She’s got one hand in my Pkv Pokerpocket

Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds an acorn. I permed my five strongest fancies in doubles and upwards last week, in what proved to be the tastiest Canadian since Alanis Morissette. Speaking of the diminutive whiny artiste, she once wrote a song with the following lyrics, ‘It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife, isn’t it ironic? The answer is no. If you’re looking for a knife, the cutlery drawer should be the first port of call, searching in some sort of spoon factory was flawed from the very beginning.

There’s no doubting the irony surrounding Sunday’s FA Pkv PokerCup semi final between Boro and West Ham; two English managers will face off in England’s greatest competition, on St George’s Day, fighting to reach the Cathedral of English football; the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Both teams have been priced up at 6/4 to win the match, after securing victory in the warm up earlier in the week, the Boro are a tentative pick.

Chelsea are a far more confident selection when they meet Liverpool in the other semi. Liverpool may have had the rub of the green in European competition against Jose’s superstars, but the Champions have handed the Reds a couple of real spankings in the Premiership. At 11/10, Chelsea are a boot-filler.

Adding a virtual Champions League playoff to a North London derby is like pairing lager with a chicken madras; a mouth-watering Indian satta prospect. Arsenal are finishing the season like a train; chalk up this battle to the Gunners at 4/5, as the war for four escalates.

Bolton’s demise has been grossly exaggerated, only Chelsea and Man U have won at the Reebok since August. Big Sam’s gang host a Charlton team that collected three points against Pompey on Monday, but the police are considering launching an investigation as it was such a blatant robbery. A home win looks attractive at 4/5.

The odds makers will occasionally price up a game where a team that needs a result will be a shorter price than their true probability should dictate. A poor West Brom side are only 3/1 to win at St James’ Park against an in form Newcastle due to the ‘need to win’ factor, resulting in the Toon Army being available at a relatively huge 8/11. The Geordies receive the coveted ‘nap of the week’ award.

After drawing away at Old Trafford, Sunderland will be hoping that lightning strikes twice (that’s one more than Jonathan Stead) as they travel to Fratton Park. Pompey destroyed the Mackems at the Stadium of Light when they weren’t playing well, they’re absolutely flying now. Portsmouth at 1/3 are the next best bet on the coupon.

Wigan’s season has been nothing short of a fairytale, and they’ll be hoping for a happy ending at the enchanted Cottage. As Fulham’s home form has been sensational, the even money about a home win is the call. Sometimes, the bears have to eat.

Tomas sustituirá a Robert Kovac en la zaga

Stjepan Tomas será el reemplazo para el sancionado Robert Kovac en el centro de la zaga croata, mientras que Igor Tudor quedará en su posición del centrocampista defensivo, ha anunciado el seleccionador croata Zlatko Kranjcar.

Dario Simic, el nuevo recordman en el número de play bazaar presencias en la selección croata con 82 presencias, retrasará un poco su posición y actuará de libre.

* Pendientes de si mismos…y de Japón

Después del empate con Japón, Croacia no desespera ya que ni siquiera una victoria por la mínima ante los niponeses le habría liberado del imperativo de ganar a Australia.

Por otro lado, un sencillo 1-0 contra los “hermanos” australianos podría bastarle a los adriáticos ya que es difícil esperar que Japón gane a Brasil por dos o más goles de diferencia.

Australia por otro lado se clasificará ganando o empatando si Japón no supera por dos o más goles a Brasil – algo poco probable aunque los pentacampeones ya se han clasificado para los octavos.

One man and his log

One man and his log

Sunday 18th June Mannheim. Leipzig

My last memories of seeing Korea were dashing from the stadium in Daejon as fireworks lit up the sky and 40,000 Koreans went crazy after they defeated Italy. Arriving in the early hours back in Seoul the whole city was out on the streets celebrating. Moving on four years and a lot of those present then have caught football fever and they are over here in Germany. I didn’t realise the relevance back in 2002 but I now suppose that the country’s name is derived from its passion for choreography.

In Leipzig town centre two troupes entertained the “reds” gathered and encouraged everyone to join in their singing and dancing routines. Before each song the words were clearly recited and the dance moves to be used were demonstrated to all those present so they could join in. Those present to a man (well almost) joined in the festivities.

