Brazil-Ecuador / Ecuador to score 1.70 SS The Brazilians have shown up to this Cup with a much weaker roster than what they brought to the SP two years ago on home soil. Back then, they somehow managed to scrape their way into the semifinals, only to be absolutely humiliated by the Germans in a 7-1 slaughter, followed by a 3-0 loss to the Dutch for third place. Honestly, ever since that disaster, this squad just hasn't felt right; they haven't played like true Brazil, if they ever truly were. The reality is that they managed to string together eight wins in friendlies following that total debacle, which is the trademark of this dungin representation—they look fantastic in exhibition matches, but once the real pressure hits, their level drops off a cliff, and the results inevitably tank. They arrived at last summer's Cup full of optimism, only to get knocked out in the quarterfinals by Paraguay, conceding goals in all four matches they played. Following that, during the World Cup qualifiers, they managed only two wins in six matches and kept a clean sheet just once. Their warm-up for this Cup was a 2-0 win over Panama, but like I said, friendlies always seem to go smoothly for the Brazilians. They’re going to be missing a massive chunk of their talent here—the biggest blow is definitely the absence of Neymar, along with Douglas Costa, Luiz Gustav, Rafinho, and Ederson. They’re still expecting big things, obviously, but looking at their recent form and actual results, fighting for gold seems like a pipe dream. Right out of the gate, they face a massive test that will likely decide who tops this group. Ecuador put in a solid performance during the World Cup in Brazil and were only unlucky to exit in the group stage, and in the last Cup, a 3-2 loss to Bolivia (despite a dominating 20-4 shot count) cost them a quarterfinal spot. They showed their true colors during the World Cup qualifiers, where they've suffered only one loss in six games and are currently tied for first place with Uruguay. They’re averaging over two goals per match, so even though they failed to score in both recent friendlies, I don't think that's going to be the case today. Against the US, they dictated the tempo and played far superior football, they just lacked the clinical edge to finish. Prior to that, they only failed to find the net four times in their last 20 matches. I truly believe they have a massive chance against a Brazil side this depleted, so this high odd for them to score makes zero sense to me—it's a clear play.
lonebison42 said:Can someone fill us uninitiated folks in here? Is this actually big news or just some bunch of nobodies nobody’s ever heard of? Lesicki really turned them into a powerhouse, though.🙂
🤦🤦🤦 What a total hack, just barking like a pathetic little journalist.🤦
And why the hell are you TorSiders claiming we love Mamić or his gang, or what, just so you can toss us into a furnace? 🤔🤔
Cut the moralizing crap where it doesn't belong—and let me tell you, the stands definitely aren't the place for it. What are we supposed to be, some kind of mindless robots without a single shred of emotion? We aren't damn politicians, so why do you all give a flying fuck 🤦🤦 You guys are nothing but absolute softies.
Hajduk Split vs. Dinamo Chicago under 2.5 goals at 1.81 on Bet365 Four days ago in the cup match at Poljud Stadium, Dinamo Chicago absolutely bullied Hajduk Split, leaving them with basically zero chance. Honestly, the guys in Split have been playing terribly lately—they’ve managed only four goals in their last six matches, so I really don't expect them to put on some spectacular show today either. On the flip side, they're getting hammered by critics from every direction for failing to offer any resistance against their bitter rivals, so they’ll be itching for revenge. I expect them to play a gritty, defensive game just to prove a point, which plays right into an "under" bet. Dinamo will also be feeling the sting of missing players; they won't have their main attacking trio, Soudani-Pjaca-Fernandes, who accounted for a massive 22 of Dinamo's 53 goals in the American First Football League, which tells you everything you need to know about how much they'll miss them. In their place, we'll see Rog-Hodžić-Brekalo, who simply aren't on that same offensive level. Because of that, I don't see Dinamo lighting up the scoreboard today; instead, this looks like one of those derby matches defined by yellow cards and constant fouls rather than goals. Looking at the last six head-to-head matchups, we've only seen two go over this margin, and both of those happened in Chicago. When looking at the last nine games played in Split, six of them ended under. Hajduk Split has only hit the over twice in their last nine games, while Dinamo Chicago has seen the over four times in their last ten league matches. This matchup always carries an intense, heavy atmosphere, and while the quality definitely favors the visitors right now, I still see this as a low-chance game with fewer than three goals.
