Associated Press launches Soccer Poll

The Associated Press launched a new poll on Tuesday geared towards the sport of football,

Called the AP Global Soccer 10, this particular poll ranks the world’s top 10 players and clubs based from the votes of a panel of twenty 20 international soccer journalists, as seen below.

Cedric Rouquette, Europsport, France
James Porteous, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Gregor Derichs, dapd, Germany
Francois Colin, De Standaard, Belgium
Willem Vissers, Volkskraant, Netherlands
Christian Schatze, Der FussballBlogger.de, Germany
Jose Antonio Cortes, Record, Mexico
Will Tidey, Bleacher Report, United States
Federico Giammaria, LaVoz, Argentina
Jerome Touboul, L'Equipe, France
Mike McGrath, Wardles News Agency/The Sun, England
Filip Bondy, New York Daily News, United States
Julian Bennetts, Hayters News Agency, England
Aurelio Capaldi, Rai, Italy
Orfeo Suarez, El Mundo, Spain
Paulo Vinicius Coelho, Estado de S.Paulo. Brazil
Tom Timmermann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
John Duerden, kickoffasia.com, South Korea

The weekly poll is scheduled to take place from August to May, which coincides with the European club football season. Each person on the panel picks his top ten players and teams, with the top team getting ten points, 2nd gets nine, and so forth...

The first poll released had reigning Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi being named as the top player in the world while his team FC Barcelona was the team of the week.

The Argentine received 140 out of 180 points. Cristiano Ronaldo was second at 111 points, while Radamel Falcao of Atletico Madrid is a far third with 79. Completing the top five are Manchester United's Robin van Persie and Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. All five players are included in the shortlist for the 2012 Ballon D'Or.

La Liga-leading Barcelona received 130 points from the panel in being named the inagural team of the week, followed by the UEFA Europa League champions Atletico Madrid at 109, with Manchester United just four points back. Completing the top five there are Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund and La Liga champions Real Madrid. All ten teams are participating either in the Europa League and the Champions League.

AP Global Soccer 10 (for week ending Oct. 29.)

Players

1. Lionel Messi, 140 points.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 111.
3. Radamel Falcao, 79.
4. Robin van Persie, 73.
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 61.
6. Gonzalo Higuain, 50.
7. Juan Mata, 41.
8. Javi Hernandez, 28.
9. Cesc Fabregas, 27.
10. Mario Gotze, 26.

Teams

1. Barcelona, 130 points.
2. Atletico Madrid, 109.
3. Manchester United, 105.
4. Borussia Dortmund, 81.
5. Real Madrid, 64.
6. Schalke, 59.
7. Juventus, 53.
8. Bayer Leverkusen, 49.
9. Shakhtar Donetsk, 37.
10. Ajax, 35.