At the stadium the same organisation was shown as they displayed a banner with a message (sorry it was in Korean) and then for the anthem unfurled the national flag, which they then swayed from side to side. At the other side of the stadium another flag was unfurled and I could swear it was swaying in time with the other flag. Throughout the game the coordinators of this support could be seen giving orders as to what was to happen next and the provided a wall of sound that continued throughout the game, no matter how their team were faring.

The fans appeared to be an inspiration to their side who grew stronger as the game wore on, and rewarded their enthusiasm with a late equaliser. Definitely the best supporters of the tournament.

Buy South Korean soccer jerseys

The FIFA stadium announcer was delighted to announce once again that the World Cup Stadium was “Sold Out”. This announcement was greeted with ironic cheers as seats were clearly visible around the Saudi fans. Despite the fact that Emirates Airlines gave free tickets to passengers and the Saudi Embassy gave tickets to people who applied for visas. The situation was similar at other games I have attended most notably Italy v Ghana and last night at France v Korea.

The Germans take great pride in announcing games as “ausverkauft” and in the press they state this along with the attendance for their Bundesliga games. FIFA seem determined to announce that this World Cup is a resounding success and will point to the highest ever % attendance to back up their point. (Surely the Costa Rica v Poland game will not be fully attended as it clashes with the Germany v Ecuador game and a lot of Poles have already gone home.)

But the damage has been done. Allocating more tickets to sponsors than the competing teams has alienated the real fans and the atmosphere is Pkv Pokersuffering. The difficulty supporters have encountered in obtaining tickets has left a bad taste when they see the empty seats.

Regularly after the half time interval vast banks of seats can be seen empty as those in corporate hospitality do their best to get value for money as they gorge themselves on freebies. How long is it before FIFA announce that the half time break will be extended to allow hospitality guests to get through 3 courses before the second half can resume?

The news that 1,700 tickets were not returned by sponsors for one game resulted in a message to be sent out asking for all sponsors to ensure that any unused tickets they have are returned in order that they can be resold.

As a result of this I am aware that at the Togo v Switzerland game an employee of a German sports shoes company sold 25 tickets outside the stadium at face value. Actions like this are too little and too late.

Korea Frustrate Pkv PokerFrance

Meeting Kevin Gallacher wasn’t quite the highlight of the evening – especially for the amiable Scot after I told him that I had been present when he had broke his leg on two occasions – but it came close to matching a dull game between France and South Korea in Leipzig.

Lunchtime was spent with a group of L’Equipe journalists who were convinced that the team was on its last legs and was about to be put out of its Pkv Pokermisery. Their pessimistic mood was in marked contrast to that of a group of Swiss sports scribes I had dinner with five days previously, after the Korea-Togo match. Upon witnessing that Korea victory and the subsequent turgid 0-0 draw between their team and France, the writers upgraded their team’s expected finishing position from second to an unequivocal first.Satta Matka

On the afternoon of the game, it was hard to navigate the narrow streets of Leipzig’s historic city centre, filled as they were with people packed taking advantage of the many outside bars and pubs.

The Koreans were louder –they almost always are – as they proved in the stadium. The communist built ZentralStadion looked to be mostly blue upon entrance but the sound that could be heard on a warm Saxony evening came from the red section – one that never stopped singing and dancing.

S.Korea v France

Desperate to avoid more barbs from the likes of L’Equipe, the French started brightly and it was little surprise when Thierry Henry put the team ahead in the ninth minute. On the half-hour it should have been two as Patrick Viera’s header certainly crossed the line before being beaten away by Lee Woon-jae in goal – the ‘keeper has answered his critics with two fine performances so far in Group G.

The Taeguk Warriors offered little as an attacking force but improved in the second half as Park Ji-sung was moved into the midfield from the wing. His energy in the middle redressed the balance somewhat, especially as France seemed satisfied with the scoreline as it was. Korea’s attempts to break through the excellent defensive pairing of William Gallas and Lilian Thuram were helped by the introduction of Ahn Jung-hwan with 20 minutes remaining. For the second time in a week, the Lord of the Ring changed the pace of the game and Korea came more and more into it.

The equaliser was a fairly shambolic one from a French point of view though the sight of the ball looping over a hitherto unemployed Fabian Barthez was a delicious one from the Korean point of view – one not shared by the obviously furious Gallas who booted the ball to Dresden.

There was no doubt which set of fans and players were happier after the game. The Koreans stayed on the pitch to salute their wonderful fans while the French players showed more urgency in leaving the field than they did for most of the second half – a speedy exit matched by their fans. The Koreans stayed to sing and judging by the sounds coming out of Leipzig city centre in the early hours, their numbers were swelled by a number of new Red Devils.

