In a development that should worry the Russians, FC Cologne’s Slovak international Milivoje Novakovic has captured a spot in the top tier of the FTBL ranking of strikers in the Bundesliga, pushing down Germany international Lukas Podolski in the process.

Novakovic scored the only goal in his side’s 1:0 away win over Hertha Berlin to earn a whopping 21.7 rating points in the FTBL system; he was also behind the goal that netted Cologne a win against Mainz.

Yet, the Slovak international will find it hard to sustain that advance up the ranking: he will face a daunting plank of approximately 30 rating points to beat in his next appearance. The plank will be against Russia in World Cup 2010 playoffs. The hurdle will be a bit lower in the return leg, 19.13 points, but that could still prove impregnable for the Slovak. Novakovic’s overall score is more likely than not to drop below the 100-point mark, even assuming the Slovaks are successful in those two games, which remains a big if.