The Sports Bookie Blog

Swiss coach Jakob Kuhn must hope that when his players kick off the Euro 2008 tournament against the Czech Republic on June 7, this last chapter in his long career will prove a blaze of glory rather than a damp squib.

Kuhn - affectionately known by the diminutive “Kobi” - has managed the national side since 2001, helping Switzerland to qualify for Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, where they reached the last 16 of the latter before going out on penalties to Ukraine having not conceded a goal in the tournament.

64-year-old Kuhn announced back in 2006 that he would step down after Euro 2008 but insists he will be keeping his eye on the ball right up to the final whistle.

Switzerland has not covered itself in footballing glory in recent years, and lost against England and Germany in recent months.
But Kuhn has said he believes the side has a real chance of qualifying from its group despite being pitted against better-placed sides Portugal, the Czech Republic and Turkey.

“It’s do-able. I would never have said that had we had a similar draw to four years ago,” Kuhn said when the draw was announced last December.  In the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal, Switzerland finished bottom of their group behind France, England and Croatia.
Kuhn added it was an open group but that the first match against the Czech Republic would be vital in setting the tone for the rest of their fixtures. “Defeat against the Czechs would put us in a delicate position,” he added.

The former midfielder has not forgotten that he was on the losing side in all Switzerland’s matches during the finals in Chile and England in 1962 and 1966, including a 5-0 drubbing by Germany. As under-21 coach in the 1990s, he was at the heart of a successful youth team policy that snapped up young talent at national level often before they even reached major clubs.The church-going Kuhn cuts a fatherly figure amongst the testosterone-driven ‘alpha male’ world of international football but has not been afraid to wield the knife when needed.
Last March, he dropped then-captain Johann Vogel before a series of international friendlies, saying the defender lacked the killer instinct.

“Johann is not bringing what he should. It’s not enough to be happy to play, I want a leader,” he said. He has also insisted that his players act as role models both on and off the pitch, declaring that “honesty and courtesy have not become outdated.”

He will be replaced by former Bayern Munich manager Otmar Hitzfeld, and the “General” of German football has lavish praise for his predecessor. “He has an outstanding personality, which rubs off on the team,” Hitzfeld said back before the last Euro championships in 2004.
“I played against him often, he was always a classy player. The Kobi Kuhn of the seventies would even be a national team player today,” he said.

Hitzfeld himself is no stranger to Swiss football, having played for Basel, Lugano and Lucerne between 1971 and 1983 and then coaching Zug, Aarau and Grashoppers from 1984 to 1991.

Check out the latest EURO2008 Odds Live across all the top online sportsbooks here at BookieLabRat.com.

Walter Smith has urged his Rangers players to forget the disappointment of their UEFA Cup final defeat here on Wednesday and concentrate on completing the domestic treble that remains in their grasp. Rangers can add the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup titles to the League Cup they have already secured this season and Smith said his squad had to retain their focus for the remaining four matches of the campaign.

“We are disappointed to lose a final at the end of what has been a very long campaign for us,” Smith said after seeing his side beaten 2-0 by Zenit St Petersburg, whose technical superiority finally yielded two goals in the final 20 minutes of Wednesday’s final at the City of Manchester stadium. “Obviously it will be difficult to judge how much the disappointment takes out of the players. But what is at stake for them is that we have an opportunity with four games to go to win two trophies so I would hope that we can overcome the disappointment we have suffered. “If we win our next three games in the SPL and become champions we will be happy.”

Rangers’ cause was not helped by the refusal of SPL bosses to extend the season, which would have enabled Smith’s men to avoid playing last weekend, as Zenit were able to do. But Smith refused to blame the intense end-of-season schedule for his side’s wilting at the end of what was their 64th match of a campaign that started in late July last year.

“I don’t think that had any influence on the result,” Smith said. “The players tonight were ready to play and we were just coming into the match when they scored and that first goal changed the whole complexion of the game.”

Rangers’ hopes of securing a first European trophy in 36 years were crushed 18 minutes from time, when midfielder Igor Denisov combined smoothly with man-of-the-match Andrei Arshavin before slotting home for the Russian champions. Konstantin Zyrianov added a close-range second in stoppage time to make sure Zenit emulated the achievement of 2005 winners CSKA Moscow and condemned the tens of thousands of Rangers supporters who had descended on Manchester to a miserable journey back to Scotland.

Arshavin, who is being tipped as a potential star of Euro 2008, was also involved in the build-up to the second goal and Smith acknowledged that a player of his guile was something Rangers lacked.

“I think we have missed a little bit of that all through the year — somebody who can do something a little bit different. We have a good work ethic in this team and it has taken them a long way but in a few games we have lacked someone to give us a little bit more creativity. “I don’t think anyone, myself or the players, thought this season would lead to a European final. “So you have to give them credit for what they have achieved against a lot of good European sides.”

