Place Your Bets!
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football-live.tv
If you're looking for the best place to lay your live football bets, then you need to look no further than William Hill. The website offers users unrivalled access to live sport betting with odds on football being played around the globe. Whether you're looking for prices on the Premier League, SPL, Serie A, The Bundesliga, Champions League or any other domestic or international football competition, they have them there.  The In-Play betting service allows users to bet on live sport from all corners of the football schedule. Odds shift and move with the play, shortening and widening on a minute-to-minute basis. Use your knowledge of the game to take advantage of the rapidly shifting prices and live score updates. Time your bets well to win big. Fast paced, thrilling and lucrative, it really is the most electrifying way to follow the action. William Hill also offers users access to football highlights and live sports streaming to make sure you miss none of the matches, while the In-Play radio service keeps you informed with odds, previews, punditry, predictions and tips. If you're new to online betting, don't worry. William Hill offers plenty of options for the casual or first time user, with Bet Bundles, Fantasy Football and constantly updated promotions. They also have tutorial videos and advice from experts to help you get used to using the unique interface and make the most from your bets. So, whether you are a first time bettor, a casual football follower looking to lay a cheeky wager or an experienced odds player, William Hill has plenty for you. Visit now and enjoy the most exciting and rewarding football betting around.
Tags: bets, football schedule, live sport, live score, ...
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Dennis Bergkamp
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football-live.tv
While there have been many more successful players, quite a number more celebrated and a score or so more gifted, it is hard to think of many players in the history of the game who could match Dennis Bergkamp for pure technique. The Dutch attacker seemed to have a second brain in his feet and his extraordinary, almost preternatural first touch could hypnotise an inattentive opponent. He was dangerous from positions most players were not, able to simultaneously control the ball and beat defenders from seemingly impossible angles, turning a marginal break into a goal scoring opportunity in a split second.
 He came, as with so many of the Dutch players of his generation, through the Ajax youth academy. By the 1990 season he was in the first team as they took home the Eredivise title. He went from strength to strength in the following years, winning back to back Dutch footballer of the year accolades in 92 and 93. He moved to Inter Milan soon after that but found it difficult to adapt to Serie A and moved to Arsenal in 1995 for 7.1 million. Though the signing was made by then Gunners boss Bruce Rioch, it was his replacement with Arsene Wenger the following year which truly turned things around both for Arsenal and Bergkamp. With Wenger guiding him Bergkamp reached his full potential. He scored 22 goals as Arsenal won the league and cup double in 97/98 season, freeing English football, however briefly, from the grip of Man Utd. He went on to become one of the club's greatest legends, famed for his spectacular goals and brilliantly smooth attacking movement. He took two more league titles with Arsenal, including one as part of the “Invincibles” of 03/04.
Bergkamp retired from the game in 2006, a hero not just to fans of Arsenal but to fans of imaginative football everywhere. He now coaches as the Assistant Manager at his boyhood club Ajax.
Tags: Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Ajax, Arse...
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Messi Joins the Greats
Reason
Posted by:
football-live.tv
For the third successive year, Lionel Messi has been crowned with the Ballon D'or, FIFA's official recognition of the player deemed to be the world's best. With this third victory the Argentine wizard joins a rarefied list of players who have won a hat-trick of Ballon D'ors alongside Johan Cryuff (1971, 1973, 1974), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985) and Marco Van Basten (1988, 1989, 1992). The latter three all won the award back when it was solely a European concern (it merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2010) but it is still fascinating to see Messi, at just 24 years of age, joining their ranks.
But how does Messi compare to Cruyff, Platini and Van Basten? Well, in .jpg "Image By: prettyfriendship") terms of trophies he has eclipsed them. By the time they were 24, Cruyff had amassed 4 Dutch league titles and a Champions League (then the European Cup), Van Basten had 3 Dutch titles and a Serie A title and Platini had only a Ligue 2 (France's second divison) medal. As it stands, Messi has 5 La Liga titles and, incredibly, 3 Champions League medals (though it should be noted he missed the final in 2006 through injury). Of course all of the older three players went on to greater glories – Platini ruling over Serie A and Europe with Juventus, Van Basten winning domestic, European and national honours with AC Milan and Holland, and Cruyff capturing the La Liga title with Barcelona – but the key is that Messi has already achieved all that at a much, much younger age.