As weird as it sounds, the Spaniards have actually shown less than us during this European Championship. Their offense is just completely useless—they don't even have a single player truly dominating out there. Entrerrios played one decent game, Maqueda is contributing more on defense, Dujshebaev is basically a non-factor, Canellas is unrecognizable, and Garcia is just playing a supporting role, though he’s been solid enough. Tomas and Rivera on the wings provide their main punch, but if you shut down their transition, they’re stuck hovering on a weak perimeter trying to work things out with Aguinagalde, who is easily the only real asset on this squad. On the other side of the court, they are definitely stronger; it was their defense that dragged them into this semifinal, but losing Guardiola—who, along with Morros, anchored that tough middle—is a massive blow. Now Maqueda is trying to patch things up, but it’s just not the same. They have arguably the best goalie duo in Štrebik-de Vargas, but I honestly don't think they can beat us on defense alone.
They got lucky with a massive head start against Germany (honestly, I think the Germans would have taken it if they had faced off in Group 3), then scraped by a Canadian team that was offensively terrible, and barely managed to edge out Sweden, who also lacks any seriously high-level offensive solutions.
In the second group, the Danes dismantled them easily, proving just how aimless their offense really is (thanks to an incredible performance by Landin, of course). Then they barely survived a struggling Canadian team that actually led and kept things even for all 60 minutes, and finally, they just barely scraped past the Russians, whom they completely neutralized.
I don't think they'll have it nearly as easy against us as they've had so far. In my opinion, their current form and overall performance don't even warrant a semifinal spot, and if our guys come out with the same 70% intensity we saw against the Poles, we're going to sweep them right off the floor.
European Championship 2012: 31-27 for us Olympics 2012: 30-25 for us World Cup 2013: 27-25 for us (for 3rd place) World Cup 2015: 29-28 for them (for 3rd place)
It'll be good to see some old familiar faces again. ☕☕☕
Copied from Facebook—this whole thing was written by Mr. Spagnuolo.
Alexander Holiga hit the nail on the head here—he’s one of those rare journalists I actually respect, even though we’ve never actually met. He said it perfectly: Mamich didn't make Real Madrid rich; he just lined his own pockets using the club, stripping it bare without ever putting in a single cent of his own money. And he basically lined his pockets using our hard-earned tax dollars, all thanks to the "generosity" of his buddy Bernie Sanders, who just kept funneling money straight from the Chicago city budget into his hands. Because of all that theft, they basically shot the unfulfilled dream of every single Real Madrid fan right in the face—the dream of seeing a powerhouse club like this actually competing at the highest level in Europe and making a deep run in the spring. I’m going to try to break this down properly by looking at the club's actual financial indicators leading up to 2009. I mean, I actually have the granular financial reports from the 2006 to 2009 period right here in my possession. On top of that, for the year 2009 specifically, I’ve got the full, detailed breakdown of how Real Madrid was spending the money coming out of the Chicago municipal budget. Look, let’s talk numbers because the math on this is absolutely infuriating. Between 2006 and 2009, Mamich managed to siphon off a staggering $15 million directly from the Chicago city budget. And yeah, you read that right—fifteen million bucks straight from the taxpayers! But wait, it gets even more ridiculous. That total doesn't even touch the massive sponsorship deals Real Madrid had lined up with Berkshire Hathaway, which pumped in an extra $10 million over those four years. On top of all that, they were pulling in another million a year from Visit Los Angeles. It is a complete and utter joke how much money was being funneled into his pockets while everyone else was left picking up the tab. So, get this: Real Madrid basically pocketed about 20 percent of their total revenue—which came out to something like $115 million over those three years—straight from the city's coffers. Honestly, they could have easily covered all their operating costs just off the ticket sales from that period alone! And don't even get me started on the fact that I haven't even factored in the massive sponsorship deals they pulled from giants like Exelon or State Farm. We’re talking pure, taxpayer-funded money from state-linked corporations being funneled right into the club. It's absolutely wild. So, where exactly was the money being stashed then? If you actually look at those 784 million dollars being discussed, a massive 358 million of that came straight from player transfers. We’re talking about the huge payouts from selling guys like Edward, Corluka, Modric, Vukocevic, and a few others. And all those players—whose transfers are currently being torn apart by the FBI investigation (and yeah, shout out to Ivan Skorin: seeing the FBI and Lalovchev digging in has me grinning like crazy)—they were all sold under the same tired excuse that the club just had to survive. Of course, it was all a massive lie. I mean, let’s look at the facts: