Two players battled for leadership in the Argentinean Primera A: Boca Juniors forward Martin Palermo and Lanus’ Jose Sand. Palermo was able to beat Lanus’ top scorer Sand to the wire and, with 128.27 points over all against Sand’s 131.16 points, won the race. The remaining rivals are far behind: third-placed Gonzalo Bergessio of San Lorenzo has just 96.66 points over all.
Juan Roman Riquelme, another Boca Juniors legendary player, is the best midfielder. The battle for the top spot among defenders played out between Gabriel Paletta and Julio Caceres, another two Boca Juniors players. Paletta won the race by more than 9 rating points at 79.49 points over all. The top spot in the rating of goalkeepers is occupied by Lanus’ Carlos Bossio. The combined rating of the Primera A as of January 21, 2009, amounts to 1,758.61 points.