January In-Game
- Thread starter ~Utah
- Start date
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
loads of value in Asian Cup, lots of really really really shit teams. Should see a lot of goals
Haven't seen any lines on 5dimes for this
Tottenham needs to win this game, critical
guaranteeed
Pretty much a regular
hes a real wizard now
I looked for it on the other night when australia was playing someone and they only had U20's
Oh! I get it
Steelers are done, kind of cheer for them now since my sister move there
Monger
Pretty much a regular
guaranteeed
Pretty much a regular
<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/OpEHgDHphrt/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
guaranteeed
Pretty much a regular
bullshit
guaranteeed
Pretty much a regular
fuck off
hows that not a pen
hows that not a pen
[h=1]Five reasons to watch the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia[/h]<figure style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
<figcaption style="padding: 22px 0px 24px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: BentonSans;">Japan and Australia are two heavyweights tipped to go far in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.</figcaption></figure>From Australia trying to prove its mettle as a genuine football nation to regional heavyweights Japan and South Korea wanting to lay World Cup ghosts to rest, plus the emotional debut of Palestine ... the 2015 AFC Asian Cup has no shortage of sub-plots as the 16th edition prepares to kick-off on Jan. 9.
Here are five reasons to follow Asia's biggest football tournament.
[h=4]AFC ASIAN CUP - AUSTRALIA 2015[/h]- Wrap: Wins for South Korea, Uzbekistan and China
- Highlights: Uzbekistan 1-0 DPR Korea
- Saudi win builds confidence for Perrin's China
- Parkin: Oman's giant between the sticks
- WATCH: Kim's spectacular save for South Korea
- Countdown: The Top 10 Asian footballers of all time
[h=2]1. Aussie football fights resistance[/h]Some people in Australia will already find the above heading pedantic, facetious and more than a little irritating.
The world game is not the most dominant sport in Australia. Real football is played with the hands. Soccer is the softer, second-tier competition played by preening, pampered, overpaid, brittle-boned divers. At least that was once the stubbornly persistent perception.
In December 2009, the soccer-baiting Herald Sun newspaper published a photograph of Aussie Rules legend Ron Barassi crushing a soccer ball, insisting that any World Cup bid and the use of the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground must never compromise Australia's indigenous game. The media gimmick was puerile, but in the traditional heartlands many struggled to contain their indifference after the abject failure of Australia's attempt to host the 2022 tournament.
With the A-League plateauing slightly after its initial boost from the 2006 World Cup, there was a concern that soccer might always be played in the shadow of the country's more popular sports (comparisons were even made to the post-Michael Jordan decline of professional basketball in Australia).
<figure class="video" style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
<figcaption style="padding: 22px 0px 24px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: BentonSans;">Tim Cahill: Not just fighting corner flags, but football's place in Australia's sporting landscape.</figcaption>
</figure>But the round ball's resistance proved to be indefatigable. The A-League's foothold is now deeply entrenched on the sporting landscape. The Melbourne derbies are a cultural highlight in Australia's AFL capital and Western Sydney Wanderers' extraordinary 2014 AFC Champions League triumph was rightly celebrated as one of the country's finest sporting moments.
The Melbourne Cup has long trumpeted its unique ability to be the horserace that "stops the nation," but Tim Cahill did likewise with that stupendous volley against the Netherlands. The Socceroos' World Cup appearance was always going to be fleeting in a tough group, but the game's staying power is no longer disputed.
Soccer, football, call it whatever you like, the game is here to stay, and proof will come at the Asian Cup. For the first time, Australia hosts an international soccer tournament. Parochial, misplaced fears of a foreign footy game swamping its Australian hybrid are finally subsiding.
Whatever happens to the Socceroos at the Asian Cup, the game itself has already won in Australia.
[h=2]2. Asian giants must make amends[/h]Sixty percent of the world's population lives in Asia, which may qualify as an irrelevant stat to everyone except geography teachers.
