(Germany's young guns are our outright picks for Euro 2012)
It takes an awful lot to win a European Championship, the right set of players, complimentary tactics, a decent draw & a little bit of luck can all go some way to setting a side up for a Championship run & the side that look like proving toughest to stop here have to be Germany. The Germans seem to have become plenty of peoples' idea of champions & it has been refreshing to hear so many English fans have somewhat of a soft spot for our Saxon neighbours rather than the usual nonsense. It helps that Germany play such an exciting & attacking brand of football with youngsters such as Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller & especially Mesut Ozil all catching the eye with chance creation. Ozil is as short as 8/1 (Ladbrokes) to be player of the tournament & we can see why he'd be popular as he was brilliant at the last World Cup when coming in as an unkown outside of Germany & has continued that fine form now playing for the world's biggest club side in Real Madrid, you can get 14/1 on him to be awarded best player & that's a more tempting offer.
German & English football has shared many similar qualities over the years but there are plenty of differences now, as if to emphasise that Joachim Low has been able to select 8 Bayern Munich players, a side that reached the Champions League final & were arguably this year's best side in the competition, whereas Roy Hodgson now has 6 Liverpool players in his squad - the more said about their appalling performance this season the better. Plenty of those Bayern players are likely to be starters too & that means they have an advantage over most national teams that are having to find their way into tournaments, building team spirit & cohesion. The incredibly young age of the Germans would prove a worry if it weren't for the wealth of experience these youngsters already have for the national side & top European teams, 17 of the 23 in their squad are 26 years old or younger & only two are 30 or older - backup keeper Tim Wiese & talismanic striker Miroslav 'Tournament' Klose. The defence would be the one area that could be argued to be a weak spot for the Germans but 4 of the 5 are Bayern regulars with the imposing Manuel Neuer between the sticks & Boateng & our absolute favourite Philipp Lahm at the full back spots. 23 year old Mats Hummels is the one non-Bayern player at the back but he started out there before moving on a couple of years ago to achieve a lot of success with Borussia Dortmund & he can be relied upon.
(Andrea Schurrle has 7 goals in 14 appearances for Germany)
If there is to be a breakout star for Germany we think it could come in the form of 21 year old Andrea Schurrle who already has 7 goals in 14 games for the national side & has scored against Switzerland & Israel in the warmup games, if for some reason 'Super' Mario Gomez fails to fire on the big stage it could be Schurrle who benefits. Backing Schurrle to be last scorer in games could be a play as he may come on as a super sub to start with, if he can establish himself in the team he could even make a play for the top German scorer at 16/1.
(Ibrahimovic is too big at 50/1 to be top scorer at Euro 2012)
Our other outright bets are at huge odds yet we think they should be a little shorter in the betting with Samir Nasri (66/1) & Andrea Pirlo (80/1) to pick up the player of the tournament prize both key players for their sides who get plenty of the ball & are in teams with the potential to reach the semi finals - reaching the final 4 should be key to scoring this prize. The other player who is being massively underrated, as usual here in England, is Zlatan Ibrahimovic for tournament top scorer at 50/1, he bangs the goals in for team(s) & country & has a good supporting cast of creators in midfield for Sweden. We fancy the Swedes to get out of their group & Ibrahimovic is worth a little look in the market as 5 goals could potentially bag the prize outright.
(Russia are far superior to their Group A rivals)
The other side we reckon are worth considering for winning the whole tournament is France but their odds have shortened considerably & they no longer look such a solid betting proposition at just 10/1. If Benzema stays fit & in top form France will be dangerous to everyone but if he were to drop out his backups are not near his quality, the defence is a little weaker than the rest of their team too, as the selection of Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny in the squad illustrates. We haven't a lot of love for Spain at the prices but clearly they are a top class outfit, it might just be that time & plenty of matches on the legs of their key Barcelona players start to catch up with them & we think they could find it hard to break down the defences of Italy & Ireland, meaning a lay of them at cramped odds to qualify the group looks a play. Our best bet of the tournament has to be Russia to win Group A at odds of 6/4, that is underestimating just how superior the Russians are to the other 3 sides, Greece are limited & the Czech Republic could be the worst side in the finals. Poland are here as hosts & can play a little but are still some way below the Russians who are coming into the tournament in decent nick & they reached the semis, playing some quality football, 4 years ago.
Whatever you end up going for we wish you the best of luck in giving the bookies a beating! Our outright & group specific bets are all listed below.
Outright Selections:
Germany to win tournament at 3/1
Samir Nasri (France) to be player of the tournament at 66/1
Andrea Pirlo (Italy) to be player of the tournament at 80/1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be top tournament goalscorer at 50/1 (each way 1/4 odds 1-2-3-4)
Group A picks:
Russia to win Group A at 6/4 (Like Buying Money's Star Bet)
Russia to beat Czech Republic at 5/4
Robert Lewandowski to be top Group A goalscorer at 11/4
Czech Republic to finish bottom of Group A at 11/5
Group B picks:
Germany to win Group B at 6/5
Cristiano Ronaldo to be top Portuguese scorer at 15/8
Denmark to concede fewest goals in tournament at 22/1
Group C picks:
Lay Spain at 1.16 or lower to qualify from Group C
Group C to be lowest scoring group at 3/1
Group D picks:
France/Sweden straight forecast for Group D at 12/1
Sweden/France straight forecast for Group D at 18/1
Andriy Yarmolenko to be top Ukranian goalscorer at 6/1
Yeah!! Good luck to everyone..And do keep your updates/reports coming as they are a great read.
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