WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World 

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

This season was something of a rarity in that the two finalists for the 1966-67 European Cup also held the top two spots in the rankings.  Celtic came back from an early 0-1 deficit to defeat Inter Milan by a 2-1 score.  Factoring these results in, Celtic finished the season atop the WCR Annual Rankings for 1966-67 and Inter Milan finished in second position for the third time in four years.  (In the fourth year, they finished in third place.)  Semifinalists Dukla Prague finished the season in sixth place in our rankings, while Cup Winners’ Cup finalists Bayern Munich (winners) and Rangers (runners-up) both found spots in our rankings as well.

Three clubs finished in the WCR Top Ten for the first time.  The highest ranked of those were Ajax, who finished the season in third place after winning the domestic double in the Netherlands and reaching the quarterfinals of the European Cup.  A little further down the rankings were number seven River Plate, the Argentine club that reached the finals of the 1966 Copa Libertadores, and Hungarian club Vasas SC. another European Cup quarrterfinalist.

River Plate was one of three clubs that made their debut in the WCR Annual Rankings during the 1966-67 campaign.  Spartak Trnava, winners of the Central European-based Mitropa Cup, and Scottish club Aberdeen also finished the season in the WCR Top 25 for the first time.

Below are the WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World for 1966-67, with a little information about what each club accomplished that season.

1.  Celtic (Sco) - Third Season Top 10; Fifth Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup Champions; 1966-67 Scottish First Division Champions; 1966-67 Scottish FA Cup Winners.

2.  Inter Milan (Ita) - Fourth Season Top 10; Seventh Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup finalists; 1966-67 Italian Serie A runners-up; 1966-67 Coppa Italia semifinalists.

3.  Ajax (Ned) - Second Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup quarterfinalists; 1966-67 Dutch Eredivisie Champions; 1966-67 Dutch Cup Winners.

4.  Rangers (Sco) - Eighth Season Top 10; Eighth Season Top 25; 1966-67 Cup Winners’ Cup runners-up; 1966-67 Scottish First Division second place.

5.  Real Madrid (Esp) - Eighth Season Top 10; Eighth Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup quarterfinalists; 1966-67 Spanish La Liga Champions; 1966-67 Copa del Rey quarterfinalists.

6.  Dukla Prague (Tch) - Fifth Season Top 10; Sixth Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup semifinalists; 1966-67 Czechoslovak First Division fourth place.

7.  River Plate (Arg) - 1966 Copa Libertadores runners-up; 1966 Argentine Primera División runners-up.

8.  Peñàrol  (Uru) -.Sixth Season Top 10; Eighth Season Top 25; 1966 Copa Libertadores Champions; 1966 Uruguayan Primera División runners-up.

9.  Sparta Prague (Tch) - Second Season Top 10; Third Season Top 25; 1966-67 Czechoslovak First Division Champions; 1966-67 Czechoslovak Cup finalists.

10.  Vasas SC (Hun) - Fourth Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup eighthfinalists; 1966 Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I Champions.

11.  RSC Anderlecht (Bel) - Third Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup eighthfinalists; 1966-67 Belgian First Division Champions; 1966-67 Belgian Cup semifinalists.

12.  Benfica (Por) - Seventh Season Top 25; 1966-67 Inter-Cities’ Fairs Cup eighthfinalists; 1966-67 Primeira Divisão Champions; 1966-67 Portuguese Cup quarterfinalists.

13.  Académica Coimbra (Por) - 1966-67 Primeira Divisão runners-up; 1966-67 Portuguese Cup runners-up.

14.  Nacional (Uru) - Second Season Top 25; 1966 Copa Libertadores semifinalists; 1966 Uruguayan Primera División Champions.

15.  Spartak Trnava (Tch) - 1966-67 Mitropa Cup Champions; 1966-67 Czechoslovak First Division third place; 1966-67 Czechoslovak Cup Winners.

16.  Bayern Munich (FRG) - Second Season Top 25; 1966-67 Cup Winners’ Cup Champions; 1966-67 West German Bundesliga sixth place; 1966-67 West German Pokal finalists.

17.  Górnik Zabrze (Pol) - Sixth Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup eighthfinalists; 1966-67 Polish Ekstraklasa Champions.

18.  Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) - Fourth Season Top 25; 1966-67 English First Division third place; 1966-67 English FA Cup Winners.

19.  Juventus (Ita) - Fourth Season Top 25; 1966-67 Italian Serie A Champions; 1966-67 Inter-Cities’ Fairs Cup quarterfinalists;1966-67 Coppa Italia semifinalists.

20.  Porto (Por) - Fifth Season Top 25; 1966-67 Primeira Divisão third place; 1966-67 Portuguese Cup semifinalists.

21.  Barcelona (Esp) - Fifth Season Top 25; 1966-67 Spanish La Liga second place.

22.  Manchester United (Eng) - Third Season Top 25; 1966-67 English First Division Champions.

23.  Aberdeen (Sco) - 1966-67 Scottish First Division fourth place; Scottish FA Cup finalists.

24.  Atlético Madrid (Esp) - Seventh Season Top 25; 1966-67 European Cup eighthfinalists; 1966-67 Spanish La Liga fourth place.

25.  Slovan Bratislava (Tch) - Second Season Top 25; 1966-67 Czechoslovak First Division second place.