Earlier in January, an unexpected thing occurred in the world of football when the former French footballer David Ginola announced his desire to make a run for the presidential spot of FIFA.
It wasn’t revealed until a few weeks ago that the campaign of the Frenchman was backed by a top soccer betting firm and that Ginola was doing nothing more than just a publicity stunt.
Manchester United may have endured a scare against Preston North End on Monday night but they eventually came through the FA Cup fifth round tie in comfortable fashion.
Having fallen behind to a Scott Laird goal early in the second half, Louis van Gaal's men eventually came back to record a 3-1 victory. The win was capped with a penalty which was won and converted by Wayne Rooney.
Change of Focus
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville says that Liverpool could have brought in a player like Carlos Tevez in the summer rather than signing names like Mario Balotelli.
Liverpool have been struggling for form and consistency since the start of the campaign. This is in sharp contrast to the brilliant campaign, even though it ended up trophyless once again, last time around. One of the hallmarks of last season was Liverpool’s ability to come out flying out of the blocks. They have been unable to do so due to several reasons, but fingers of blame have been largely pointed at Balotelli.
At the start of the 2014/15 Premier League season, Chelsea’s odds on winning the quadruple would have been in the region of 500-1 with some bookmakers. But after a fine start to their title campaign, the Blues are into 66-1 to lift all four trophies in 2015.
In terms of their chances of winning the Premier League title, the Blues are in pole position as they are odds-on at the top of the outright market at betting.betfair blog. Going in to 2015, they are three points clear of rivals Manchester City.
Betting in sports is something that has occurred for the longest of times but it has increased exponentially more with the creation and evolution of the internet as people can now do it without having to leave their house and simply do it online with their computers.
Wilson Raj Perumal is a convicted Singaporean match-fixer who has had connections with a number of worldwide matches and events such as matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and also been revealed that Perumal has even rigged competitions in the Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008 Olympic games.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says that he may tinker with the team selection for the match against Real Madrid in the hope of keeping his players fresh for the weekend’s match against Chelsea.
He has heavily suggested that Steven Gerrard may be rested for this match. The Liverpool captain has featured in almost 1400 minutes of action this season. At 34 years of age, he does not have the legs to play twice a week. Hence, Rodgers has to find a way to keep him fresh for the important matches.
After Spain’s outing in the World Cup 2014, there have been urges from the fans that all the senior players should be ousted and a young team should be built keeping the next two big assignments i.e. the Euro 16 and WC 18 in mind. But, Vicente Del Bosque, the manager of the team who escaped the axe despite having one of his worst tournaments in Brazil, doesn’t seem to be going to do so.
The Football Association (FA) has established new rules concerning football betting involving any players, clubs, club employees and match officials in the top football leagues in England. These leagues are: Premier League, Football Championship, League One, League Two, Conference Premier, Conference North and South, Northern Premier Division, Southern Premier Division and Isthmian Premier Division.
Having made over 150 appearances representing her country, Hope Solo is one of the stars of the U.S Women’s Soccer team. She has been the first choice goalkeeper for the squad since 2000. Throughout her career she has earned a number of accolades which includes Olympic Gold Medals, CONCACAF Gold Cups as well as being named as the U.S Soccer Female Athlete of the Year in 2009.
Brazil will be taking on Cameroon in the final group A match of the World Cup 2014. It is a must win game for the Brazilians since they are still not into the last 16 round just yet. Impressive performances from Mexico and Croatia will see them fighting out with Brazil even for top spot going into this match. However, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team are overwhelming favourites to get the three points in this match. Brazil are astonishing 1/8 to win the match compared to the best of 20/1 given to Cameroon getting three points.