The French were disappointed but not overly so, in the mixed zone their players pointed out that they only had to defeat Togo to reach the second round while the Switzerland defeat of the Africans by two goals mean that South Korea also have to win in Hanover on Friday night to be sure of progressing.

It should be some night.

“It is not good timing to be releasing the movie due to the current tensions between the North and the South right now,” admitted Kye and added, “but in 2009 when I started making this movie, we were planning to release it before the 2010. I had no choice but to follow the schedule for the movie distribution.”

The film’s message is not hard to guess and Indian Matka it is a positive one.

“Football can’t solve all diplomatic problems, but I believe that football, which is world’s most loved sport, could certainly bring people together and contribute to establishing peace in the world. Korea is the last remaining vestige of the Cold War and we’re a divided nation. Also I think this touching story about football told with a comic twist makes the movie appealing to viewers from all over the world.

South Korea is in the running to host the 2022 World Cup and there is talk of allowing Pyongyang to host a couple of games if the bid is successful and it is something that the director agrees with. “Football is the most popular sport in Korea and it has given this nation true confidence and peace. I sincerely hope that we will be the host of the 2022 World Cup.”

‘The Moken Tribe’s World Cup’ is a rather different affair. Just on the Thailand-Myanmar border resides the Moken tribe. Used to playing with footballs made from bound papaya leaves, this documentary tells the story of how Korean Kang Sung-min, a very talented player, trains and teaches the local boys how to play the beautiful game.

It is an inspiring tale of how this motley group of boys who have never seen a real football before are molded into a tight-knit team, based, partly at least, on the training routines introduced by Guus Hiddink in 2002.

The film doesn’t end there, the cameras travel with the team as they are allowed to enter a regional under-14 tournament for the first time. There, the boys, who play bare-footed, take on teams physically bigger, stronger and better-equipped but not necessarily better.

“Football is life and dream and hope for these children,” director Shin Hyun-won told me. “Once they acquire nationality (the tribe are not yet officially citizens of Thailand) I’m certain that they can become professional players and even national team players beecause these Moken children have passion for football. And Kang created 100 football teams for children all over the region. Among the children taught by Kang are national team players, female national team players, youth national team players and many more.

The sad and slow death of the FA Data HK Cup

In the same week that we saw for the first time an all-English top flight match kick off with no English players or coaches involved (Portsmouth v Arsenal), the jewel in the crown of the mother of football’s competitions performed its most traditionally exciting day with a whimper.

The Fratton Park clash surely dispels for good any arguments that England has a problem with youth development, while the decline of the FA Cup, alive and kicking since 1872, is equally depressing. The Cup’s 3rd Round, which traditionally takes place soon after New Year, is the stage where the big boys enter, which can make for mouth-watering David v Goliath clashes.

There were no shocks this year, another sign of the financial Data HKchasm between the Premier League and the rest, but the sight of half-empty stadia was glaring enough for the presenters of the competition’s biggest Delhi Bazaar Satta King cheerleaders, ITV, to debate it on air just as they launched their station’s coverage with expensive graphics and a slew of advertising. Only 12,474 paid to watch megabucks Man City’s visit to Middlesbrough, while a thousand less attended Premier League Portsmouth’s tie with Coventry City. Premier League Wigan’s clash with Premier League Hull drew barely 5,000 paying spectators. This cup is half-empty.

When I was growing up in the 1970s and ’80s the FA Cup was as prestigious a trophy as the League Championship, a uniquely English prize which set it apart from the rest of UEFA’s member nations’ cup competitions.

Cup Final Day was the most exciting day of the football season, a Superbowl for England accompanied by ubiquitous fascination and a prize as glittering, if not more so, than winning the league itself in the eyes of fans. The minnows who raised the Cup or slew the giants, from Yeovil to Sutton United, Coventry and Wimbledon, passed into legend. Like all boys I would wake up excited on Cup Final Day and gleefully imbibe the long TV build-up with its reportages from the team hotels, coaches and rosette-bearing fans as they made their way to the shrine of the Twin Towers at Wembley.

