Albino wunderkind Andres Iniesta celebrates. Get used to it. Not a lot of movement at the top of October's installment of the Top 20, as the first three teams stay in the same spots. ManU jumps into the the fourth spot, a rise all the more surprising considering Rooney's poor form over the past month. Valencia round out the top five, thanks to their impressive draw at the Camp Nou. The big drop of the month goes to Inter Milan, who plunge from fourth all the way out of the top 10. It's been a tough time for the Nerazzurri, a slump that can chalked up to injuries, discipline problems, and Mancini's constant tinkering with his lineup and formation. The honor of the month's biggest rise goes to Atletico Madrid, who outplayed city rivals Real at the Bernabeu; of course, Atleti will now have to overcome the loss of Maxi Rodriguez, injured in a mid-week friendly vs Spain. Speaking of la Furia Roja, a new star has emerged: Andres Iniesta. The kid who looks like he just saw a ghost - or maybe he just is a ghost - has been the best player for the national team in their games against Sweden and Argentina and has emerged as the natural successor to Xavi at Barca. One indication of his amazing grace, skill, and vision is that Lilian Thuram, after his first few weeks at Barca this summer, said that the one player that had really impressed him was not Ronaldinho, Etoo, or Deco, but was the little, unassuming Iniesta. As they say, the rich get richer. Enough of that -it's onto the rankings...
1. Barcelona (Etoo's absence will hurt, but Iniesta is emerging as the latest great Spanish middie)
2. Chelsea (Sheva's off-form, Lampard's slumping, Cole's hurt, Ballack's still getting acclimated to life in England...and they're still top of the league)
3. Lyon (Fred, whose name would make you think otherwise, is as good a Brazilian striker as any in the world right now)
4. Man Utd (Ronaldo is one of the top 5 players in the world. Period)
5. Valencia (Villa is the best Spanish striker at the moment, even ahead of Torres & Raul)
6. Arsenal
7. Sevilla
8. Real Madrid (better hope those defensive injuries heal up before Barca comes to town)
9. Bayern (huge win on Saturday over league leaders Hertha)
10. Roma
11. Inter (if they don't get it together soon, they'll be out of the Champions League before Christmas - and Mancini will be out of a job)
12. Milan (after Kaka, Pirlo, and Nesta, they're just a bunch of aging, slumping superstars)
13. Liverpool (underwhelming start to the season for the Reds)
14. Atletico (maybe too high for them, but they looked great vs Real - Maxi's loss is a big one)
15. Ajax (best in Holland - Klaas Jan Huntelaar is the newest Dutch #9)
16. Celtic
17. Marseille (hanging around in France)
18. Sao Paolo
19. River (Belluschi and Higuain were absolutely superb in win over Boca)
20. Boca (huge drop-off since Lavolpe took over from Basile)
On the bubble: Palermo, Bolton, Hertha Berlin
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