The World Cup demonstrated that size really didn't matter. The four AFC representatives -- Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea -- were collectively less successful than Costa Rica. With three draws between all four nations, they came away with fewer points than the Ticos. The Socceroos had a legitimate excuse, lumbered in a veritable group of death, but the other three were in groups of mild discomfort.
<figure style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
<figcaption style="padding: 22px 0px 24px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: BentonSans;">Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea, pictured, will need to make up for some dismal showings at the 2014 World Cup.</figcaption></figure>If the most colourful Asian performance of the tournament was Australia's 3-2 loss to the Netherlands, the best performance belonged to Iran. They held World Cup finalists Argentina for 90 minutes until Lionel Messi remembered his iconic status and swapped his pedestrian role for one of puppeteer to pull enough strings to break Iranian hearts. That game offered a captivating subplot.
But the overriding Asian narrative was anticlimactic, dominated by premature exits and sheepish apologies. The Asian Cup is a chance to make amends. The Japanese are favourites to retain the trophy, ahead of Australia and South Korea. All three have a point to prove. As minnows, they flailed in Brazil. As big fish Down Under, they will have no excuses.
[h=2]3. The Mystery of North Korea[/h]If Hollywood ever decided to make a comedy about North Korea, well, we already know what would happen next. Off the pitch, their Asian Cup preparations have been cloaked with the typical secrecy that one normally associates with the Chollima.
They are hardly lying on a bed of roses on the field, either. Coach Yun Jong-su was suspended for 12 months for "aggressive behaviour" following his side's loss to South Korea in the final of the Asian Games in October. Bizarrely, he has been banned from entering Asian Cup stadiums on match days but can participate in training sessions.
But the game's popularity has increased since their participation at the 2010 World Cup, and Lionel Messi is a genuine celebrity in the closed-off country. With the nation locked in a relentless tractor beam of unwanted publicity, their presence at the Asian Cup will be fascinating.
[h=2]4. Everyone is talking about Qatar[/h]With impeccable timing, FIFA has inadvertently dragged the Qataris back to where they least like to be -- under the microscope and facing global indignation once more.
As Sepp Blatter decides what parts of a report into claims of corruption during the World Cup bidding process can and cannot be published, the 2022 hosts must deal with domestic indifference, international condemnation and possibly a hostile reception inside Australia's stadiums.
<figure style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
<figcaption style="padding: 22px 0px 24px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: BentonSans;">Qatar will hope to leave off-field issues behind and let their football do the talking.</figcaption></figure>Their opener against the United Arab Emirates in Canberra should be relatively benign, but their other Group C games will be held in Sydney.
The rest of the world will wonder if they can actually play. Quarterfinalists twice and reigning 2014 Gulf Cup champions, they may fancy their chances of getting out of the group with Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi (who once played for Manchester City and Southampton).
Their alleged policy of coughing up cash to naturalise foreign players eager to swap passports for a lucrative payday will always polarise opinion. But Qatar need all the help they can get. They'll find themselves the centre of attention at this Asian Cup, but rarely for the right reasons.
[h=2]5. Plucky Palestine[/h]They are manacled to the political machinations of others. Travel restrictions are a permanent problem. International fixtures are the stuff of logistical nightmares. Players are pulled in from far-flung countries such as Chile, Sweden and the United States.
Their leading scorer, Ashraf Nu'man, plays in the Saudi Professional League. Their best player perhaps, Omar Jarun, plays at centre-back for Ottawa Fury in Canada. They are a ramshackle bunch of displaced journeymen and weary veterans.
And yet, somehow, the Palestinians qualified for their first Asian Cup.
They are the pluckiest of underdogs. Deprived of both sufficient resources and manpower, Palestine face a rude awakening in their opener against Japan. But their appearance at the Asian Cup is achievement enough.
Like Iraq in 2007, they very much consider themselves as ambassadors of a struggling nation. The Asian Cup loves an uplifting narrative with ready-made heroes. The Palestinians will be eager to pass the audition
Here are five reasons to follow Asia's biggest football tournament.