And that is the absolute wonder of Lionel Messi. It is not so much about what he has already achieved that is impressive. It is about what he is likely to achieve in the future that truly makes your head spin.
Tags: Messi, Ballon D’or, Football, Cruyff, Platini
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Manchester Clubs’ History
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football-live.tv
So, it looks increasingly likely that this year's Premiership title race will be a straight duel between Manchester City and Manchester United. City, who have the lead over their city rivals, are rightly being considered the favourites but anyone who has been watching English football over the last 20 years will know that counting out United is a foolish move indeed. Ferguson's teams have a history of coming good in the last third of the season and Mancini will need to keep an eye out for a late surge from across the city over the coming months.
If City do stay strong and take the title back to the City of Manchester stadium it will be their first league victory since 1968. Over those 44 years their rivals from the red half of Manchester have amassed a beguiling 12 Premier League championships and 2 Champions Leagues, so to say City have been waiting a while for this .jpg "Image By: Smabs Sputzer") chance is a massive understatement. The two sides have played a grand total of 162 professional, competitive matches since 1881 when Newton Heath (the original name for the club who would soon be renamed Manchester United) trashed West Gorton (who would become City) 3-0. Though at the time both of these teams were just two of many Manchester clubs who had sprung up in the wake of the founding of the Football Association in 1863, they would go on to become the two most dominant teams in the city over the next twenty years.
The first top flight league game between the two clubs did not come until 1906 with City reversing the score line from their first ever meeting and hammering their rivals 3-0 at their Hyde Road ground. For most of the next century, however, it would be Manchester United who dominated football in the city, collecting numerous titles throughout the fifties, sixties and nineties while City only managed two league victories in that time.
This season it looks like they may get the chance to change that. With city pride and hundreds of years of history on the line, this should be a title race to remember.
Tags: : Manchester United, Manchester City, Title
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Great Anglo-Italian Clashes
Reason
Posted by:
football-live.tv
Next month's Champions League round of sixteen will see two mouth-watering ties played out between top clubs from Italy and England. Chelsea, who's hit and miss season and the fate of their under fire manager Andre Villa Boas would now appear to be reliant on success in Europe, face this year's surprise package Napoli, while London rivals Arsenal, who are also looking for Continental success to make up for a shaky domestic campaign, will take on AC Milan.
Though recent seasons have not seen Serie A clubs dominating Europe the way they did in the 1980s and 90s, this year has seen them back with a vengeance and they are the only nation represented by three teams in the final 16 (Internazionale being the third).
With Serie A back on the rise after a fairly miserable decade, characterised by falling attendances and a series of ugly scandals, and the Premier League's supposed grip on the competition loosening, it seems a good time to look at some of the most memorable Anglo-Italian clashes of the Champions League era. .jpg "Image By: CLF") Over three successive seasons, 96/97, 97/98 and 98/99, Manchester United would be drawn to face Italian giants Juventus each year. Both clubs were at highpoints in their history during the period. Juventus, under the legendary stewardship of Marcello Lippi, were European champions in 1996 and would defeat United on their way to the final in the first two seasons, though they would eventually be silver medallists on both occasions. Alex Ferguson's United, boasting the talents of Keane, Giggs, Scholes and Beckham, would have the last laugh in 1999 defeating Juventus in a thrilling semi-final before going on to lift the trophy against Bayern Munich in the final.
Perhaps the most famous meeting between English and Italian clubs in Europe, however, may be the extraordinary final of 2005. Liverpool, who had waited since 1984 for their 5th European title, came back from a 3-0 half time deficit against a heavily fancied AC Milan to tie the game 3-3 and take it to penalties. A string of saves from Jerzy Dudek won the trophy in the shootout, prompting wild celebrations from the Liverpudlians in Istanbul.
