Football: Olympics 2008

by Bodog Sports | Jul 24 2008

With the news that a Great Britain football side may be led by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson at the 2012 Games in London, it comes as no surprise to see home interest in the 2008 Olympic football tournament on the increase.

This year the two biggest South American teams have a strong hand and that is reflected in the betting with Argentina favourites, and Brazil just behind them.

To some extent both countries have been hampered in their preparation by European clubs who are keen to make sure that their prized assets are not overplayed in the lead up to their domestic league seasons.

The Olympic rules dictate that there be automatic release for players of 23 and under. However, Bundesliga side Werder Bremen are reluctant to let Diego play for Brazil and Barcelona seem likely to hang on to Argentina's Lionel Messi.

Clubs have no obligation to release players that are over 23 and that will probably hurt Brazil most with the likes of AC Milan’s Kaka, Real Madrid’s Robinho and experienced defenders Lucio and Juan all ruled out by their clubs. One piece of good news for coach Dunga is that Milan have released new Barca signing Ronaldinho for Beijing action.

Anyone who has seen the size of Ronaldinho’s recent waistline might not agree that his presence in the Brazil side will be such a positive one. Each country is permitted to field three over-age players.

Incredibly, Olympic gold is the one item of footballing trophy hardware Brazil have yet to claim and they don’t exactly stand out as five star betting material. Surely if the greatest football nation in the world was 100% committed to the Olympics they’d have claimed Gold before now.

on Brazil to win the Olympics football

Argentina don’t appear to have experienced as many issues with club releases, and Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano and Boca Juniors playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme will add respective steel and silk to the midfield.

Both players already boast an Olympic medal having played in the side that proved too good for the rest at Athens in 2004. With new coach Sergio Batista in charge the blue and whites are the rightful favourites.

Batista, who played alongside Diego Maradona in the victorious 1986 World Cup, has previously been in charge of Argentina’s youth sides and knows his young squad inside out.

on Argentina to win the Olympics football

Many serious punters were taught the lesson of their lives during the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea, where Guus Hiddink’s little known South Koreans rammed home the significance of home advantage.

In 2002 the Koreans emerged undefeated from their group before eliminating current European Champions Spain on penalties. They eventually fell to Germany in the semi finals but that wasn’t before the Asians had been backed by some of the shrewdest football punters in the world at colossal odds to reach the last 16. In this event Korea offer far better value than the top two in the betting.

on Republic of Korea to win the Olympics football

With the backing of referees, the crowd and atmospheric conditions, Korea showed us just how far a host nation can go in Asia. With that in mind our second and final tip has to be China, who will play all of their games in the massive Workers Stadium, where they will receive formidable home support.

on China to win the Olympics football

Group A: Ivory Coast, Argentina, Australia, Serbia
Group B: Netherlands, Nigeria, Japan, USA
Group C: China, New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium
Group D: Republic of Korea, Cameroon, Honduras, Italy

on Olympics football