WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World 

This is the third in our series of annual WCR Top 25 Clubs for past seasons based on formulas we have been putting together over the past decade.

Real Madrid remained on top of the rankings for the 1961-62 season, despite falling in the final of the European Cup to Benfica.  The club from Lisbon won its second consecutive European title, but slipped to fourth in the overall rankings after finishing in third place in Portugal’s Primeira Divisão.  Real Madrid, meanwhile, returned to the top of the Spanish La Liga and also won the Copa del Rey during the season.

There was no Copa Libertadores to finish during this season.  The 1961 edition finished during the 1960-61 season and the 1962 edition finished late in that year, during the 1962-63 season.  As a result, we used data from the 1961 Copa Libertadores for these rankings, which allowed Peñàrol to actually move up to third place overall in our annual rankings.

Interestingly, all of the top twelve clubs in the rankings were in the previous season’s rankings, with half of those appearing in the Top Ten for the third consecutive season.  This is significant because it shows that even though this wasn’t the era of the superclub, as we have witnessed recently, it was a time when a handful of clubs were still showing dominance for a sustained period of time.

Below are the WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World for 1961-62, with a little information about what each club accomplished that season.

1.  Real Madrid (Esp) - Third Season Number One; Third Season Top 10, Third Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup finalists; 1961-62 Spanish La Liga Champions; 1961-62 Copa del Rey Winners.

2.  Rangers (Sco) - Third Season Top 10, Third Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup quarterfinalists; 1961-62 Scottish Division One second place; 1961-62 Scottish Cup Winners.

3.  Peñàrol  (Uru) -.

4.  Benfica (Por) - Second Season Top 10; Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup Champions; 1961–62 Primeira Divisão third place; 1961-62 Portuguese Cup Winners.

5.  Dukla Prague (Tch) - Second Season Top 10; Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup quarterfinalists; 1961-62 Czechoslovak First League Champions; 1961-62 Czechoslovak Cup finalists.

6.  Atlético Madrid (Esp) - Third Season Top 10, Third Season Top 25; 1961-62 Cup Winners’ Cup Champions; 1961-62 Spanish La Liga third place.

7.  FK Austria Wien (Aut) - Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup Eigthfinalists; 1961-62 Austrian Staatsliga Champions; 1961-62 Austrian Cup Winners.

8.  Fiorentina (Ita) - Third Season Top 10, Third Season Top 25; 1961-62 Cup Winners’ Cup finalists; 1961-62 Italian Serie A third place.

9.  AC Milan (Ita) - Third Season Top 25; Italian Serie A Champions.

10.  Barcelona (Esp) - Third Season Top 10; Third Season Top 25; 1961-62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup finalists; 1961-62 Spanish La Liga second place; 1961-62 Copa del Rey quarterfinalists.

11. Servette FC (Sui) - Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup Eigthfinalists; 1961-62 Swiss Nationalliga A Champions; 1961-62 Swiss Cup quarterfinalists.

12.  Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) - Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 European Cup semifinalists; 1961-62 English First Division third place; 1961-62 English FA Cup Winners.

13.  Górnik Zabrze (Pol) - 1961 Polish Ekstraklasa Champions; 1961-62 Polish Cup finalists.

14.  Újpesti Dózsa (Hun) - Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 Cup Winners’ Cup semifinalists; 1961–62 Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I second place.

15.  Inter Milan (Ita) - Second Season Top 25; 1961-62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup quarterfinalists; 1961-62 Italian Serie A second place.

16.  Sporting CP (Por) - 1961–62 Primeira Divisão Champions; 1961-62 Portuguese Cup quarterfinalists.

17.  Dundee (Sco) - 1961-62 Scottish Division One Champions.

18.  Real Zaragoza (Esp) - 1961-62 Spanish La Liga fourt place; 1961-62 Copa del Rey semifinalists.

19.  Porto (Por) - 1961–62 Primeira Divisão second place.

20.  Vasas SC (Hun) - 1961–62 Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I Champions.

21.  Esbjerg fB (Den) - 1961 Danish First Division Champions; 1961-62 Danish Cup finlaists.

22.  Roma (Ita) - 1961-62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Eighthfinalists; 1961-62 Italian Serie A second place; 1961-62 Coppa Italia quarterfinalists.

23  Dunfermline (Sco) - 1961-62 Cup Winners’ Cup quarterfiinalists; 1961-62 Scottish Division fourth place; 1961-62 Scottish Cup quarterfinalists.

24  Celtic (Sco) - 1961-62 Scottish Division third place; 1961-62 Scottish Cup semifinalists.

25  Bologna (Ita) - 1961-62 Italian Serie A fourth place.