The 2010 World Cup begins on Friday, June 11th as the host country South Africa takes on Mexico.

A total of 32 teams will be competing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup title with Spain and Brazil the two favorites. There have been a total of 18 World Cups in history and only seven teams have ever won the title. Four years ago it was Italy winning the World Cup as they defeated France in a penalty shootout.

There are really only five teams that are serious contenders to win this year’s World Cup. Spain is loaded with talent and they have an easy group with Switzerlands, Honduras and Chile. With players like Fernando Torres, David Villa, Xaba and Cesc Fabregas, the Spanish team has the talent to win their first World Cup betting .

The only concern for Spain is that they could face a tough round of 16 match against the second place team from Group G which should be Brazil or Portugal. Brazil is the likely winner of Group G but if they somehow slip and finish second, wouldn’t it be a huge shock to have the two favorites, Brazil and Spain playing in the round of 16?

Brazil has won the World Cup a total of five times and they are a real threat to win it again this year. They play in a tough group with Portugal and Ivory Coast but they should not have any trouble advancing to the round of 16 especially since Ivory Coast probably has no chance now that leading scorer Didier Drogba is out with an injury.

England is the third choice in the betting odds behind Spain and…

Can Lionel Messi power Argentina towards World Cup glory?

You read it, one of the most talented footballers in the world, that being Lionel Messi, will be leading Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

That’s probably why many sports bettors are picking Argentina to win Group B, especially with the talent that they have.

Argentina is only the fourth of five qualifiers from South America, ahead of Uruguay, but behind Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.

Their main man, Lionel Messi, won the 2009 Ballon d’Or and was awarded the European Footballer of the Year.

Messi is the diamond that the whole world recognizes, while Sergio Aguero, another star Argentina can rely on the pitch, is another youngster on the rise. They also have Carlos Tevez, a skillful, hard-working striker.

In midfield, Javier Mascherano gives Argentina steel, while Juan Sebastián Veron is a good distributor of the ball.

Last year, Argentina played 13 matches, won eight of them and lost five. This is not the kind of record a country with Argentina’s proud history finds acceptable, especially when included among those results is a 6-1 thrashing at…

2010 WORLD CUP TEAMS
Can Lionel Messi power Argentina towards World Cup glory?
You read it, one of the most talented footballers in the world, that being Lionel Messi, will be leading Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
That’s probably why many sports bettors are picking Argentina to win Group B, especially with the [...]

The rest of the world will be watching South Africa soon.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is fast approaching and eyes will be set on South Africa with matches held in nine cities across the land. The world’s greatest footballers will be on display too as football fans around the world are eagerly anticipating a month of football bliss.

On that note, here’s an early rundown of the top five countries to watch out for in this year’s World Cup, starting with the country that won the last biggest tournament in football, the Euro 2008 champions Spain.

Though Spain has never won the World Cup, this may be their best chance ever. Their forwards score goals and their midfield is among the best in the world. At goalkeeping, Iker Casillas is equally very impressive, helping them to engineer a 15 game winning streak to set an international record earlier in 2009.

Although the United States‘ victory over Spain late in the year was one of the biggest upsets in a long time, Spain remains the team to beat. They are in Group H along with Switzerland, Honduras and Chile.

Another team to watch out for is Argentina primarily because they have on their roster the best footballer in the world right now in Lionel Messi. Argentina also has the best defensive midfielder in the world, Javier Mascherano along with a number of very talented youngsters, including Sergio Aguero.

Their manager knows what it takes to win. While they did suffer…

And they did just that by beating two powerhouse teams from the English Premier League, Chelsea FC and Man-U.

Giant killers, that is exactly what FC Barcelona has become after winning the 2009 UEFA Champions League. Nobody thought this team would even make it to the final game but after shocking Chelsea FC and following that up with a comfortable win over Manchester United to win the cup, I guess nobody would question this team’s resolve form now on.

In what has become another scintillating showcase of the finest footballers in the world, FC Barcelona dethroned Man-United to become the new champions of the UEFA Champions League, controlling the game from start to finish to beat the defending champs, 2-nil.

It was a disappointing end to what has been a promising campaign for Manchester United, looking to become the first side to retain the trophy in the Champions League era.

For some reason, Man-U just couldn’t get through the defense of the Spanish football giants and for the first time in quite a while, Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t get his team going. Instead, he was getting more and more frustrated as the clock continued to tick away with defeat looming.

Barcelona jumped on Man-U right from the get-go, coming up with the first goal of the game in the 10th minute after…

Barcelona FC clashing against Manchester United in the final of the UEFA Champions League was something that everyone was dreaming about.

Manchester United advanced to the 2009 UEFA Champions League final in Rome after convincingly beating Arsenal 4-1 on aggregate. The Red Devils had to wait 24 hours after triumphing at the Emirates to know who will be their opponents come May 27 at the Stadio Olimpico.

And with all the controversy one could ever think of, it was revealed to be Pep Guardiola’s Catalan Giants FC Barcelona, after the Blaugrana controversially ousted Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona and Manchester United are two clubs from two different countries with a completely different culture all together. However, history shows that as much as they have dissimilarities, they also have similarities, which give this UEFA Champions League final a real flavor of glamor and style.