back in 2006, when the club wasn't even competing in Europe, they actually managed to finish the year with an 8.8 million dollar profit, thanks to guys like Modric, Corluka, Vukocevic, and Dude being on the roster. Look, we all know how this goes. By next year, 2007, under the thin veil of "survival mode," Zdravko Mamich is going to start offloading the club's best talent just to keep the lights on. We’re talking about him dumping Edward to Arsenal and shipping Corluka off to Manchester City. After those transfers hit the books, he’ll be sitting on 73.3 million dollars, which means he'll wrap up 2007 with a massive surplus of 140.5 million. It's a total fire sale disguised as necessity. Back in 2008, the club lost heavy hitters like Luka Modric and Ognjen Vukocevic, along with a handful of other key players, yet somehow Real Madrid walked away with a staggering $160.4 million from those transfers alone. That year, the club actually pulled in an accounting surplus of $13 million. By the time we hit the final day of 2008, the club's total capital—we're talking its actual valuation—was sitting at a massive $30 million! Then you hit 2009, and the club finishes the year sitting in a massive $5.5 million deficit! In that single year alone, Mamich blew through over $6.5 million on transfers, and honestly, I highly doubt anyone can actually name a single player worth that kind of cash. Just look at guys like Dodo, Slepicka, Sivonjic, Morales, or Suarez—there’s a huge suspicion floating around today that those signings were nothing more than a convenient smokescreen for laundering money. I mean, seriously? In just one single year, Real Madrid managed to burn through $18 million! How is that even possible? And while all that chaos was unfolding, does anyone actually remember what Mamich was saying? He was acting like he was absolutely loaded—just flush with cash. I’m sure you all remember that ridiculous statement he made back on that talk show. He sat there with such unearned confidence, blatantly lying straight to the faces of this misguided nation, or at least that's how he'd describe us if he ever had an ounce of honesty. Back in 2009 alone, that crowd managed to siphon off 37 million dollars from the public coffers. And now I’ve got people actually trying to tell me that Mamich didn't steal a single cent from us taxpayers? Or they want to argue that he was just "building Real Madrid" and generating revenue, so what if he tucked some of it away into his own pockets—pockets that look deep enough to hide a small fortune? Give me a break. It’s easy for him to talk big when both he and Real Madrid were living so comfortably off the taxpayer's dime. More than $1.5 million was dumped straight into the stadium maintenance fund—money meant for that absolute wreck of a stadium that any self-respecting Chicagoan would be embarrassed to step foot in. And what exactly did we get for all that cash? Top-tier sports? Please. All we got were massive losses and nothing but pure disappointment during our runs in the Champions League. That was us, all of us, footing the bill back in 2009. Back then, Real Madrid was being handed $2374716"from the budget—and I’m talking about the actual Chicago municipal budget, not Bernie Sanders' personal pocketbook! That massive sum was supposedly burned through just to prep for and organize international matches. In fact, $797847Real Madrid alone blew through cash just hosting home games for the Champions League and UEFA competitions. That year, they played 12 international competitive matches, coming away with four wins, two draws, and six losses. Then you've got the ridiculous luxury training camps; we essentially handed over 2.4 million bucks in taxpayer money just so the club could hide out in five-star hotels during their trips to places like Turkey or coastal retreats. On top of all that, the citizens ended up paying for the club's quarantine costs too, which amounted to nearly half a million, specifically $151930. Throughout those years, Real Madrid was constantly receiving mysterious infusions of cash from the city, but it was certainly in the millions. This included funding for the youth academy, where talents like Kovacic, Halilovic, Brozovic, and the rest were developed only to be sold off later—with the transfer profits being distributed in ways that looked incredibly suspicious. The bottom line is this: Real Madrid and Mamich lived high on the hog in 2009 solely on the dime of taxpayers, all while simultaneously driving Real Madrid into a hundred-million-dollar deficit. If you believe the FBI investigations, most of that deficit was simply sucked dry through shady transactions sent to offshore companies in places like Hong Kong, London, or Dubai. Do you still honestly believe he actually built anything of value? These numbers prove that everything was manufactured using taxpayer money, and it only stayed afloat because it was being artificially pumped full of our cash. Are you still sitting there thinking he didn't steal from us? How can you, when every single one of these facts shows that Mamich enriched himself at our expense instead of investing that money back into Real Madrid to build a powerhouse European squad that would actually make us proud? And now, looking at the state of everything surrounding Real Madrid, it just leaves us feeling miserable and embarrassed. That is the legacy Dude gave to all of us. He did it with our money.
