The "IFFHS" Club ranking.


IFFHS stands for "International Federation of Football History and
Statistics" and it was led by Dr. Alfredo W. Pöge (R.I.P.), in Wiesbaden,
Germany, who also devised the "World Ranking for Clubs", subject of
some debate in rec.sport.soccer in January 1996 and detailed below.

It was first issued for 1991.  It roughly counts national championships
twice as much as the national cups (other national tournaments such as
league cups and the like are not counted at all) and counts continental
cups (including e.g. the European super cup, the Copa Conmebol, and
many, many others) roughly twice as much as national championships.


The precise set of rules for 1991:

National championships:  every country has a multiplication factor M; for
1991, this was 5 for Italy, 4 for Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany,
and Spain, 3 for France, Uruguay, Mexico, Netherlands, and quite a few
others, 2 for e.g. Greece, Egypt, Denmark, and Austria (among many others),
1 for Luxembourg and the like.  Every win in the national league gives
a team M points, every draw M/2, every loss 0.  No correction for number
of games is made except in extremal cases.  The second divisions of
England, Germany, Italy and Spain are given M=2.  France was moved into
the category with M=4 for 1994, Italy was moved back to M=4 for 1997 (there 
were several less important changes).

National cup: every country has again a multiplication factor N.  If M=5,
N=20; M=4 then N=18; M=3 then N=12; M=2 then N=7; M=1 then N=3,5.  (Note
that N/M is not constant).  For every country, if a team reaches the
1/8 final of the cup, it obtains N points, unless it needed extra time
and/or a penalty shoot-out, in which case both winner and loser gain N/2
points.  The same applies each subsequent round.  I.e., the Italian
cup winner can get maximally 5x20=100 points (if no extra time was needed),
the Dutch cup winner maximally 60, the Luxembourg one maximally 17,5.

Continental cups: in Europe, every win in a European cup competition (no
matter which) counts for 25 points, a draw 12,5, a loss 0.  (This was
changed to 20, 10, and 0 in 1994.)  In South America, these numbers ae
15, 7,5, and 0, respectively (because clubs can enter several tournaments).
Stuff like the European Super Cup, the Copa Conmebol, etc., is all counted
and the same way as the Champions Cup or the Copa Libertadores.  For all
other continents, wins give 8, draws 4 points, with the exception of the
Caribbean qualifying competition for the Concacaf Cup (4 and 2).


The maximal possible score is something like 500 points.  The top-10
from 1991 to 1996:


     1991
 1.Roma (Italy)                  347,5
 2.Crvena zvezda (Yugoslavia)    344,5
 3.Olympique Marseille (France)  299,5
 4.Sampdoria (Italy)             287,5
 5.Manchester United (England)   283,0
 6.Barcelona (Spain)             278,5
 7.Torino (Italy)                272,5
 8.Werder Bremen (Germany)       261,0
 9.Atlético Madrid (Spain)       255,5
10.Tottenham Hotspur (England)   254,5

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
74.América (Mexico)              124,5
82.Puebla (Mexico)               116,5
83.Monterrey (Mexico)            115,5
91.Power Dynamos (Zambia)        106,5
100.Univ. Guadalajara (Mexico)   103,5


     1992
 1.Ajax (Netherlands)            331,0
 2.Milan (Italy)                 330,0
 3.Real Madrid (Spain)           323,0
 4.Rangers (Scotland)            289,0
 5.Atlético Madrid (Spain)       286,5
 6.Juventus (Italy)              277,5
 7.Colo Colo (Chile)             268,5
 8.Torino (Italy)                265,0
 9.Benfica (Portugal)            264.5
10.Sparta Praha (Czechoslovakia) 260,0

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
95.América (Mexico)              107,0


     1993
 1.Juventus (Italy)              372,7
 2.Milan (Italy)                 367,5
 3.Barcelona (Spain)             319,0
 4.São Paulo (Brazil)            310,0
 5.Parma (Italy)                 305,0
 6.Spartak Moskva (Russia)       300,0
 7.Real Madrid (Spain)           296,5
 8.Internazionale (Italy)        285,0
 9.Paris Saint-Germain (France)  264,5
10.Flamengo (Brazil)             263,5

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
64.Al Ahly (Egypt)               141,0
90.Paramatta Melita (Australia)  109,5
93.Verdy Kawasaki (Japan)        108,5
95.León (Mexico)                 106,0


