I was looking through my results at the World Cup and the Euro competitions this century and they are a bit better than I thought. Having said that, most success has come from backing or opposing teams in the group stages rather than in the outright markets. I seldom bet match results.
My best outright success came in Euro 2004 when I backed Greece at 66/1 for the tournament after they had won their opening match against the hosts Portugal. That was with Sportingbet, an account long gone now. The final clashed with a Bob Geldolf concert we attended and I can remember trying to listen to the match through a radio earphone whilst simultaneously enjoying the live music. You will recall no doubt that Greece beat the hosts again in the final, this time 1-0.
However I was not on Spain outright in Euro 2008/2012 or WC 2010. I did however have a bet at double figures on Italy to win the WC 2006. My main focus in the 2010 tournament was backing France to not qualify and finish bottom of their group. Those France bets featured on the blog by then of course.
I won't go into lengthy discussions about the outright bets I have placed for WC 2014 ahead of Friday's draw. You will know as much about the teams, and probably a lot more, than I do. Suffice it to say I have concentrated on the South American teams but from a value perspective I have swerved the obvious short-priced teams Brazil and Argentina. My value picks, two of which are seeded because of their FIFA rankings, are:
2.5pts ew Colombia @ 28/1 Coral (1/2 odds 1,2)
1.5pts ew Chile @ 50/1 Totesport (1/2 odds 1,2)
1pt ew Uruguay @ 33/1 Totesport (1/2 odds 1,2)
You could accuse me of playing with 'house money' here. And you are probably right to a certain extent. 2013 will be my best ever year punting (sureIy I can't lose much in the next three weeks!).
Ten points optimistically staked.
Sent from my vintage IPad
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