Euro 2008 : Spain beat Germany 1-0 in final

Spain have been crowned European champions for the second time as Fernando Torres's first-half goal in Vienna proved enough to defeat Germany in the final of UEFA EURO 2008.

After a strong start from Germany, Spain were the more dangerous side throughout an somewhat uninspiring final at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion and it took just one goal - in the 33rd minute, courtesy of Torres's pace, perseverance and an unerring finish - to end their long wait.

Xavi was the architect, playing a pass in behind the Germany defence towards Torres, who outmuscled a hesitant Philipp Lahm and clipped the ball over the diving Jens Lehmann and just inside the far post.

Spain had more openings in the early stages of the second half, Lehmann getting a touch to Xavi's low shot before Ramos nearly flicked in Silva's drive from the resulting corner.

Yet Germany still posed a threat, and at the hour mark substitute Marcell Jansen and Bastian Schweinsteiger combining for Ballack to shoot centimetres wide.

Klose then deflected a Schweinsteiger effort past the post and in response to Germany's renewed menace Spain coach Luis Aragones promptly introduced Xabi Alonso and Santi Cazorla in place of Fabregas and Silva.

The switches reinvigorated Spain instantly, Lehmann making sharp stops from Ramos and Iniesta while Torsten Frings blocked another Iniesta effort on the line.

Spain continued to carve out chances as the match reached its conclusion, Marcos Senna narrowly failing to apply the finishing touch to an unselfish header from substitute Daniel Guiza – but the celebrations really started for Spain at the final whistle.

---

SPAIN (1) 1
Torres 33

beat

GERMANY (0) 0

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Ballack to miss Euro 2008 final? Don't bet on it!

According to UEFA.com Michael Ballack is a doubt for Sunday's Euro 2008 final against Spain.

"Germany could go into Sunday's final against Spain without their captain and inspiration Michael Ballack as the midfielder is receiving treatment for a calf injury" the website says.

"Ballack sat out the team's final training session in Tenero on Friday and was also a notable absentee tonight as the team were put through their paces at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion on the eve of the UEFA EURO 2008™ showpiece." it continues.

"The muscles has tightened and we'll have to wait and see how things develop," explained coach Joachim Low. "Our medical people are working around the clock to give him a chance to play."

But do you believe it?

I need to go no further than Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger who has said .. "It's an old Bayern Munich trick!" said the Arsenal manager. "I'm convinced if it's a minor injury he will play - they have very good doctors in Germany!"

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Mad Jens Lehmann on Focus at Bet365

Jens Lehmann has looked far from his best during Euro 2008 and bet365 are betting on the former Arsenal keeper's performance in the final on Sunday.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth commented "Wednesday's semi final seemed to be about which ageing keeper could make the most ricks and somehow Lehmann finds himself in the final.

It may not be long before he follows Rustu in hanging up his international gloves."

Jens Lehmann Specials - Euro 2008 Final
-------------------------------------------
7/4 .. Keep a clean sheet
13/2 .. Concede goal from penalty
15/2 .. Get Booked
10/1 .. Give away a penalty
16/1 .. Man of the Match
25/1 .. Save a penalty
33/1 .. Get Sent Off

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Lahm Beats Bookies With Late Winner

bet365 were left rueing Philipp Lahm's late winner for heavily supported Germany on Wednesday night.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said "The quarter finals belonged to the bookies, but the punters are well on top after the first semi ...

They could only see one outcome with all the injuries and suspensions that Turkey had to deal with and in the end they got it spot on – but only just!"

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GBL and ISA Betting Spreadsheet

With the FA Cup on in England this weekend it means that there are only two leagues covered by the "Gooners Numb3rs" (tm) betting spreadsheet.

(League stats are not used to predict cup games - sorry)

Gooners ISA Numb3rs - Italian Serie A
Has 3 likely home winners and one likely away winner. There is also one "value draw" pick - after they returned back to profit last weekend.

Gooners GBL Numb3ers - German Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is proving hard to make a profit on this season - it lost money again last weekend - but the sheet reckons that there are three likely home winners to check out this weekend.

Good luck with your bets.

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Betting Spreadsheet - online for weekend

It's pretty quiet this week so I've taken advantage of the time to get the "Gooners Numb3rs" (tm) betting spreadsheet done.

Gooners EPL Numb3rs - English Premier League
Has 4 likely home wins, and one likely away win (Spurs?!)