Smith believes Zenit are good enough to go on to make an impact in the Champions League next season, although Advocaat admitted he could face a battle to keep his squad together. “I have no doubt that some players will go and then you have to start again. It is always the problem with success. We already sold Martin Skrtl to Liverpool but you have to keep players like that if you want to become even better. “It is not only Arshavin we have to keep. There are other players who are very important to us. We have to try to keep this team together and add three or four players so that we can rotate. At the moment it is always the same 12 to 14 players who play but to go to the next level you need more than that.”

Zenit were denied a blatant penalty on the stroke of half-time, when Kirk Broadfoot handled in the area, but overall Rangers did a good job of containing Zenit until 18 minutes from the end. Smith’s men, who were showing signs of fatigue, were partly to blame for their own downfall having lost possession from their own throw on the left. The ball was quickly worked forward by the Russians and Denisov played a deft one-two with Arshavin before sliding the ball past Neal Alexander and Zyrianov wrapped things up in stoppage time.

Compare top online sportsbooks at BookieLabRat.com. Does your bookie rate?

Just a quickie, the bookies have not come to the party with many cash back deals on the UEFA Cup Betting! Here’s a few though that may be of interest.

I know that the option to win, lose or get your cash back always sits better with the Missus

Best of luck!
Mike

You’ve been Barred! UEFA Cup Final Live ITV  - Wednesday 14th May KO 7.45 - Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg. If Barry Ferguson scores in normal time Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on that match. Max refund per punter €300/£200. Own goals don’t count.

Russian Roulette! Zenit St Petersburg V Rangers - UEFA CUP FINAL - Wednesday 7:45pm. If this game is settled in a penalty shootout Boyle Sports will refund all losing single first/last/anytime goalscorer bets on this match. Max refund is €500 or currency equivalent per customer.

Don’t Pay the Penalty! UEFA Cup Final, Zenit St Petersburg v Rangers, Wednesday 7.45pm, Live on ITV 1. If the match goes to a Penalty Shoot-out VC Bet will refund all losing First Goalscorer and Correct Score bets as a free bet. Maximum refund £100 per person. Applies to singles only placed online and telephone.

BET365 Bore Draw Offer - Place a pre-match correct score, double result or scorecast bet on ANY FOOTBALL MATCH and Bet365 will refund losing stakes if the match finishes 0-0 (90 minutes).

Compare the best odds across the top bookies for UEFA CUP betting here at BookieLabRat.com. 

Tottenham star Dimitar Berbatov looks set to play his last game for the club against Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Sunday in what promises to be a farewell fixture for a number of players on both sides.

The Bulgarian striker is expected to be the most high-profile departure from Spurs after manger Juande Ramos admitted that he may be powerless to prevent his prize asset seeking Champions League football at a bigger club.

“It’s difficult to say whether it will be his last game. I would obviously like him to stay here but we don’t know how future negotiations will go, so it’s something I can’t guarantee,” the Spanish coach said. “I’ve spoken to him many times and I know exactly what he wants. But it is a private conversation and I won’t say what he told me.”

Ramos is expected to make wholesale changes to the squad in the close season with Pascal Chimbonda, Ricardo Rocha, Young-Pyo Lee, Teemu Tainio, Radek Cerny and Younes Kaboul all knowing that Sunday’s game could be their last in the white of Spurs.

The former Valencia boss took charge after the chaotic end to Martin Jol’s reign in October, and led the club to League Cup victory and UEFA Cup qualification, but is now keen to bring in his own players as part of ambitious plans for next season.

The Spaniard signalled his intentions with the 15-million-pound capture of 22-year-old Croatian playmaker Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb last week and he has also been linked with big money bids for Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o, Portsmouth’s Lassana Diarra and West Ham’s Anton Ferdinand.

England goalkeeper Paul Robinson is also expected to move in the summer but is unlikely to be fit for Sunday’s game due to an ankle injury, denying him the chance of a last appearance in-front of his home supporters.

Opponents Liverpool have had a similarly dramatic season on and off the pitch but will be in a relaxed mood for Sunday’s game after securing Champions League qualification last month. Manager Rafael Benitez and American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett had high hopes of a title challenge at the beginning of the season but after a largely disappointing campaign will be refreshing their squad ready for a more sustained attempt next year.

Players who could be appearing in their last game for the Reds on Sunday include John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant, Steve Finnan and Andriy Voronin.

The Spanish coach has already made a bid for Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry, fuelling rumours that midfielder Xavi Alonso could also be saying goodbye on Sunday. However, Benitez scoffed at the reports, saying: “(Alonso) is our player, he has a contract. Barry can play in three different positions, so I don’t think we need to worry about this.”

