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 !!!