. | League | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,382.5 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,069.0 | |
| 3 | Premier League
|
1,059.0 | |
| 1992 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,342.5 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,145.5 | |
| 3 | Eredivisie
|
941.5 | |
| 1993 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,577.5 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,171.0 | |
| 3 | Bundesliga
|
1,046.5 | |
| 1995 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,345.0 |
| 2 | Division 1
|
1,067.5 | |
| 3 | La Liga
|
1,030.0 | |
| 1996 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,119.0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,037.0 | |
| 3 | Division 1
|
1,008.0 | |
| 1997 | 1 | Bundesliga
|
1,209.0 |
| 2 | Serie A
|
1,181.0 | |
| 3 | La Liga
|
1,120.0 | |
| 1998 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,276.0 |
| 2 | Campeonato Brasileiro
|
1,198.0 | |
| 3 | La Liga
|
1,096.0 | |
| 1999 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,163.0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,145.0 | |
| 3 | Premier League
|
1,134.0 | |
| 2000 | 1 | La Liga
|
1,215.0 |
| 2 | Premier League
|
1,116.0 | |
| 3 | Serie A
|
1,051.0 | |
| 2001 | 1 | La Liga
|
1,267.0 |
| 2 | Premier League
|
1,176.0 | |
| 3 | Serie A
|
1,013.0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | La Liga
|
1,209.0 |
| 2 | Premier League
|
1,183.0 | |
| 3 | Serie A
|
1,119.0 | |
| 2003 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,180.0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,107.0 | |
| 3 | Premier League
|
1,052.0 | |
| 2004 | 1 | La Liga
|
1,189.0 |
| 2 | Premier League
|
1,184.0 | |
| 3 | Serie A
|
1,010.0 | |
| 2005 | 1 | Premier League
|
1,207.0 |
| 2 | Serie A
|
1,137.0 | |
| 3 | Ligue 1
|
995.0 | |
| 2006 | 1 | Serie A
|
1,182.0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,168.0 | |
| 3 | Premier League
|
1,125.0 | |
| 2007 | 1 | Premier League
|
1,171.0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,074.0 | |
| 3 | Serie A
|
1,027.0 | |
| 2008 | 1 | Premier League
|
1,192.0 |
| 2 | Serie A
|
1,031.0 | |
| 3 | Primera División Argentina
|
1,020.0 | |
| 2009 | 1 | Premier League
|
1,187.0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1,077.0 | |
| 3 | Bundesliga
|
1,031.0 |
Last updated 5 January 2010 - Rankings 1991–2009
Lastest rankings
| Position | League | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Premier League
|
1187,0 |
| 2 | La Liga
|
1077,0 |
| 3 | Fußball-Bundesliga
|
1031,0 |
| 4 | Série A
|
941,0 |
| 5 | Serie A
|
920,0 |
| 6 | Ligue 1
|
899,0 |
| 7 | Primera División
|
838,0 |
| 8 | Eredivisie
|
799,0 |
| 9 |  Ukrainian Premier League
|
746,5 |
| 10 |  Süper Lig
|
691,5 |
| 11 |  Liga I
|
673,5 |
| 12 | Portuguese Liga
|
656,5 |
| 13 |  Super League Greece
|
625,5 |
| 14 |  Belgian First Division
|
621,0 |
| 15 |  Primera División
|
610,0 |
| 16 |  Primera División
|
579,0 |
 Primera División
|
579,0 | |
| 18 |  Gambrinus liga
|
545,0 |
| 19 |  Austrian Bundesliga
|
544,5 |
| 20 |  Russian Premier League
|
525,0 |
| 21 |  Primera División
|
522,0 |
| 22 |  Israeli Premier League
|
516,0 |
| 23 |  Serie A
|
509,0 |
| 24 |  Primera División
|
504,0 |
| 25 |  Danish Superliga
|
484,0 |
| 26 | Scottish Premier League
|
482,0 |
| 27 |  Primera A
|
473,0 |
| 28 |  J. League
|
460,0 |
| 29 |  Swiss Super League
|
458,0 |
| 30 |  Nigerian Premier League
|
440,5 |
Last updated 5 January 2010 - Current Standings
World's Most Popular Footballer
- 2006 – Steven Gerrard – 47,464 votes
- 2007 –
Mohamed Aboutrika – 1,017,786 votes - 2008 – Mohamed Aboutrika – 301,837 votes
- 2009 –
Carlos Pavón – 195,182 votes
Since 2006 the IFFHS has given an award to the world's most popular football player, which is selected based on online user votes, which are cast on the IFFHS website. Liverpool player Steven Gerrard notched the first title.[36]
In 2007, the IFFHS provided a list of 55 candidates from all six continents. A total of 2,946,740 votes were cast and the winner of the voting was Mohamed Aboutrika who plays for Al-Ahly and the Egypt national football team.[37]
