Soccer Watch
Inter Milan wins FIFA Club World Cup, and more
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., Dec. 24, 2010
The majority of the European leagues take off a couple of weeks, or more, near their midway point for the holidays. The UK pretty much plays through, though, including a traditional full slate of games on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. And the London derby is held the next day, featuring Chelsea at Arsenal on ESPN2, Monday, Dec. 27, 1:55pm. There will have to be some makeups scheduled as well, as the English Premier League had seven games snowed out over the weekend in the massive storm that froze Europe as far down as Southern Italy. Elsewhere at the midway point:
Spain: A two-team race, as usual: Barcelona and Real Madrid are a combined 27-3-2.
Italy: AC Milan leads a tight pack; crosstown rival, five-time defending champ Inter, is way back.
France: The usual dogfight, with no fewer than 12 teams within two games of the lead.
Germany: Borussia Dortmund (who?) tore through the first half of the season at 14-1-2.
Scotland: Looking like it'll come down to ... surprise: Rangers and Celtic.
England: There's a new big four, and Liverpool's not in it. Manchester City (or could it be Tottenham?) is looking to show it's in the same class as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Man U.
