Olympic Soccer in Beijing

[MrCleo]

what kind of teams are fielded here? i see lines posted for group winners and the usual suspects favored (Brazil, Italy, etc.) Being in August I would think it isn't full strength squads. is it youth teams? does anyone know?

 

[punz34]

some teams bring up their stars.. the smart ones dont..

 

[Betting4Fun]

Basically players age 23,except each team allowed adding 3 players older than that age.Argentina going there with their best squad having Messi and Riquelme in line,no idea about the rest yet.

 

[fhmesq44]

Imperative that you find rosters before betting. Most traditional soccer power countries don't take Olys seriously so you have to know rosters. If Argies are bringing Messi and Riquelme, they have to be odds on favorites to win.

There was talk of Kaka wanting to play since it is the only tourney Brazil hasn't won but Milan put the kibosh on that.

 

[joeyfitzclick]

Imperative that you find rosters before betting. Most traditional soccer power countries don't take Olys seriously so you have to know rosters. If Argies are bringing Messi and Riquelme, they have to be odds on favorites to win.

There was talk of Kaka wanting to play since it is the only tourney Brazil hasn't won but Milan put the kibosh on that.

Mascherano too

ope:

 

[fhmesq44]

wow. what about Aguero?

 

[EricTheMidget]

Him too. And Tevez. And a couple of Madriders... Gonzalo Higuain and Fernando Gago

 

[fhmesq44]

where have you guys seen the rosters? Or is just the Argies that have set their roster?

 

[hm2.0]

U23 squad as B4Fun mentioned, but w/ 3 overage players that can be added to the final roster.

Women's national teams do not have any such requirements.

 

[hm2.0]

Link to men's oly sched.

http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_173-Olymen2008Schedule.html

Link to women's oly sched.

http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_23-olywomen2008schedule.html

 

[joeyfitzclick]

I will be watching this.

Argies in a land slide if Messi plays a part.

 

[rolltide]

pretty sure both LD and McBride will be added to us squad...McBride a near certainty and LD not far behind
highly doubt tevez takes part for argentina as he was exhausted after EPL and did not even want to play for seniors vs brazil

 

[hm2.0]

I would think Guzan gets the call-up as well...otherwise Seitz, RSL's backup, will start at GK.

Donovan...yeh, they need someone besides Altidore to spearhead the attack.

USAU23MNT could get denied any points in their group.

USAWNT, however, I am expecting to win the gold. Coach Sundhage has this team ascending and I think they will peak in Beijing. The women defeated Norway, who will be in their group, 4-nil. Also, just defeated Sweden 1-nil. Both matches in Scandanavia and in the span of 4 days.

They appear to have better all-around play. In last year's, WC, their midfield and lack of experience led to their defeat, though the GK switch before the match w/ Brazilch didn't help any. They have that competition under their belt and the bitter taste of defeat.

 

[MrCleo]

ronaldinho/robinho will play for Brazil

 

[OTK]

The fact that Iraq was in the gold medal game in the last Olympics shows you that most stars don't come to play. Teams like Argentina are loaded with talent though so even if their starts don't play their backups are more than capable of fielding a solid squad.

This shit is probably a crapshoot though. Can't wait for EPL to start soon.