INTERNATIONAL BETTING PICK - ETOILE SPORTIVE V URAWA RED DIAMONDS

International

2007-12-16 - Etoile Sportive vs Urawa Red Diamonds

A Sports Betting Pick by Romerz

Etoile Sportive du Sahel v Urawa Red Diamonds
FIFA Club World Cup 2007
16 December 2007 – 16.00 (local time)
International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan

Unlike previous editions of the tournament, this match for 3rd/4th placing is being played on the same day and at the same venue as the final, like a curtain raiser to the main event.

Usually this kind of match brings little significance to both teams, as they have both just suffered the disappointment of missing the final after coming so close, but in this case I think it will be a little different as it will be played to a capacity or near capacity crowd who are at the stadium to watch the final.

Etoile Sportive

Having played 2 matches in this tournament so far, they have surprised many when they dispatched Pachuca of Mexico in the QF.

This they did despite being totally dominated by Pachuca and didn’t look much like a threat to Pachuca until the last 5 mins when Etoile snatched victory with a wicked deflection off a 35-yard shot.

In the SF, everyone expected Etoile to be run over by Boca Juniors of Argentina but surprisingly they held their own against Boca. Despite going down to a 1st half goal, Etoile actually turned up the heat and had Boca on the back foot for most of the 2nd half. In this match, Etoile owned the midfield and had Boca playing long balls as Boca could not regain the midfield, try as they did.

In both matches, Etoile’s 19-year-old striker Armine Chermiti showed why he is speculated to be signed by a big European club soon. He had pace, dribbling skills and good feet to keep troubling the opponent’s defense, though to a lesser extent in the QF as he wasn’t provided much service.

For this match, Etoile has no player out with suspensions but whether goal scorer Ghanian Moussa Narry plays is yet to be seen. He was substituted early on in the SF as he took a knock to the head and was seen to be in great distress for some time after that.

Urawa Reds

After having a dismal end to their domestic season in the J-League, the Reds rose to the occasion and easily dispatched Sepahan of Iran in the QF. Urawa Reds were hardly troubled in this match and were already leading 3-0 when they conceded a consolation goal to Mahmoud Karimi of Sepahan in the last 10 mins.

In the SF against European giants AC Milan, the match was described by many as the best of the tournament so far. Both teams adopted open play and Urawa Reds went toe-to-toe with Milan. Urawa Reds gave as good as they got from Milan and if not for that 1 moment of brilliance from Kaka, the match could actually have ended in a stalemate. Though Urawa Reds did not look as threatening as Milan, highly talented Milan just could not break down their disciplined defense except for that 1 time.

Key players in the Red’s defense were Keisuke Tsuboi, Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Nene but unfortunately for Urawa reds, Marcus Tulio Tanaka will most probably not feature as he pulled up with what looked like a hamstring problem towards the end of the SF. Nevertheless, it looks like long time absentee, influential captain Nobuhisa Yamada will replace Tulio. In fact in the SF, immediately after coming on to replace Tulio, Yamada found himself with scoring chances because of his clever runs.

Analysis

Etoile produced 2 contrasting displays in both the matches played so far. In the 1st match, they were outplayed and dominated but yet they went on to hold out and eventually win whilst in the 2nd match, they rendered their opponent helpless in midfield and forced them to resort to long balls and ruthless defending but yet came out the loser.

Urawa Reds, played a relatively comfortable 1st match where they won and in the 2nd match, earned themselves many admirers from neutrals for going head on with AC Milan and giving as good as they received. Though their forwards were marked out of the match by Milan’s experienced defenders, against Etoile, Red’s big striker Washington should have an easier time.

Coupled with Urawa Red’s disciplined defense, I don’t think Etoile’s forwards will fare any better than Milan’s. Playing in Japan, Urawa Reds can also depend on crowd support that I consider the best football fans in the world, 90 mins of non-stop cheering and in good spirits.