Recently things have been a little different. Inter's route to their triumphant final of 2010 saw them sweep aside Chelsea in the second round and this year Manchester City's defeat to Napoli helped push them out the door at the group stage.
Will Arsenal and Chelsea be able to restore British pride next month? Or will AC Milan and Napoli prove beyond doubt that the tide is turning back in Serie A's favour? Only time will tell.
Tags: Champions League, Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan
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Wayne Rooney
Reason
Posted by:
football-live.tv
There are an abundance of young, up-and-coming, and experienced footballers that are being touted as the best player in the world - players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi usually come to mind. Though these are perhaps the archetypal examples talented footballers, one mustn't forget that there are others in this group besides the two luminaries – Wayne Rooney, for example.
Rooney was born on 24 October 1985, in the city of Liverpool. His parents, Thomas Wayne and Jeanette Rooney were Irish, and brought up Rooney  and his two younger brothers as Catholic. He played for several youth squads in his home city, and eventually signed to Everton by talent scout Robert Pendleton. After his breakout game for the full Everton team in 2002, he was quickly recognised to be one of the brightest talents in England. In 2004, he was transferred to Manchester United for £25.6 million. He was 18 years old. His Manchester years have turned out to be quite impressive. His transfer alone was groundbreaking, as it was the most expensive for any player under 20 years old. His first game for Manchester United – on 28 September 2004 in a 6–2 home win over Fenerbahçe in the UEFA Champions league – was an unqualified success for Rooney, as he was scored a hat trick and assisted another goal.
Since his early days, however, Rooney's career has been a somewhat bumpy one. With a string of red cards for wild behaviour, a number of injuries and reported fallings out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney has not had one of the most serene football careers of all time. Fans of the English national team will be somewhat frustrated with Rooney, for his lack of consistent play. However, he is without doubt one of the best players on the planet and, with age still on his side, could grow even further.
Tags: Rooney, United, Everton, Champions, UEFA
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Understanding Offside
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football-live.tv
Football, like all sports, is governed by a set of rules. These rules are, in general, not as rigid as some other sports. They do, however, have certain restrictions that can be unclear to someone who is not fully versed in their complexities. The foremost example of this is the offside rule. The majority of casual football fans don't tend to understand it. Therefore, in the following article, we will go some way to discuss the rule.
As a generalisation, it is correct to say that the offside rule serves as a corrective function against overzealous counterattacks. Now, what exactly does that mouthful of a sentence mean? When a team  gets the ball unexpectedly, they will often charge down the field with the intention of scoring an easy goal. However, the offside rule says that, when an attacking player passes the ball to another attacking player, if that second player (the receiver of the ball) is between the last defender and the defending goalkeeper, that player is considered to be offside. To illustrate the rule, let's call the two attacking players numbers 9 and 10 and the defensive player number 4. If number 10 has the ball, and number 9 steps behind player number 4 (closer to the goal that he is attacking), before or whilst number 10 passes the ball to number 9, then number 9 is considered offside.
If you've seen a football game, then you may have noticed that there are two extra referees with flags on the sides of the field. They are known as linesmen or assistant referees. One of their jobs is to keep track of whether players are offside. That's also why they carry flags: to signal infringements to the referee.
Although you can certainly enjoy football without fully understanding the offside rule, to comprehend the ins and outs of defensive tactics and the offside trap, it is worth getting your head around it.
Tags: Football, Sports, Rules, Offsides, Referees
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The 2010 World Cup
Reason
Posted by:
football-live.tv
The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world, being even more popular than the Olympics. The location of each World Cup is determined several years in advance by FIFA. South Africa was chosen to host the 2010 World Cup. This was a first for Africa as a continent, marking it as a special occasion. The opportunity was not wasted, and many organisations took advantage of this to promote their causes, including human rights and poverty charities.