     1994
 1.Paris Saint-Germain (France)  334,0
 2.Parma (Italy)                 332,5
 3.Milan (Italy)                 310,0
 4.Barcelona (Spain)             296,5
 5.São Paulo (Brazil)            284,0
 6.Porto (Portugal)              262,0
 7.Juventus (Italy)              257,5
 8.Manchester United (England)   246,0
 9.Lazio (Italy)                 245,0
10.Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina)   243,5

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
82.Espérance Sportif (Tunisia)   118,0


     1995
 1.Milan (Italy)                 367,5
 2.Juventus (Italy)              320,0
 3.Ajax (Netherlands)            300,0
 4.Grêmio (Brazil)               298,5
 5.Parma (Italy)                 287,5
 6.Paris Saint-Germain (France)  275,0
 7.Deportivo La Coruña (Spain)   275,0
 8.River Plate (Argentina)       230,0
 9.Bayern München (Germany)      226,0
10.Borussia Dortmund (Germany)   216,0

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
86.UAG (Mexico)                  120,0
93.Santos (Mexico)               113,5


     1996
 1.Juventus (Italy)              335,0
 2.América Cali (Colombia)       261,5
 3.Barcelona (Spain)             256,0
 4.Atlético Madrid (Spain)       252,0
 5.River Plate (Argentina)       249,5
 6.Ajax (Netherlands)            249,0
 7.Auxerre (France)              247,0
 8.Manchester United (England)   242,0
 9.Liverpool (England)           238,0
10.Paris Saint-Germain (France)  236,0

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
81.ES Sahel (Tunisia)            124,0

     1997
 1.Barcelona (Spain)             378,0
 2.Juventus (Italy)              310,0
 3.Borussia Dortmund (Germany)   308,0
 4.Internazionale (Italy)        277,0
 5.Colo Colo (Chile)             265,0
 6.Schalke '04 (Germany)         258,0
 7.River Plate (Argentina)       255,0
 8.Paris Saint-Germain (France)  253,0
 9.Manchester United (England)
10.Peñarol (Uruguay)             247,5
   Grêmio (Brazil)               247,5

      1998
 1.Internazionale (Italy)        326,0
 2.Vasco da Gama (Brazil)        295,5
 3.Bayern München (Germany)      288,0
 4.Palmeiras (Brazil)            284,5
 5.River Plate (Argentina)       273,0
 6.Lazio (Italy)                 266,0
 7.Rangers (Scotland)            262,5
 8.Real Madrid (Spain)           256,0
 9.Spartak Moskva (Russia)       251,0
10.Chelsea (England)             248,0
   Cruzeiro (Brazil)             248,0

Non-Europe-non-SA teams in top-100:
67.América (Mexico)              153,0
69.Guadalajara (Mexico)          151,5
99.Saprissa (Costa Rica)         126,0


The development of some clubs over the years:

                            1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Ajax                          11    1   14   13    3    6   27   58
Barcelona                      6   12    3    4   15    3    1   16
Bayern München                25  165   56   56    9   11   14    3
Benfica                       24    9   17   14   41   25   97   42
Boca Juniors                  15   44   77   32  111   66   84   64
Feyenoord                     31   22   55   25   22   17   32  129
Grêmio                       101 >100  128   32    4   29   10   47
Juventus                      27    6    1    7    2    1    2   14
Liverpool                     23   25  115   50   50    9   35   78
Manchester United              5   70   19    8   35    8    9   20
Milan                         32    2    2    3    1   19  182  123
Nacional (Montevideo)         28   66   49  119  149 >165   86   98
Olimpia Asunción              29   14   26   17   23   96  138   17
Paris Saint-Germain         >180   32    9    1    6   10    8   89
Parma                         60   15    5    2    5   74   13   27
Peñarol                       90  169   59   40   62  125   10   47
Porto                         20   18   21    6   19   16   55   44
PSV                           45   41  110  144   32   28   60   51
Real Madrid                   15    3    7   21   40   88   22    8
River Plate                   18   49   43   41    8    5    7    5
São Paulo                    160   11    4    5   78  112   60  164
Steaua Bucuresti              64   55   57   73   54   81   19  159


Nota bene: I have stripped this file from my personal comments on
this rating.  Readers of rec.sport.soccer may have found them there.

Let it suffice to say here that:

 1) I have nothing to do with this ranking;
 2) I do not think the algorithm is particularly brilliant;
 3) any suggestions on the method should be sent to the IFFHS;
    their website can be found at: https://www.iffhs.com/.  
 

About this document

Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: Karel Stokkermans
Last updated: 5 Aug 2021

(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 1996/2021
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.