This will be a battle between the young and the old, the inexperienced one and the wise one, the great…

Because soccer is just too boring to write about every single day.

FC Barcelona struck what may prove to be the decisive blow in the Spanish title race earning a 6-2 win at Real Madrid CF, with Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry scoring two apiece for the 2009 UEFA Champions League semi-finalists.

Josep Guardiola’s side’s once commanding lead at the top of the Liga had shrunk to just four points before kick-off at the Santiago Bernabéu, and they had reason to be nervous just 14 minutes into the fixture as an unmarked Gonzalo Higuaín headed Madrid into the lead. However, the Barça response was to be devastating, with Messi flicking a ball over the Madrid defense for Henry to level on 17 minutes before Carles Puyol headed them into a 20th-minute lead.

In another games, Olympiacos CFP completed a domestic double after a 15-14 penalty shoot-out win against AEK Athens FC capped an unforgettable Greek Cup final, with Antonis Nikopolidis the hero after the sides finished level at 4-4 after extra time. The two sides took 17 penalties each, with Olympiacos goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, 38, finally emerging as the hero of the hour, saving Agustin Pelletieri’s spot-kick before stepping up to convert the winner himself. It was a fitting end to perhaps the most exciting Greek Cup final of all time, with Olympiacos recovering from going 2-0 down to prevail.

FC Internazionale Milano made another important step…

Yep, it seems Ronaldinho would rather score with whores than score with goals. (Whatever that means…)

With the 2007-08 Spanish Premiere League season here, Barcelona FC starts their campaign to get back on top of the Spanish Primera and dethrone the reigning champions, Real Madrid.

Yep, it should be a rather tough task indeed for Barca. Sure, they do have Thierry Henry to light up the scoreboard this season but with their ”other” superstar getting his ass drunk in a bar instead of sweating that same ass (I hope that doesn’t come out too gay…) on the pitch, Barcelona FC won’t be accomplishing shit this year.

Last Sunday, the Spanish media got on Ronaldinho good for missing his team’s win over Sevilla the day before. ”Attention Ronnie” was the headline in the La Vanguardia, as the catalan newspaper recalled the fates of the late George Best and Paul Gascoigne who, like Ronaldinho here, would just rather get some booze instead of playing football.

Ronaldinho is just not the same this year, looking like a shell of his former form since the brand new season started. Oh yeah, there’s…

Yep, after the struggles of Brazil and the injuries to Argentina, both advanced from the semis to meet in the 2007 Copa America final.

Brazil barely made it through while Argentina walked over Mexico as if the Mexican side was the red carpet to the 2007 Copa America final. These two countries will go head-to-head at Maracaibo this Sunday to determine who will be the 2007 Copa America champions.

For Brazil, the struggles continue but like most of their matches in this year’s Copa America tournament, they managed to find a way to survive. The Brazilian side BARELY made it to the Copa America final by edging the tough Uruguay team, 5-4, on penalty kicks.

Gilberto converted to put Brazil in front 5-4 in penalty kicks and goalie Doni clinched the win by stopping Diego Lugano’s shot. There was some kind of controversy there though when the Uruguayan players argued that Doni came off the goal line early on Lugano’s attempt.

Coming to their semifinal encounter with Uruguay, Brazil had something to prove after their somewhat disappointing performances in the ongoing 2007 Copa America tournament. They probably found their form back after they virtually destroyed Chile 6-1 to advance to the semis. Uruguay ALMOST sent them back to reality but thanks to the controversial…

FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard is aiming to knock out Liverpool FC, the club he enjoyed watching as a boy, when the two heavyweights meet at Camp Nou.

Rijkaard is relishing the prospect of tackling the current Liverpool team as the last two winners of the competition go head to head in the opening leg of their last-16 encounter. But it was the team that lifted the European Champion Clubs‘ Cup three times in eight seasons, between 1977 and 1984, that really caught his imagination.

Despite his admiration for the Premiership outfit, Rijkaard is keen to ensure they do not add to their five wins in the tournament. So the holders cannot afford another defeat in this two-legged encounter, having slipped up against Chelsea FC in the group stage.

Samuel Eto’o will sit out the game, having missed Sunday’s 2-1 league defeat at Valencia CF in order to continue his recuperation following a knee problem. Lionel Messi is approaching full fitness having recovered from a broken toe and Rijkaard is pleased to have the Argentinian back.

Lilian Thuram is also available following a thigh complaint, but Edmílson, Santiago Ezquerro and Sylvinho have been omitted from the squad.

The last two champions come together at Camp Nou for what home president Joan Laporta predicted could be an ‘extraordinary tie’. Barcelona’s 13-match unbeaten run at home in the competition makes them clear favourites but spearheaded by Rafael Benítez, the Reds’ sizeable Spanish contingent will be keen to spring a surprise.

This heavyweight contest carries added appeal because of Liverpool’s Spanish contingent, spearheaded by a manager in Benítez who will aim to maintain his team’s unbeaten record at Barcelona.