GREAT TEAMS OF THE PAST FOR THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
	Herein you will find 128 football clubs from around the world rated for use with the wonderful TBG game. As an American, I am just beginning to become familiar with the the names of managers, stadiums, club kits, crests and nicknames. So, I formatted each team to include that information. I made my best possible effort to display the crest and kit used during the season I was rating. If I made mistakes, please let me know. You wont offend me.
	Why these particular teams? Although a few clubs are generally accepted as "great", for the most part, there is little agreement on which are THE greatest teams of all time. I used lists from every source I could find. The Guardian, Four Four Two, and Bleacher Report were extremely helpful  as were tons of internet lists. But even when a team and period are generally agreed upon, which particular team from that period? I did my best. I tended to give an edge to league results rather than cup tournaments (particularly with MLS teams) on the theory that playing 30+ games provides a better idea of team strength than a few tournament games. In Europe, this is a bit different. I still generally preferred league performance, but you just cant ignore top-level European success. NOTE: I rated these clubs on their actual league results. It is up to you to decide how to account for the relative strength of these clubs. Terry's instructions suggest a method, as does the Eurogrid approach available on the Sports Replay site. It's up to you.
	There are a handful of clubs rated that can hardly be described as great teams. I have visited and became attached to Venice and Yekaterinburg, so forgive me for including these personal favorites. The same could be said for Munich, but Bayern truly is a great team. I believe I would feel the same about London, a city Ive always wanted to visit, even moreso now. But I have adopted Leicester City as my club  now if they only could defend set pieces.
	One of my major disappointments is the scarcity of statistics earlier than the 21st Century  if that  other than the English Premier League, which seems to be well documented. I have included a file with a few top 50 and top 100, etc., teams. If you can find the stats necessary to rate the teams for TBG, please do it and post it. Or, send them to me, and I will be do it.
	The same goes for Latin American clubs and those from Eastern Europe. You will find very few clubs rated from Mexico, Central or South America. I tried, but I couldnt find the statistics. 
	Some of the clubs I include have been rated before by other gamers. Your efforts were great, but I put them in my format and did my best to verify the information. In a case or two  particularly with those who took Penalty Shots  I found information that differed from what had been posted. I claim to be neither right nor wrong. I just used what I found.
	Some of these clubs have been rated by Terry Goodchild and can be purchased from Ozwat Games with their league sets. Terry graciously gave me permission to include these clubs in my format even though they can be purchased in league sets (See Terrys note below). I cannot thank him enough. AND if, like me, you are into GTOP, your set will not be complete unless you purchase the 32-team BG SUPER EURO CLUBS set from Ozwat Games.

	I hope you enjoy. Please let me know of any comments, corrections, or additions.
	Rick Hargraves, St. Louis, MO, USA, (ricran71@gmail.com)
	June 1, 2022


Terence Goodchild<lambournegames@gmail.com>

Jan 8, 2022, 4:44 AM

tome


Hi Rick,
I'm happy for you to publish any teams you've researched even if they are already included in sets we have published. As far as running them past me before publication I'm sure you know as much about the system now to offer them as freebies with confidence and if you do send them to me first I really wouldn't do much with them as I couldn't replicate the research that you've already done, but please let me know when you are able to offer them to users of the simulation, just so that I know and can pass on that information if anyone asks me what teams are available, as happens sometimes.
Best wishes,
Terry