It also suggests a "value" draw on Saturday - and some value on taking Chelsea to win at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool on Sunday.

Gooners ISA Numb3rs - Italian Serie A
Has 3 likely home winners and one likely away winner.

There are two more value draw picks - although these are on a 0-4 run - so be a little careful with your stake size,

Gooners GBL Numb3ers - German Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is proving hard to make a profit on this season - but the sheet reckons that there are five likely home winners (at reasonable prices too) and a couple of discover value plays too.

Check it out.

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Germany Banning Internet Gambling ?!

Online gambling will be banned in Germany as of Jan 1st 2008 after German states ratified an accord that preserves the country's state monopoly for lotteries and most forms of betting.

A majority of Germany's 16 states have submitted the ratification documents, Eric Braum, a spokesman for the Hesse government, which monitors the process, said in an interview today.

All 16 state legislatures voted by mid-December to approve the new online-betting laws, which the states negotiated after the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2006 that the former model was unconstitutional. The new rules, which expire at the end of 2011, have drawn criticism from Internet betting companies and lottery brokers like Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, Fluxx AG and Tipp24 AG.

The new rules ban any form of Web-based gambling or brokering of games over the Internet. The states may order Internet service providers to block Web sites of illegal betting operations and banks to stop money transfers to them. The rules definition of illegal gaming includes placing a bet from German territory over the Web with a company based outside Germany.

The regulations also will outlaw advertising of gaming over the Internet and on television. Advertising in print and other media may no longer "directly invite, incite or prompt" customers to play instead it may only "inform" about the possibility to do so.

The European Commission, the European Union's Brussels- based regulator, called on Germany to reconsider the total ban on online betting, saying the step was disproportional.

In the meantime German citizens are going to have to put up with Federal interference in their gambling habits - as the local government seeks to increase their tax take by only allowing local monopolies.

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Weekend Euro Football Spreadsheets up

Just a quick note to check out the forum and find the latest spreadsheets for England, Germany and Italy.

The Sheet --> German Bundesliga 14/15/16 Sept Thread

The Sheet -> Italy Serie A - 15/16 Sep Thread
(with additional picks from BiancoNero)

The Sheet --> English Premier League 15/16/17 Sep Thread

Hope it helps you to think clearly about the games !
;-)

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European Football Sheets online 1/2 Sep

It's been a busy week - but I've finally got all three of my European football prediction spreadsheets up and posted onto the forum.

Direct Links :
The Sheet --> German Bundesliga 1/2 Sep
The Sheet --> Italian Serie A 1/2 Sep
The Sheet --> English Premier League 1/2 Sep

In each of the forum threads I've also tried to outline the "most likely" winners for the weekend - and also the "discovered value' picks that are indicated using a secondary checking method that I am using.

please remember that nothing is certain in football betting - and if you do decide to bet then you acknowledge the personal decisions and risks that you are taking.

(What I'm saying here is don't come whining to me on Monday if these don't happen to win - I've tried as hard as I can to input all the accurate data - but sometimes things just don't go our way!!)

Also remember that this wekend we are trying to raise money for the Greek Wildfire Tragedy and are asking for winning punters to simply donate 5% or 10% of any profits that they make from the spreadsheet picks this weekend to this worthwhile cause.

If there is any Karma then you can be positive in knowing that this decision will bring you good luck - and hopefully great returns.

Good luck everyone - catch you next week - or feel free to post any and all questions on the forum.

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Weekend Football Speadsheets Online

The latest prediction spreadsheets for England, Germany and Italy are online in the Best of the Bets Forum.

Check out the forum for the threads where the sheets are posted along with some pointers on the best betting options and a couple of betting systems.

Direct links :
- The Sheet -> Italy - 25/26 August
- The Sheet-> England 25/26 August
- The Sheet -> German Bundesliga 24/26 August

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Euro 2008 : Germany take a big step to Austria

CZECH REP 1-2 GERMANY

Germany held off a late rally by the Czech Republic to clinch a well-deserved 2-1 win in the battle of the Group D leaders in Prague.

Kevin Kuranyi gave Germany a comfortable 2-0 cushion with two headers in the 42nd and 62nd minutes before a goal from Milan Baros shifted the momentum in the 76th.

Germany scored just before the break after a Frings corner from the left found Kuranyi and he rose highest to acrobatically nod the ball past a puzzled Cech, who reacted too late to prevent the danger.

