First full Sports update of 2009

Juventus though not playing at their best, managed to beat Siena with a trademark freemark by none other than Alex Del Piero, Beckham was paraded from the 1st minute in Roma-Milan were he played a diligent game with the score ending 2-2 whilst on Saturday night Inter drew 1-1 with Cagliari. What Inter fans should be slightly worried about are two main things; the first thing involves a lot of work by Mourinho, who should try and settle down on a formation and stick with it, not throwing in 4 attackers and playing in a 4-2-4 formation everytime the going gets tough; and secondly they should resolve once and for all the thorny issues with Adriano and Balotelli which could destabalize the atmosphere and harmony within the players themselves. A result that surprised many was Fiorentina's home loss against Lecce whilst Napoli and Genoa seem to be moving steadily ahead with respective wins over Torino and Catania.

Manchester United seem to be steamrolling their way to what might possibly be another Premier League with a very convincing 3-0 win against Chelsea whilst Liverpool stuttered in their bid to win the league for the first time since the 1989-90 season with a goalless draw against Stoke. Aston Villa, Arsenal and Everton, who all have a chance to end up in 4th place, won their respective games against West Bromwich Albion, Bolton Wanderers and Hull City. Tottenham Hotspurs remain a bogey team despite massive investment in players and a change of coach with Harry Redknapp entering the fray, losing 1-0 away against Wigan and remaining anchored in the relegation zone.

In Spain, Barcelona continue their impressive march with a not so impressive 3-2 away win against Osasuna whilst Real Madrid seem to have found some sort of consistency since Juande Ramos was appointed with a 3-0 away win against Mallorca. Seville remain in third place with an impressive 3-1 away win against Deportivo La Coruna but the game of the week was the very entertaining 3-3 draw between Valencia and Villareal.

Regarding the local scene, Marsaxlokk yet again lost, this time 1-0 against Sliema Wanderers whilst Hibs beat Hamrun 1-0 in what was a close game. During the week Valletta beat Hibs 2-0 but more than for the scoreline, this game will be remembered for Njongo Priso's actions when scoring one of his goals. He allegedly left the pitch during the game without seeking permission, which earned him a yellow card and also a two-match suspension. Hib's striker Terence Scerri won the December Player of the Month award.

In the local Basketball scene, Compleet IS SW will be playing against Bupa Luxol in the Louis Borg Cup. It was plain sailing for Bupa Luxol with a 95-79 win against Depiro but it was a different story in the Siggiewi Smina vs. Compleet IS SW, with the latter winning by a mere two points with the final scoreline reading 71-73.

Other interesting international sports news involves Ferrari. They unveiled their new-look 2009 F60 car over the web. The car represents many changes, both aesthetically and engine-wise mainly because of the new aerodynamic and kinetic energy recovery system (KERS). One other note worthy of mention is the re-introduction of slick tyres after a number of years. A fun fact worth mentioning is related to the name given to the new car, that is F60. This number represents the number of years and editions that Ferrari have taken part in Formula One.