Argentina

How can you possibly back them with maradonna at the helm ,wil be brazil

Yeah but thats kinda the thing,has that not been built into the price and regardless of who is manager id be loath to write off such a squad of top notch players many of whom Messi,Higuain,Tevez are in really good form this year.

All in great form yes, BUT who knows who Maradona puts in his final 23 ??

Is Messi certain with him as manager ?

Fact is he is in love with palermo who is 36 and that will mean aguero,milito or lisandro will prob miss out. imo maradonna was the best ever but he is a complete dummy as a manager. With the pool of players they had they should have won the south american group not scrape through like they did.

BTW Messi is the only player who is safe as he reminds mara of himself

the sum of their parts makes them look at big price, but they've drifted in price for a good reason as none of the players seem to show their best form in the national shirt, maradona is probably the underlying reason for this, at least he's finally noticed higuain is argentinian

massive price.

i agree with everything said about maradona but youre forgetting

one thing the world cup only lasts a few weeks and these players will

die for maradona come the time.

as no european team has ever won the world cup out of their own

continent i make it between brazil and argentina.

South Africa in the middle of winter will suit european teams more than europe in high summer.

Might be a decent bet but i don't get this ' no European team has won out of europe thing' , just coincidental imo

Lets hope Argenitna win the WC - my favourite other country since the 78 world cup.....

Oh and lets do the honourable thing and hand the Falklands back as well....its cost us tax payers enough already.

tobermory 27 Feb 20:16
Might be a decent bet but i don't get this ' no European team has won out of europe thing' , just coincidental imo

^ Ignore stats at your peril imo.

But there aren't many stats: only 8 held outside Europe

It would only be meaningful if European teams generally played poorly compared to how they do at home , but they don't really , Brazil or Argentina (or way back Uraguay) have won the tournaments but its not as if they both look a class above .One of the Big 2 ususally gets beat outside Europe by a European Team, and the winner is usually in a close game.

OK so none have won outside Europe but....

2002 England beat Argentina .
1994 Romania knock out Argentina and 7/8 quarter finalists European.
1986 France knock out Brazil .
1978 Brazil drew with Sweden and Spain, even Argentina lost to Italy.

all these victorys and yet none have won ie EVER coincidence my erse..

Stats are stats. If you back a European team they will be trying to achieve something that has never been done before. No European team has won a World Cup outside of Europe.

WORLD CUPS OUTSIDE EUROPE
1930 Uraguay 4 Argentina 2
1950 Uraguay 2 Brazil 1
1962 Brazil 3 Czech 1
1970 Brazil 4 Italy 1
1978 Argentina 3 Holland 1
1986 Argentina 3 Germany 2
1994 Brazil beat Italy on Pens
2002 Brazil 2 Germany 0

8 WINS FOR SOUTH AMERICAN TEAMS

5 European teams beaten in the last 5 finals outside Europe.

Look at the stats in Europe also. Only 1 non EUROPEAN team has won a world cup in Europe and that was Brazil in 1958 in Sweden.

WORLD CUPS IN EUROPE
1934 Italy 2 Czech 1
1938 Italy 4 Hungary 2
1954 Germany 3 Hungary 2
1958 Brazil 5 Sweden 2
1966 England 4 Germany 2
1974 Germany 2 Holland 1
1982 Italy 3 Germany 1
1990 Germany 1 Argentina 0
1998 France 3 Brazil 0
2006 Italy beat France on pens

9 WINS FOR EUROPEAN TEAMS 1 FOR SOUTH AMERICAN

Its up to you if you think its a coincedence. I for one will be backing BRAZIL.

No team has won a World Cup in Africa.
England and Brazil are the only teams to win World Cups in English speaking countries.

Weather argentina are good enough is one question. However i don't think they will get the rub of the green with the refs.

5 European teams beaten in the last 5 finals outside Europe

So how do they get to the final then , if they are rubbish outside Europe?

Surely if these stats meant anything there would have been a few Brazil v Argentina Finals

They have the players to win this WC, but they haven't got the manager. Loved Maradona as a player but at the helm of the int'l team.... beyond farcical.

I just made this point on another thread - the squad El Diego doesn't choose to go to SA would probably have a better chance of winning the WC than the one he does choose - that's how messed up Argentinian football is with Maradona in charge of selection and tactics.
Javier Zanetti, Gabriel Milito, Cambiasso, Riquelme, Aimar, Saviola, Crespo... just some of the quality players probably missing from the squad.

What the hell is Veron doing still getting in the starting XI? His legs had gone about 5 years ago... one of the most over-rated players in the history of football. He wasn't even any good back in his pomp in 1998. He is now mid-30s, ambles aimlessly around central midfield, and yet he will start for Argentina because he must be one of El Diego's best mates.
I know J.Zanetti and Crespo are similar ages but they are still quality unlike Veron.

aimar finished saviola finished crespo does he still even play football

if so who for.

veron in the form of his life with estudiantes.

5 European teams beaten in the last 5 finals outside Europe

So how do they get to the final then , if they are rubbish outside Europe?

Surely if these stats meant anything there would have been a few Brazil v Argentina Finals

Being beat in the Final isnt winning. You either go with the stats or you dont. Im going with the Stats.

Starting to come good now. I am on...

How are matches that happened when none of the current players were even born of the slightest relevance to this world cup?

Going with the stats, LMAO. So if the final is between Spain and Brazil how would you price it up? Presumably 1.01 Brazil, based on your 'stats'.

I bet you're looking forward to lumping on Spurs to win the FA Cup next season because the year ends in a one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0O7KkZn4rk&feature=related

The trains starting to leave the station :)
When are the squads announced?

the lay preacher 08 Mar 01:23
aimar finished saviola finished crespo does he still even play football


Crepso is at Parma now mate

Stats are totally irrelevant in the overwhelming majority of cases imo. With so many combinations in outcomes of games / tournaments / seasons, of course you are going to get patterns or coincidences occurring regularly. It would be bizarre if you didn't!

What happened ten or twenty years ago has absolutely sod all bearing on what happens now. Simple as that.

Fancy them to make quarter finals at least, possibly semi's then it's anyones game. Brazil to win it though, but fancy Messi to have one or two crazy games where he scores 3 or 4 so backing him as top scorer rather than backing the Argies.

hopw the argies do well - managed to get some decent odds on both them and france 16/1(when it looked for a while like argies wouldnt qualify) and 36/1 (when it looked like ireland were going through) respectively - only have £25 on each but value none the less!