The Czechs improved after the break, with Jan Koller having an effort blocked and Baros dangerously heading over a right-wing cross from Tomas Ujfalusi. Then Jens Lehmann caught a promising long-distance effort from Arsenal team-mate Tomas Rosicky, and Baros put a header inches past the right post.

But Germany made the Czechs pay in the 62nd minute with a fantastic counter-attack when the rampaging Lahm's pinpoint centre from the left was nodded home by Kuranyi to double the lead.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, Polak hit a 25-yarder which bounced over the line and past Lehmann after it had taken a deadly deflection off Baros' foot.

The Czechs upped the pressure in the last 10 minutes, but Germany prevailed to move three points clear at the top of the pool - but both sides are still well placed to qualify.

Germany 5 games 13 pts, Czech Rep 5-10, Rep. Ireland 6-10, Slovakia 5-9

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Mar 17/18 Weekend Spreadsheets out now

How's your week gone?

Hopefully you didn't blow your betting bank on the Cheltenham festival and you've got some cash left for the weekends football.

I've posted all three weekend sheets (England, Germny and Italy) on the forum in their respective threads now - and it's a bit of a mixed bag this week.

Here's a quick summary by country.

ENGLAND - LIKELY BETS
There are four probable home winners forecast by the spreadsheet in the English Premier League this weekend :
- Chelsea (85%) to beat Sheffield United @ 1.20
- Tottenham (77%) to beat Watford @ 1.50
- Manchester United (76%) to beat Bolton Wanderers @ 1.33
- Blackburn Rovers (66%) to beat West Ham @ 1.75

and there is also a "half" recommendation for :
- Reading (61%) to beat Portsmouth

ENGLAND - VALUE BETS
There are three home sides who look reasonable "value" with Reading, Tottenham, and Blackburn all seen as giving at least 115% value options.

The sheet also thinks that the price of 3.40 for draws in Aston Villa v Liverpool and Everton v Arsenal look bit over-priced.

GERMANY - LIKELY BETS
Nothing appears too liekly on Saturday - but the two Sunday games look to have their chances for the home sides :
- Leverkusen (66%) to beat Monchengladbach @ 1.73
- Werder Bremen (64%) to beat Mainz @ 1.45

GERMANY - VALUE BETS
One option for value seekers may be to oppose Bayern Munich on Saturday - they've lost a lot of road games and Eintracht Frankfurt are priced at a high 5.50 to score a home win.

Elsewhere you could consider taking either Hamburg or Bochum to score suprise away wins at nice prices.

ITALY - LIKELY BETS
Italy provides us with the only "likely" away win of the wekend - and no surprises that it's Inter Milan that is picked - along with two obvious home win choices :
- AC Milan (75%) to beat Atalanta @ 1.36
- Inter Milan (67%) to win at Ascoli @ 1.40
- Lazio (65%) to beat Empoli @ 1.67

Good luck with your punting - feel free to drop by the forum and offer any comments.

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The Sheets - England / Italy / Germany - 3rd/4th Mar

Hello - thanks for checking out the blog today.

Because I'm running a bit behind schedule this weekend we're going to do things a little differently today, as I'm going to discuss each sheet briefly and then point you to the Betting Forum where the sheets are posted and you can join in the discussion.

ENGLISH SHEET. (FORUM LINK - or go DIRECT TO POST )

LIKELY BETS
===========================
Arsenal to beat Reading.
Chelsea to win at Portsmouth.

Of course the sheet knows nothing about injuries to John Terry, or to Thierry Henry, or about upcoming European geames (etc) so you have to apply your own modifiers to those percentage numbers and decide whether it's still worth a play.

VALUE BETS
=================================
An interesting sheet for the weekend with 6 teams raising the GREEN FLAG for value :

Liverpool to beat Manchester Utd
Arsenal to beat Reading
Fulham to beat Aston Villa
Sheff Utd to beat Everton
Portsmouth to beat Chelsea
West Ham to beat Tottenham

Place six singles and if you get three or more winners then you'll be in profit.

ITALIAN SHEET. (FORUM LINK - or go DIRECT TO POST )

LIKELY BETS
=============================
There are three games that most people would pick and all of them appear to be at fair or better value too.

Milan AC to beat Chievo @ 1.40 (Saturday)
Fiorentina to beat Torino @ 1.40
Lazio to beat Sampdoria @ 1.80


GERMAN SHEET. (FORUM LINK - or go DIRECT TO POST )

LIKELY BETS
===================
Only one is recommended by both halves of the sheet with Werder Bremen the obvious choice to beat Bochum - but the price of 1.33 is very poor value.