For 2008, the IFFHS drew up a list of 100 currently active players from 58 countries in all six football continents from which votes were cast until 3 January 2009. Finally, after all the votes were counted, Mohamed Aboutrika was selected as the world's most popular football player for the second year in a row.[38]
On 19 October 2009, the IFFHS open the voting for the 2009 "world's most popular football player award". The candidates consisted of 115 currently active players from 68 countries in all six football continents. Votes were cast at the IFFHS website until 2 January 2010 with Carlos Pavón being the winner.[39]
Criticism
In a wide range of media there is massive doubt about the significance of IFFHS rankings and elections. German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur abstains from publishing news relating to the IFFHS. Karl Lennartz, a sports historian from Cologne, Germany, calls the organization "obscure", describing it as a one man show of its chairman Alfredo Pöge[40].
References
- ^ "Does FIFA employ a ranking system for club teams similar to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking for national teams?". www.fifa.com. 2003-03-28. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ "¿Qué es la IFFHS?". El Mundo Deportivo. 2010-01-08. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
- ^ a b "The History of IFFHS". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ "International Federation of Football History & Statistics". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ A couple of former Weltzeitschrift cover pages can be looked up at
- ^ a b Rafa Jiménez, IFFHS: La calculadora del fútbol. Don Balón (1656), 9/15 julio 2007, p.50 (in spanish).
- ^ The National (U.S.) Soccer Hall of Fame´s official historian, see Colin José
- ^ Former deputy chief editor of kicker sportmagazin which he joined in 1948, and editor of Kicker-Almanach statistics annual, now retired; see kicker Dec 8th, 2008, p. 11 and also: Skrentny/Prüß, Mit der Raute im Herzen, Die große Geschichte des Hamburger SV, p. 341: Karl-Heinz Jens, Dank Schokoladen-Automaten zum HSV-Fan
- ^ a b "How the Club World Ranking is made". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ Or Intercontinental Cup from 1991 to 2005.
- ^ a b "IFFHS The World's Club Team for the Year". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
- ^ "1991 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1992 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1993 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1994 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1995 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1996 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1997 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1998 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "1999 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "2000 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "2001 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "2002 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "2003 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "2004 (Top 25)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Top 25 (2005)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Top 25 (2006)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Top 25 (2007)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Top 25 (2008)". IFFHS. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ ""Barça" - First in the Club World Ranking for 2009 !". IFFHS. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "IFFHS The World's Club Team for the Month". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
- ^ "World Honours: The continental Clubs of the Century". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
- ^ "Europe's club of the Century". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
- ^ "World Football Gala 2010 in London". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ^ "Real Madrid, mejor club de Europa del Siglo XX (video de la premiación)" (in Spanish). Real Madrid Club de Fútbol official website. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ The World's Most Popular Footballer Amongst Currently Active Players 2006
- ^ The World's Most Popular Footballer Amongst Currently Active Players 2007
- ^ the World's Most Popular Footballer Amongst Currently Active Players 2008
- ^ IFFHS User Vote
- ^ Statistisches Phänomen in taz.de (German)