England forward Peter Crouch could also be making his ‘Pool swansong against Spurs, the club who gave him his first professional contract, after publicly stating he wants to leave to seek first-team football. Again, the Spanish boss played down suggestions. He said: “If we receive a very good offer — and by that I mean 15 million pounds — we will consider it. I’m happy to keep him.”

Sunday’s fixture could also be the Reds’ last under the ownership of Gillett and Hicks following their acrimonious falling out earlier in the season. Supporters of the famous club are banking on a takeover offer from Dubai based consortium DIC over the summer to provide the stability needed for improvement.

Liverpool are guaranteed a fourth place finish, whatever Sunday’s result, while Spurs can still finish in the top ten if they win and West Ham slip up against Aston Villa.

Check out the latest online sportsbook reviews and ratings for May at BookieLabRat.com - how does your bookie rate? 

Atletico Madrid’s formidable South American strike pair of Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan fired them one win away from the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Espanyol on Thursday.

Atletico can now qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade with victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday as they have a superior head-to-head record to fifth-placed Sevilla who are three points behind.

“If we win in the Calderon against Deportivo we are in the Champions League,” said Aguero. “It has been a while and I hope the Champions League wait comes to an end on Sunday.”

Aguero, another player touted as the new Diego Maradona, opened the scoring on 26 minutes before Forlan, a 21 million euro summer signing from Villarreal, added a second four minutes later. Aguero and Forlan have now plundered 44 goals between them - Aguero has 19 and Forlan 15 - to push Atletico to the brink of Champions League football for the first time since the 1996/97 season.

In fact Atletico are now just three points behind Barcelona and could even steal third place from Frank Rijkaard’s struggling outfit.

Espanyol looked ready to compete for the Champions League themselves earlier in the season lying third after 22 games but their season has gone steadily downhill. Since the new year Espanyol have lost 12 matches and their coach Ernesto Valverde is under pressure with the club languishing in 11th. 

Best value 1×2 betting on Atletico Madrid versus Deportivo La Coruna when this item was posted: Eurobet.com has a home win for Atletico at 1.67 (4/6) while the best price for both a draw and an away win to  Deportivo are 3.65 (21/8) and 6.00 (5/1) respectively at Globet.com.

Compare the best odds on La Liga football betting across all the top online sportsbooks here at BookieLabRat.com

The season end is nearly upon us but it’s no excuse to throw away sports betting profits! Be sure to check out the latest sportsbook deals below before you place your bets as getting your stake back is far better than a loss.

First up is our favourite deal of the week. Popular Irish bookie BoyleSports.com have come to the EPL betting party with an offer called “Singing the Blues”. They’ll refund all losing first/last/anytime goalscorer bets on ALL TEN of Sunday’s Premier League games if Chelsea win the 2007/08 Premier League. Max refund is €500 or currency equivalent per customer. 

Paddy Power Bookmaker has an offer called “Squeaky Bum Time” and complete the image with lots of rolls of toilet paper… Dodgy title, a dodgy game?  This cash back offers a refund on all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on the WIGAN v MANCHESTER UNITED Sunday May 11th - If Manchester Utd win this match 1-0. Max refund per punter €300/£200.

Bet365 has it’s season-long old reliable Bore Draw deal running where they’ll refund your pre-match correct score, double result or scorecast bet on ANY FOOTBALL MATCH if the match finishes 0-0. There’s been a lot of payouts on this offer this season!

BetFred Bookmaker has both a First Scorer and a Scorecast cashback deal this weekend. If you back a player to score first in any Premier League games this weekend …and he fails to score the first goal in the game but scores the last, BetFred will refund your total stake to £100 max. If you place a scorecast bet on any Premier League games this weekend …and you only get one half of your selection correct, BetFred will refund your total stake to £100 max.

Victor Chandler has finally come to the party with a money back offer for all Sunday’s Premier League games (they’re slow to get them onsite!) If there is a goal scored in INJURY TIME in any Premier League game on Sunday May 11th, VCBet will refund losing correct score and first goalscorer bets as a free bet. Max refund is €125/£100 per customer.
 

Compare the latest odds on English Premiership football live here at BookieLabRat.com.

Three days after wrapping up the title Real Madrid showed Barcelona why they are the new Spanish champions crushing their arch rivals 4-1 in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

An 18th goal of the season for Real captain Raul, another Arjen Robben header and strikes from substitutes Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy ensured a historic league double for Real, who won 1-0 at Camp Nou back in December, as they humiliated Barca to cap a fine season.

The loss means Barca must now qualify for the Champions League after losing second place to Villarreal who won 2-0 against Recreativo Huelva and are now seven points clear with two games remaining. Barca players greeted newly-crowned champions Real in the guard of honour as they ran onto the pitch - a moment for Real to treasure and for Barca to try to wipe from the memory.