There are two "half recommendations :
Wolfsburg to beat Mochengladbach at 1.95
Dortmund to beat Cottbus @ 1.65

The first bet is on Saturday and seems to have some value as well

VALUE BETS
=============================
Hertha Berlin to beat Bayern Munich at 3.30 !!
3.30 !! that's a good price.
:-)

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Sunday Cracker Bets

Lets take in a Bundesliga game first up where high flying Stuttgart travel to face Hannover.

VfB Stuttgart have good last 10 form at 6-3-1 and a good away record of 3-2-0 as well, and a win today would move them to the top of the table.

Hannover are bottom of the league, just 0-2-3 at home, but did surprise massively in midweek by winning at Bayern Munich.

So do you think that Hannover are likely to build on that result and win again??!

Bollocks! They are bottom of the table for a reason - and they are far more likely to throw up a shocking result in my opinion.

There is a risk of the draw though - so we will take Bet365's Draw no Bet option at 1.66.

Take Stuttgart for 25 units @ 1.67 (DNB) at SportingOdds

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Sunday's Cracker Selections

A little late today (sorry) but you still should have plenty of time to get these on.

RUGBY INTERNATIONAL.
We will start with the rugby where the bookies are going overboard and offering England with a huge start at nearly even money.

Sure the All Blacks are the best side in the world, but this is NOT the strongest All Black selection (that is being saved for the games against France) and on Saturday Wales showed us that the gap between the hemispheres closes markedly when playing games in Europe.

The All Blacks will probably win - but the Twickenham factor will mean that England keep it close and certinaly well within the 14.5 points we are being offered.

20 Units on England +14.5 pts @ 1.96 @ PinnacleSports

FOOTBALL
There are two very good games in prospect in Germany today - but although the Schalke v Bayern Munich game is undoubtedly the match of the round it too tough for me to comfortably take the home side.

Instead I'll go to Frankfurt where the home side take on Monchengladbach who have an awful 0-0-4 away record. It's a little bit complicated by the fact that Frankfurt played in the UEFA Cup on Thursday though so I'll take the Draw-No-Bet option at 1.57.

20 Units on Frankfurt Draw-No-Bet @ 1.57 @ SportingOdds

I'll also dip into the action in Holland and take Dutch powerhouse side Ajax to ease past Heracles Almelo. Ajax are 9-0-1 this season winning their last six in a row. A slight concern about Heracles artifical pitch. But I'll take that risk.

20 Units on Ajax to win @ 1.44 @ Ladbrokes

Finally to England where there are three possible options.

I'll sidestep the Spurs v Chelsea game - even though Chelsea are 6-2-0 in their last 8 visits to White Hart Lane - because I think that Spurs will have a surprise in store for the Blues this this time.

I'll also avoid Villa v Blackburn too. Blackburn have had a very tough fixture list with games on Sunday (League) , Thursday (UEFA Cup) and Sunday again. Too many injuries and fatigue as well to back the visitors and Aston Villa have gone cold after a good start to the season.

Instead I'll go to Upton Park where Arsenal will face a West Ham side who will have been relieved to finally get a win (over Blackburn) last time.

But for West Ham to get something here they're probably gonig to have to play negatively - and that's just something that West Ham do not do often at home in front of their own fans. The Hammers will try to play good football - and I think that Arsenal will take up the challenge.

20 Units on Arsenal to win @ 1.62 @ PremierBet

So that's it - 4 bets for 80 units in total - and we are going to need three winners to turn a profit today. I think we will get that - and let's hope for our first clean sweep eh?

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Football Betting Crackers (Sat 4 Nov )

Starting bank : 133.5 Units (+33.5)

Remember we have already placed the 40 unit double on
ManYoo and Liverpool - 1.82 @ Interwetten

Additional Saturday crackers :

Werder Bremen v Energie Cottbus
Take 20 units on OVER 2.5 GOALS - 1.50 @ SportingOdds

Auxerre v Le Mans
Take 20 units on Auxerre - 1.90 @ Eurobet

Bolton v Wigan
Take 20 units on Bolton - 1.99 @ Mansion Ex.

Fulham v Everton
Take 20 units on Fulham - 2.80 @ Bet365

I make that a total of 120 units placed - I did warn you that we'd have to be aggressive ... so that leaves us with just 13.5 units in the bank.

We'd better get some payoffs tonight - or it will be a short campaign.

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