The awards kept coming for FC Barcelona for the spectacular year that they have last year. Winning six titles – all the official cups that it competed in – the team, and its players and coach have been garnering recognitions after recognitions from every football and some other sports-related organizations, magazines and websites, almost every week since they won the UEFA Champions League in May.

And now, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), the Catalan club closed the year 2009 as the top ranking football club in the world with a clear advantage over second-placed Chelsea, and Manchester United, third – a ranking system that was started in 2001.

With 44 wins, 15 draws and only 5 losses in its 64 official matches, Barcelona was proclaimed by the Federation as its ’2009 Best Team in the World’. The award ceremony will be held on 1 February in London.

The following is a list of the top ten teams with their scores, which takes into account league matches, cup and international competitions.

1. FC Barcelona (Spain) 4,341.0 points

2. Chelsea FC (England) 4,292.0

3. Manchester United FC (England) 4,291.0

4. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 4,275.0

5. SV Werder Bremen (Germany) 4,272.0

6. Hamburg (Germany) 4,264.0

7. Arsenal (England) 4,260.0

8. Estudiantes de La Plata (Argentina) 4,243.0

9. Cruzeiro EC Belo Horizonte (Brazil) 4,235.0

10. Galatasaray (Turkey) 3,219.0

(UPDATE)

And according to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo, FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is ranked by the IFFHS as the best coach for the year 2009 – an award handed out by the Federation since 1996.

The award is decided by Federation members’ vote – from a number top club coaches selected by a special jury, not only based on trophies won, but also their abilities to influence their teams – taking into account their ability to leave an indelible stamp in the form of attractive, revolutionary or simply domineering football.