ACreditToTheDay

Did you know that there's a monthly Club World Ranking run by a federation based in Germany? And Chelsea are #1! [spam Removed] DESPITE having honoured some of the world's most foremost football personalities, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (www.iffhs.de) is still a relatively unfamiliar body to fans of the game. The federation, recognised by FIFA and based in Germany, holds an extensive and impressive 'scientific chronological documentation of world football'. It also hands out a number of awards at its World Football Gala, while producing a monthly Club World Ranking, as well as a ranking for domestic leagues around the globe. Founded by Dr. Alfredo PÓ§ge on this day in 1984, the organisation initially had to grind out its existence, as political, financial, and other administrational problems blighted their mission. By the end of 1987 however, the IFFHS had historians and statisticians representing them from nearly 50 countries. That gave Dr. PÓ§ge time to materialise his plans for a World Goalkeeper and Player of the Year award, among others. His ideas were met with great enthusiasm, and sponsorship for each award was obtained from the likes of Adidas and Uhlsport, before a German TV station agreed to air live coverage of the IFFHS's World Football Gala in 1990, where the prizes were handed out. FIFA President Sepp Blatter was in attendance at the inaugural televised ceremony and he, as FIFA's General Secretary at the time, recognised the potential of the awards. It is no coincidence then, that the first FIFA World Player of the Year gong was awarded in 1991. PÓ§ge's vision for the IFFHS did not stop at recognising the world's elite players though. Following that success, PÓ§ge began to devise a monthly Club World Ranking. This still exists now, and provides the basis for ranking the world's domestic leagues at the end of each year. It is these rankings, along with the players, coaches and teams that have been honoured by the IFFHS, which might be of most interest to fans who were previously unaware of this organisation. For instance, the Club World Ranking might well be a debating point. The top five in the most recent standings are Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Corinthians and Barcelona. The IFFHS publishes a report with each new set of rankings and it is interesting to note that Barcelona have fallen from the top spot for the first time in 22 months, while Chelsea will have to advance in both the FA Cup and the Europa League in order to stand a chance of remaining number one. Atletico Madrid meanwhile, are cited as likely to tumble down the rankings because of their absence from any international club competition. In the ranking of domestic leagues at the end of 2012, La Liga sat at the helm, while the Premier League languished, in comparison to previous years, in fifth. Below the Spanish league was Brazil's Serie A, followed by the German Bundesliga. Player-wise, the recent results of the IFFHS's World's Most Popular Footballer award provide a great argument for Europe's big leagues not being as popular as we are led to believe. Online users vote for this award and, but for Steven Gerrard in 2006, and Juan Arango of Borussia Monchengladbach this year, five out of the last seven winners have come from clubs that play outside of Europe, including Egyptian international Mohammed Aboutrika, who won the award consecutively in 2007 and 2008 playing for Al-Ahly. Best Club Coach of the Year results are perhaps a more predictable affair, with Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola having shared the award between them twice each in the last four years. While the infamous pair were battling it out for those gongs, Iker Casillas was seemingly obliterating the competition for World's Best Goalkeeper, having won the award for five straight years since 2008.