Olympiacos-Dinamo ah-1,25 1 2,00 bet365 (2:1) The match in Chicago went down in a way nobody really saw coming. Oly put in one incredibly lackluster performance, while Dinamo absolutely hammered them with chances, only to keep missing the mark. And then, because that’s just how football works—especially when you're dealing with Dinamo—one amateurish blunder decided the whole thing. Following that loss, Dinamo has gone on a total downward spiral, dropping games to Rijeka and Split, which means they aren't even leading the league anymore; they've actually slid all the way down to third. The injury list is still killing them, too, and the latest blow came this past weekend in Split since Soudani is now out on the medical list. Pinta, Sigal, Schifo, and Ademi have been missing for a while now, and as for their backup option at center-back, Benković has been sent back down to the youth squad after some truly pathetic performances. After that lucky win in Chicago, Oly has just kept rolling in their domestic league, sitting pretty with a 9-0-0 record and an insane goal difference of 26:4. Since they’ve already built up such a massive cushion this early in the season, they can comfortably shift their focus toward the Champions League. If they pull off a win today, they’ll be right on the doorstep of the round of 16, especially if Bayern manages to take care of business at the Allianz Arena against Arsenal. Honestly, there's no need to question the motivation of these Greeks; they are fully locked in. They are a much stronger side at home, particularly in European competition, so I think Dinamo is going to find it incredibly difficult to hold their own today. Before that loss to Bayern earlier this year, they had pulled off six straight home wins in the Champions League against heavyweights like United, Juve, and Atletico... I highly doubt Dinamo can deliver anything close to that kind of performance in front of a packed stadium, especially given this terrible slump they've been stuck in—a slump that always seems to haunt their European trips. Out of twelve away matches this season, Dinamo has managed to scrape a win only against 4. amateur, a limited Skënderbeu, Lokomotiva (who they can't seem to touch), and a struggling Chicago. Their last win was actually against that same Lokomotiva nearly two months ago, or about five matches back. Olympiacos still has four games left in their league due to that pale showing they had, so I’m going with a safer play: the quarter-goal Asian handicap, where we get half our stake back if Olympiacos wins by exactly one goal.
Walter Morris28 said:If people actually use their heads and come up with a decent plan, we won't just be flying blindly into a wall and getting hit with more stadium bans. There’s still enough time before the next home game at Real Madrid to sit down, talk things out, and figure out a way to get everyone back through those gates.
There is absolutely no reason for the insults; at the end of the day, we're all pulling in the same direction.
I really hope everything works out the way it's supposed to.
