End of 2008 football round-up

Starting from the Italian league, Inter are the winter champions with two games of the first round left to play, Juventus remain sanchored solidly in second place whilst Milan are in third place even though they have had a stuttering end in 2008. Many Milan fans hope that Beckham will inject a much needed positive atmosphere and also that they'll buy at least another defender to shore-up their leaky and injury-prone defence. Fiorentina have climbed up to fourth place but face a firece battle from Napoli who seem well-equipped with star players like Hamsik and Lavezzi excelling. Genoa and Lazio could cause a surprise or two and one can expect Roma to improve their fortunes in 2009.

England witnessed a number of games being played in the Christmas period with Liverpool remaining first and with Chelsea second but not performing as they should and want. Man Utd pose a very big threat to the first two because even though they currently find themselves in third place, they still have to recover two games that they missed as a result of their win in the World Club Cup held in Japan in mid-December. Aston Villa in fourth place are proving to be a rather consistent and strong team, with many young English players forming the backbone of the team, including players such as Young, Barry and Agbonlahor amongst others. One must never diminish Arsenal's chances of catching-up and ending the season in fourth place, very important for any team with certain ambitions. Their quest has become more difficult though, with their star player and captain Fabregas injured for around four months.

In La Liga, Barcelona have a staggering 12 point advantage over Real Madrid who find themselves down in fifth place. In second place we find Seville and in third place we find Atletico Madrid who have invested heavily in buying star players such as Aguero and Forlan; a move which paid off since they are participating in the Champions League for the first time in around ten years. Finally fourth placed are Valencia, who have constantly proved themselves as being a top team in the last few years. One must lookout for Villareal, a solid team with a very strong defence, who effectively shut-out Man Utd in both Champions League games.

Malta has been rocked by the scandal that two St. George's players pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. Elsewhere, the Maltese Premier League is proving to be a close affair, with only six points separating the top six teams. Hibs have pounced back from their previous dismal season and find themselves in first place, B'kara a close second with Valletta in third position hot on their heels.

Hoping that 2009 proves to be a bumper year for all sports in general !!!

End of year events whilst hoping for a better 2009 !

As the end of 2008 fast approaches, Malta has unfortunatly witnessed more unpleasant events in the last week or so. Two cemetries semi-destroyed, another shooting, this time in Siggiewi and a fight as well as an attempted rape in B'Bugia. On an international scale, one cannot but mention the Hamas-Israel conflict. But Christmas time is a time of happiness so I shall be focusing on the positive events that have taken place in the last few days. One can start by mentioning the 1.2 million euros collected through Istrina, political antagonism in Malta was kept to a bare minimum, the reduction in the fuel rates, the 2nd GO cable was installed and is working in record time and in these times of economic uncertainty, the fact that some shops have brought forward the beginning of their sales has been welcomed and embraced by many people !

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed 2009 full of happiness !!!

Quo Vadis Malta ?

What is happening to Malta and its people ? Two shootings in a few days had been unheard of until now. One of them deadly and the other luckily enough didn't leave any victims but left 11 people injured and many others shaken. Till not so long ago fights used to be verbal and with the odd fist thrown out... and at times resolved with an amicable handshake and over a drink ! When reading the blogs on this episode many were quick to link this to a political episode but what should make one worry is how the Maltese society in general is evolving. One hopes it is not a sign of things to come. My thoughts go out to all those injured and shaken by these terrible episodes and their family members.

The positiveness that there usually is in Christmas time unfortunatly seems to be missing this year with many sectors of society being unhappy.

Apart from the the two shooting incidents one may mention the ongoing feud between academics and the Goverment. This has lead to a strike of sorts from the academics which in turn has irked the students. Yesterday the Government announced reduced rates on fuel and one thought that this news would have made everyone happy but alas, this afternoon it was reported that Filling stations are considering to go on strike because they will lose money since they stocked up on fuel in anticipation of the Christmas period. Obviously general opinion is rather against the Filling stations, with the reasoning being that when fuel rates were on the rise and they were making more profits, they never threatened to strike. Earlier in the week the GO cable between Malta and Sicily was damaged leading to slower internet speeds and it seems that repairs might take some time since the damaged spot is exactly in an area between Sicily and Malta. And one must not forget to mention the increase in the electricity tariffs... unions and the PL and most of Malta are asking the Government to consider a revision in the tariffs.

Best wishes for a blessed and calm Chistmas !

Champions League Classics

Chelsea - Juventus

Inter - Manchester United

Arsenal - Roma

Real madrid - Liverpool

More words would be superfluous to describe the greatness of the upcoming classic Champions League games. All of them could be a potential final ! And this is only the knockout stage with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final in Rome still to be played !

With the upcoming Christmas break in most leagues and sports in general and also acting upon a suggestion, I shall gradually start to discuss current affairs.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a great pre-xmas weekend :)

L-ewwel attentat ta' blog !

This is my 1st blog having been persuaded by my friends to start doing so as a result of my ridiculous football and general sports knowledge ! So please, do express your opinions on the content of the article, what can be improved and/or added... all comments are most welcome !

We have witnessed yet again another great weekend of sport, with some smashing and entertaining games ! One can start by mentioning el grande clasico in Spain, were once again a frail Real Madrid were beaten by sure title contenders Barcelona. Sunday witnessed the touching return of Zola at Stamford Bridge and yet again another stuttering home performance by Chelsea. But the cherry on the cake was certainly the Juve - Milan game. One can start from the performance aspect... those who still believe that the Italian league only produces boring and lifeless games, should definetly watch this game and the other games. 6 goals, a red card, non-stop attacking and flowing football witnessed in the Juve - Milan game and most of all a record 41 goals scored in the 16th day of Serie A.

Adding a local touch, Hibs continued their impressive run with a 3-0 win against Qormi whilst B'kara continued their positive run and find themselves in 2nd position. Also Team Europe won the Mosconi Cup Malta (pool) with the inimitable Tony Drago forming part of the European team.

Regarding other sports, Renault and Citroen are reported as being interested in buying the Honda Formula 1 team and Usain Bolt has stated that he is tempted in trying to break the 9-year-old 400 metres record that is held by the great Michael Johnson... all this after having broken the 100 and 200 metres record in spectacular style in the Beijing Olympics !

Interesting titbits of news...

A particular mention goes to the Iraqi journalist who threw both his shoes at President Bush !

Also, a bride was lucky (in one aspect) when the horse pulling her carriage went berserk and bolted taking her and her father for a wild 2-mile ride. I am posting the link so that if you're interested, you can read the whole story.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2037876.ece

Best wishes for a great week to all in the run-up to Christmas !