After a 6-0 drubbing of Valencia Barca should have been full of confidence but that seeped away when Real got off to the dream start after just 12 minutes with Raul curling a brilliant left-footed finish past Victor Valdes. Barca were taunted by ‘oles’ and a chorus of ‘champions’ and it got worse when Robben bagged a second.

Robben said he had never scored a header after his vital goal in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Osasuna but he repeated the trick taking advantage of some non-existent marking.

Real were far superior and Higuain, the hero against Osasuna, scored a third just after the hour mark before van Nistelrooy converted a penalty.

Thierry Henry struck a late consolation for the visitors after a great pass from Barca’s shining light Lionel Messi before Barca lost Xavi for dissent seconds before the end.

When the final whistle blew Real fans applauded their team for a fine season in which they have retained the championship for the first time since 1990. Barca players trudged off and the Catalan club must rebuild for next season probably starting with a new manager. Frank Rijkaard is unlikely to be in charge with reserves coach Pep Guardiola emerging as the favourite to succeed the Dutchman.

Check out the latest independent sportsbook reviews onsite at BookieLabRat.com.

Here are the latest online betting specials from our recommended sportsbooks on the next round of English Premier League football.

A Hammer Blow! - MANCHESTER UNITED v WEST HAM - Premier League, Saturday May 3, 12:45pm SS1. If West Ham score the last goal of the game Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on that match. Max refund per punter €300/£200.

Throwing it Away! - NEWCASTLE v CHELSEA - Premier League, Monday May 5, 4pm Live on SS1. If Chelsea lead at any time and fail to win Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on that match. Max refund per punter €300/£200.

Seoul Mate - MAN UNITED v WEST HAM - Saturday 12:45pm, If PARK JI SUNG scores the last goal in this game Boyle Sports will refund all losing single bets on this match. Max refund is €500 per customer.

It’s All Greek to Me - BOLTON v SUNDERLAND - Saturday 5:15pm, If STELIOS scores the last goal in this game Boyle Sports will refund all losing single bets on this match. Max refund is €500 per customer.

Cracker Yak - ARSENAL v EVERTON - Sunday 1:30pm, If YAKUBU scores the last goal in this game Boyle Sports will refund all losing single bets on this match. Max refund is €500 per customer.

Sven, You Walk Through the Storm - LIVERPOOL v MAN CITY - Sunday 4:00pm, If LIVERPOOL win this game from behind Boyle Sports will refund all losing single bets on this match. Max refund is €500 per customer.

Nil All? BET365 BORE DRAW OFFER - Place a pre-match correct score, double result or scorecast bet on ANY FOOTBALL MATCH and Bet365 will refund losing stakes if the match finishes 0-0.

Scorecast Cashback - If you place a scorecast bet on any Premier League games this weekend…and you only get one half of your selection correct, BetFred will refund your total stake to £100 max.

First Scorer Cashback - If you back a player to score first in any Premier League games this weekend…and he fails to score the first goal in the game but scores the last, BetFred will refund your total stake to £100 max.

To get the latest BEST ODDS to complement these betting specials check out the live odds comparison at BookieLabRat.com before you place your bets.

Here’s a couple of May Promotions that may be of interest to online gamblers…

First up popular Australian online sports betting and gaming site Canbet is offering punters a trip to EURO2008. Canbet’s May Giveaway is a £1,500 travel voucher to Austria & Switzerland and you can use it while Euro2008 is on

Register by entering Promotional Code: EURO before June 15. You earn an entry into the lucky draw each time you bet £50/€65 at Canbet Casino or Canbet Sportsbook or Racing - ore play 50 raked poker hands at Canbet Poker!   Winner drawn 17 June 2008

PS: Ah, nope… sorry, no TICKETS to games are included!!

DublinBet online casino and card room has just announced 2 great lucky draws for motor sports fans. 

You can win a trip to a top Grand Prix event just for playing your favourite online casino games - like an awesome Early Payout Blackjack (our favourite game) and you get an entry to the lucky draw for every €50 you deposit.

For every €50 deposited between now and May 31, 2008, you will earn one entry* into a draw for a trip for 2 to the Grand Prix at Silverstone!

For every €50 deposited between June 1st and June 30th, 2008 you will earn one entry* into a draw for a trip for 2 to the Grand Prix at Monza!

Each trip includes race tickets, accommodation, transfers, and €1,000 total cash for air travel and spending money. Watch the Live Draws from the Fitzwilliam Card Club in Dublin on June 9th and July 4th, 2008.

>>You can earn a 100% Initial Deposit Bonus up to €100 if you’re not already a member at DublinBet.com.
>>For more info on DublinBet (including currencies, payment methods and mopre on the casino games on offer) check out the latest DublinBet Casino Review here.

*Note: Maximum 10 entries per player account per draw. One times play through required (€50 in action per €50 deposited for each draw entry.) Please see the DublinBet.com website for full bonus terms and conditions. This promotion ends June 30, 2008 at midnight GMT.