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Climbing up the ranks, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is now #137 on the list of the world's best football clubs

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Climbing up in the world, Pridnestrovie's top team FC Sheriff is now number 137 in the monthly ranking of the world's leading football clubs.

According to the latest list published by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is now breathing down the neck of such notables as AFC Ajax Amsterdam, which at spot number 129 is just eight teams away from FC Sheriff. Also in the same neighborhood is Lokomotiv Moscow, which FC Sheriff went up against in a worthy match last year, and which today clocks in as the 124th best football club in the world.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organization that chronicles the history of football. It is based in Bonn, the former capital of Germany.

The ranking takes into consideration the results of twelve months of continental and intercontinental competitions, national league matches (including play-offs) and the most important national cup.

"Put PMR on the map"

FC Sheriff Tiraspol shares its 137 place with two other equally ranked teams out of the total of 350. They are Uruguay's Danubio Football Club, a leading team from that country's capital of Montevideo, and SK Brann Bergen, from Bergen in Norway.

The current top three teams in the world are Chelsea, Manchester United, and Milan AC.

With some 200 countries in the world today, FC Sheriff now has a better ranking than a number of larger teams from longer-established and internationally recognized nation states.

" - We hope that this will finally put PMR on the map," says an aide to coach Leonid Kuchuk. FC Sheriff Tiraspol plays for Pridnestrovie, but due to Pridnestrovie's lack of international recognition the team is internationally considered a Moldovan team.

" - Be that as it may, our fans know what country we are from," was the reply. At sporting events it is not uncommon for fans to bring homemade posters extolling Pridnestrovie's independence and its now nearly 18 years of 'de facto' statehood.

See also:
» World record longest winning streak for FC Sheriff Tiraspol [1]
» Lokomotiv signs FC Sheriff player for €2.6m [2]
» Transnistria's FC Sheriff signs another new player from Argentina [3]

On the web:
» IFFHS: Official website [4]
» FC Sheriff: Official website [5]