- Highlights: Uzbekistan 1-0 DPR Korea
- Saudi win builds confidence for Perrin's China
- Parkin: Oman's giant between the sticks
- WATCH: Kim's spectacular save for South Korea
- Countdown: The Top 10 Asian footballers of all time
[h=2]1. Aussie football fights resistance[/h]Some people in Australia will already find the above heading pedantic, facetious and more than a little irritating.
The world game is not the most dominant sport in Australia. Real football is played with the hands. Soccer is the softer, second-tier competition played by preening, pampered, overpaid, brittle-boned divers. At least that was once the stubbornly persistent perception.
In December 2009, the soccer-baiting Herald Sun newspaper published a photograph of Aussie Rules legend Ron Barassi crushing a soccer ball, insisting that any World Cup bid and the use of the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground must never compromise Australia's indigenous game. The media gimmick was puerile, but in the traditional heartlands many struggled to contain their indifference after the abject failure of Australia's attempt to host the 2022 tournament.
With the A-League plateauing slightly after its initial boost from the 2006 World Cup, there was a concern that soccer might always be played in the shadow of the country's more popular sports (comparisons were even made to the post-Michael Jordan decline of professional basketball in Australia).
<figure class="video" style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
<figcaption style="padding: 22px 0px 24px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: BentonSans;">Tim Cahill: Not just fighting corner flags, but football's place in Australia's sporting landscape.</figcaption>
</figure>But the round ball's resistance proved to be indefatigable. The A-League's foothold is now deeply entrenched on the sporting landscape. The Melbourne derbies are a cultural highlight in Australia's AFL capital and Western Sydney Wanderers' extraordinary 2014 AFC Champions League triumph was rightly celebrated as one of the country's finest sporting moments.
The Melbourne Cup has long trumpeted its unique ability to be the horserace that "stops the nation," but Tim Cahill did likewise with that stupendous volley against the Netherlands. The Socceroos' World Cup appearance was always going to be fleeting in a tough group, but the game's staying power is no longer disputed.
Soccer, football, call it whatever you like, the game is here to stay, and proof will come at the Asian Cup. For the first time, Australia hosts an international soccer tournament. Parochial, misplaced fears of a foreign footy game swamping its Australian hybrid are finally subsiding.
Whatever happens to the Socceroos at the Asian Cup, the game itself has already won in Australia.
[h=2]2. Asian giants must make amends[/h]Sixty percent of the world's population lives in Asia, which may qualify as an irrelevant stat to everyone except geography teachers.
The World Cup demonstrated that size really didn't matter. The four AFC representatives -- Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea -- were collectively less successful than Costa Rica. With three draws between all four nations, they came away with fewer points than the Ticos. The Socceroos had a legitimate excuse, lumbered in a veritable group of death, but the other three were in groups of mild discomfort.
<figure style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
But the overriding Asian narrative was anticlimactic, dominated by premature exits and sheepish apologies. The Asian Cup is a chance to make amends. The Japanese are favourites to retain the trophy, ahead of Australia and South Korea. All three have a point to prove. As minnows, they flailed in Brazil. As big fish Down Under, they will have no excuses.
[h=2]3. The Mystery of North Korea[/h]If Hollywood ever decided to make a comedy about North Korea, well, we already know what would happen next. Off the pitch, their Asian Cup preparations have been cloaked with the typical secrecy that one normally associates with the Chollima.
They are hardly lying on a bed of roses on the field, either. Coach Yun Jong-su was suspended for 12 months for "aggressive behaviour" following his side's loss to South Korea in the final of the Asian Games in October. Bizarrely, he has been banned from entering Asian Cup stadiums on match days but can participate in training sessions.
But the game's popularity has increased since their participation at the 2010 World Cup, and Lionel Messi is a genuine celebrity in the closed-off country. With the nation locked in a relentless tractor beam of unwanted publicity, their presence at the Asian Cup will be fascinating.