The first round of the World Cup kicked off on 11 June, 2010, with a match between the hosts and Mexico. This game, which ended as a draw, began the group stage of the tournament. After two weeks of the group stage, the tournament progressed to the knockouts. Ten days later and the contenders were whittled down to only two teams that would compete for the championship in the final:  the Netherlands and Spain.The final game of the tournament was played – rather naturally – in Johannesburg. The fixture took place on 11 July, a month after the beginning of the primary phase of the competition. The game progressed into a full-fledged battle, with each side delivering stellar performances at either end of the pitch.
The crowd had to wait until near the end of the second-half for the game's deciding point, when Andres Iniesta took advantage of a small mistake by a Dutch defender and scored a goal. The Spanish team were naturally jubilant and, though the Dutch tried relentlessly to equalise, their efforts were ultimately futile. Spain finished the match victorious, and won their first World Cup title in history.
The victory followed their Euro 2008 win, cementing Spain as the current dominant force in international football. With Euro 2012 just around the corner, can the Spanish continue their supremacy?
Tags: World Cup, South Africa, Spain, Netherlands, FIFA
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United vs City
Reason
Posted by:
football-live.tv
Manchester is arguably the footballing centre of the universe at the moment, with two of the world's biggest forces based there. First and foremost is the more famous of the two, Manchester United. They have one of the best records in Europe. The second, who up until recently have been kept in their counterpart's shadow, is Manchester City. Manchester City play at the City of Manchester stadium, whilst Manchester United stage their home games at the Old Trafford stadium.
Manchester United F. C. was founded in 1878, under the initial name of Newton H .jpg "Image By: Andrea Sartorati") ealth LYR Football Club. After a few years of playing, the club accrued some rather severe debts, and consequently was served a winding up order. Through the donations of some locals, the club was able to continue though, and they eventually won First Division in 1908. In 1945, the managerial duties of the club were transferred over to Matt Busby. With his tactical know-how, the team was able to greatly improve, and went on to win several titles. In 1958, tragedy struck in the form of an airplane accident in Munich after facing Red Star Belgrade. 23 people, eight of whom were players, lost their lives, and Busby was badly injured. Though the team was set back by the loss of these players, Busby was able to build back the squad and finish victorious in several tournaments.
In recent years they have had much success on a domestic and international level, under the helm of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been one of the most successful managers ever in world football over his 25 year spell. But, Manchester City, who are now the richest club in the world following a takeover by Middle-Eastern billionaires, could soon knock them off their mantel. But it will take decades to re-write the history books in the way which Manchester United have done.
Tags: United, City, Busby, Ferguson, Football
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Premier League Winner
Reason
Posted by:
football-live.tv
The Barclays Premier League is in full swing already, and everyone knows what that means: the impassioned debates on who will emerge victorious are beginning with a vengeance. The fans don't usually tend to make their judgement based on anything but fervour for their team, which is perfectly understandable. But there is something to be said for careful analysis of the competing teams.
On the top of the stats right now is Manchester City. .jpg "Image By: George M. Groutas") With their crushing defeat of Aston Villa on the October 15th, Man City has catapulted themselves to first place. With strong performances from Milner and Balotelli, they were able to triumph over Villa with relative ease. However, it remains to be seen whether they will make it to hold out against a stronger line-up. In second place are the ever-popular bookies favourite team: Manchester United. Though replete with such stars as Wayne Rooney and Chicharito Hernandez, Manchester United had a spot of defensive trouble in their 15th October game against Liverpool, especially defending against Stephen Gerrard's free kick. If their defence can hold, United can certainly give any other team in the league a run for their money.
At third, we have the powerhouse that is Chelsea. The team has been one of the primary contenders for both the Barclays and the UEFA leagues in recent years, due to the efforts of stars like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and Cole. With a strong squad and solid tactics, Chelsea will almost certainly give a good account of themselves.
So which is the favourite? Well, many people give this honour to Manchester United. And this idea has some merit. Others think Chelsea will emerge victorious. Man Utd lacked fluidity when they played against Liverpool. Their playing felt a bit uneven. They had ball possession the majority of the game with an absolutely average squad, but even though Rooney and Hernandez entered, it didn't feel like they were Manchester from the past.
Tags: Premier League, Fans, Season, UEFA
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