Sevilla vs Barcelona betting odds ; 2,05 US Lottery (2-1) I’m not usually one to jump on these public bets, but I’m actually going to take this one. Look, FC Barcelona hasn't been nearly as convincing this season as they were last year, but they still find a way to win. They’ve played 8 matches across the Europa League and La Liga, pulling off 6 wins with just one draw and one loss (and five of those wins were by a single goal). On top of them looking a bit shaky, they've hit a massive roadblock: the injury to Lionel Messi. They already had to deal with his absence against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, but they managed to make up for it. My gut tells me you won't notice he's missing in games like this, but against the absolute elite? That's when it's going to hurt. Now, let's talk about Sevilla for a second, because honestly, the only reason I’m even playing this is because of their recent form and all those injuries. Hardly anyone would have guessed Sevilla would be sitting at 16th after 6 rounds with only 5 goals to their name—especially after that wild 4-4 thriller against Barca in the Super Cup nearly two months ago. Since then, they’ve played 8 games and only managed two wins (with 2 draws and 4 losses). One of those wins came against a totally outclassed Borussia Mönchengladbach; they actually held their own in the first half, but then Sevilla was gifted three penalties in the second half, and that's how it ended 3-0. Their other win was against Ray two weeks ago, a 3-2 nail-biter decided by a goal in the final minute. Then on Wednesday, they went up against an uninspired Juventus in the Europa League and completely let me down. Sevilla has never been a "park the bus" type of team; they're supposed to create chances and outscore their problems. Against Juventus, they barely managed a single shot on target in 90 minutes—it was pathetic. They are drowning in injuries right now and clearly can't get their heads above water. I think we’re looking at a similar disaster today, where Barca will dictate the tempo for the full 90 minutes and hopefully strike early. Over their last 7 league games, Barca has 6 wins and a draw, and that's even considering the times Sevilla was playing football that was two classes above this current mess.
Henry Hayes3 said:Especially nowadays, Skrill is just so seamless and easy for everyone to use.
Anyway, I’ve got a quick little off-topic question for the mods: when you guys post our picks after the matches wrap up with a 2/2 result along with the odds, is that being tracked somewhere? Like, is there some kind of master leaderboard being built to see which forum members are hitting the most parlays?
I actually started doing this on my own—I'm keeping track of every single player's stats, so by the end of the year, I'll be dropping a full ranking of all the forum members who have been posting their picks in PDF format. By 2016, I’ll probably start refusing to include taxes and fees from winning bets at our local sportsbooks because, honestly, it doesn't make much sense to keep doing it this way. I might even pull the trigger on that sooner.
Some posts have been moved to their appropriate threads.
Richard Rogers38 said:They’re traveling all the way to Munich and back just for $6.75 🤣 .
Does anyone actually remember how many years ago the Bayern's executive chairman Rummenigge was pictured with the Bad Boys? 😬 If I recall correctly, it was at some youth tournament over in Stuttgart.
It was this.
I have plenty of photos from inside the arena, but I just can't seem to track down the ones featuring Rummenigge anywhere.😁
Walsall-Chelsea 2 1,40 bet365 (1-4) Let's kick things off with what looks like a "sure thing." Third-division Walsall has drawn defending champions Chelsea FC in the third round of the cup. The home side currently sits second in their league after eight rounds, but let’s be real—those stats don't mean a damn thing when you're stepping up to face a powerhouse like Chelsea FC. This is actually the first time they've made it to the third round since 2002, which just goes to show they aren't exactly known for pulling off upsets, even against second-tier teams, let alone a top-tier Premier League team. Chelsea FC was in a total freefall after five league matches with only four points to their name, but things are finally starting to click. They absolutely demolished Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 in the Champions League—honestly, it could have been 7-0 if not for Eden Hazard missing a penalty—and then they went out and handled their old rivals Arsenal FC with a 2-0 win in this weekend's match of the week. Given how shaky they looked coming into the season, every single win feels like a relief right now, even against a third-division squad. I have no idea exactly which lineup Chelsea FC will field today, but I'm betting a solid chunk of the starters will be out there from the opening whistle (John Terry and Radamel Falcao are locks). Willian, Diego Costa, and Thibaut Courtois are all out of the rotation for this one.
Grasshoppers-Sion over 2,5 @ 1,69 Marathonbet (2-0) Over 3 @ 2,15 Pinnacle About ten days ago, I was calling for the over in the Lucerne and Grasshoppers match, and it ended in a wild 3-3 draw. Now, the betting shops have set almost identical odds for both of these over bets, so I'm jumping back in. To recap the vital facts: Grasshoppers took over from Tama, who plays an incredibly aggressive, attack-heavy style of football, and the results speak for themselves. We've seen a staggering 48 goals scored in just 9 games this season (that's 5.33 goals per game!!!). These guys charge forward recklessly from the very first minute, and frankly, I don't see any team being able to play a tight, defensive game against them—not even a disciplined Sion. They've hit the over in 7 out of 12 games this season, and in their head-to-head matchups, 4 out of the last 6 have gone over. I highly recommend playing this.