[h=2]4. Everyone is talking about Qatar[/h]With impeccable timing, FIFA has inadvertently dragged the Qataris back to where they least like to be -- under the microscope and facing global indignation once more.
As Sepp Blatter decides what parts of a report into claims of corruption during the World Cup bidding process can and cannot be published, the 2022 hosts must deal with domestic indifference, international condemnation and possibly a hostile reception inside Australia's stadiums.
<figure style="margin: 44px -42.890625px 44px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: margin 0.25s; -webkit-transition: margin 0.25s;">
The rest of the world will wonder if they can actually play. Quarterfinalists twice and reigning 2014 Gulf Cup champions, they may fancy their chances of getting out of the group with Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi (who once played for Manchester City and Southampton).
Their alleged policy of coughing up cash to naturalise foreign players eager to swap passports for a lucrative payday will always polarise opinion. But Qatar need all the help they can get. They'll find themselves the centre of attention at this Asian Cup, but rarely for the right reasons.
[h=2]5. Plucky Palestine[/h]They are manacled to the political machinations of others. Travel restrictions are a permanent problem. International fixtures are the stuff of logistical nightmares. Players are pulled in from far-flung countries such as Chile, Sweden and the United States.
Their leading scorer, Ashraf Nu'man, plays in the Saudi Professional League. Their best player perhaps, Omar Jarun, plays at centre-back for Ottawa Fury in Canada. They are a ramshackle bunch of displaced journeymen and weary veterans.
And yet, somehow, the Palestinians qualified for their first Asian Cup.
They are the pluckiest of underdogs. Deprived of both sufficient resources and manpower, Palestine face a rude awakening in their opener against Japan. But their appearance at the Asian Cup is achievement enough.
Like Iraq in 2007, they very much consider themselves as ambassadors of a struggling nation. The Asian Cup loves an uplifting narrative with ready-made heroes. The Palestinians will be eager to pass the audition
Are you back in the soccer forum?
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
Uzbekistan ML @ 2.29 big
Scorelines from previous matches were really deceiving. One team can score the other one required luck.
Sergeev will cause problems for the smaller Chinese D, plus incase of another rainy shit show, the skilled team has the major advantage.
Saudia Arabia ML @ 2.26 Med
What to say other than they played poor to their standards. Should really have done better on their penalty vs China, but the Chinese took advantage.
North Koreans are shit...they are really really bad, they just defend and hope they can get something from a set piece.
I'll trust the side that has more experience and the willingness to attack and has midfield control.
Scorelines from previous matches were really deceiving. One team can score the other one required luck.
Sergeev will cause problems for the smaller Chinese D, plus incase of another rainy shit show, the skilled team has the major advantage.
Saudia Arabia ML @ 2.26 Med
What to say other than they played poor to their standards. Should really have done better on their penalty vs China, but the Chinese took advantage.
North Koreans are shit...they are really really bad, they just defend and hope they can get something from a set piece.
I'll trust the side that has more experience and the willingness to attack and has midfield control.
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
c,
with that 3-1 scoreline you just totally smoked the books on this game!
with that 3-1 scoreline you just totally smoked the books on this game!
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
yeah the lines adjusted but the last games these two played should of been a totally different outcome. I'm pretty confident Uzbekistan can smash in around 3 goals.
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
the 1-0 win vs NOrth Korea was deceiving....Uzbekistan absolutely dominated that match, the only problem with that 5 goal prop is that I think you might need the Uzbeks to score all 5. China is not good at all.
If you got o3.5 Uzbekistan goals that might be worth a hit.
If you got o3.5 Uzbekistan goals that might be worth a hit.
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
Uzbekistan o1 @ 2.00 is really a gift!
Waiting to hit ingame 1h o1.5
Waiting to hit ingame 1h o1.5
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
and here we go, lets roll
cxbbum
Kickball Investor
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
took o1.5 1h @ 4.40 and o1 @ 3.30 these odds are a bit ridiculous not to play.
Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
UZBEKISTAN!!!
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