A Blue visit for the Reds

The last premiership game of the weekend is at St. Andrews and the Blues are handily priced at 19/5 to beat Liverpool. The Reds are a bit like my nan’s cheese sauce: sometimes they look and taste great; other times they are a disgrace, make you feel sick and should never be allowed to be put out on the table…sorry, pitch. Still, regardless of how bad the cheese sauce is, nan’s fans accept it and never tell her how bad it is, which makes the neutrals gob smacked! Rafa guaranteed play bazaar fourth place a few weeks ago; Liverpool are now 4 points off the position and have played a game more than the team currently sitting there – Spurs. They’ll have played another on Saturday and won’t be any closer as another long shot comes in. Get on the home win at 19/5 to continue Brum’s amazing campaign: they have only lost two games at home through the entire season.

Weekend Wagers

Trebles for Show

Chelsea Liverpool draw (21/10); Sunderland Spurs draw (23/10) and Bolton/Villa draw (9/4). In excess of £300 for a tenner. Oooooooh that’s nice.

Doubles for Dough

Burnley to beat Man City (4/1) on Saturday and Birmingham to beat Liverpool (19/5) on Sunday. £240 back for a tenner. Larrrrrrvely.

आप एक बार इनका सब्सक्रिप्शन लेकर यूजर ID और पासवर्ड की सहायता से लॉगिन कर लेंगे जहां वे आपको इस खेल से सबन्धित हर एक आवश्यक पहलू भी समझाते हैं। इस वेबसाइट पर आपको अन्य मटका क्लबों के रिजल्ट भी दिखाए जाते हैं

हालांकि इस वेबसाइट पर दिखाए गए अनुमान की प्रमाणिकता या जीत के दावे की जिम्मेदारी एजेंट खुद नहीं लेते हैं। क्योंकि वह अनुभव, खेल की समझ और विश्लेषण के माध्यम से आपको नम्बर बता देते हैं उन नंबरों पर पैसा लगाने के बावजूद भी आपको पैसे का नुकसान उठाना पड़ता है। एजेंट को दिया गया पैसा तो गया ही साथ ही मटका में लगाया पैसा भी चला जायेगा। कई लोग खुद नंबरों का विश्लेषण करके पैसे जीत लेते हैं ऐसे में आपको किसी के द्वारा बताए गए नंबरों पर अनुमान नहीं लगाना चाहिए। ऐसे में आपको भारी वित्तीय नुकसान भुगतना पड़ सकता है।

ये हैं भारत के टॉप 10 फेमस मटका
भारत में सैंकड़ो मटका चल रहे हैं लेकिन ख्याति कुछ मटकों को ही मिल पाई है। भारत के 10 सबसे बड़े मटके Milan Matka, Kalyan Matka, Rajdhani Day and Night Matka, New Delhi Matka, Main Ratan, Rajshree Matka, Sridevi Matka, Madhuri Matka, Time Bazar Matka, Main Bazar Day Matka आदि हैं।

भारत का सबसे प्रसिद्ध मटका, कल्याण मटका है। यह कल्याण जी भगत ने शुरु किया था। इंटरनेट पर लाखों तादाद में लोग कल्याण मटके के रिजल्ट का इंतज़ार करते हैं। लाखों की मात्रा में लोग कल्याण रिजल्ट, सटा मटा कल्याण रिजल्ट, डीपी बॉस कल्याण रिजल्ट, कल्याण रिजल्ट टुडे, कल्याण रिजल्ट क्लोज जैसे कीवर्ड सर्च करते हैं।

कल्याण मटका का इतिहास
सट्टा मटका कल्याण मटका की शुरुआत कल्याण जी भगत ने की थी। इन्हें दूसरा सट्टा किंग कहा जाता है। गुजरात के रहने वाले कल्याण जी भगत मुम्बई में आये उन्होंने शुरुआत में न्यूयॉर्क कॉटन एक्सचेंज औरबॉम्बे कॉटन एक्सचेंज में कॉटन के बंद और खुले दामों में Delhi Bazaar Satta King सट्टा लगाते थे। वे इस आधार पर सट्टा लगाते थे कि कपास किस रेट पर ओपन होगा और किस रेट पर क्लोज होगा। सट्टा का ये तरीका खूब फल फूल रहा था लेकिन 1961में न्यूयॉर्क कॉटन एक्सचेंज बन्द हो गया। बता दें कि कल्याण जी भगत गुजरात के साधारण किसान थे जबकि रतन खत्री परचून की दुकान चलाते थे। इन्हें ही सट्टा किंग कहा जाता है।

कपास पर सट्टा बंद होने के बाद कल्याण जी भगत ने 1962 में सट्टा का नया रूप सट्टा मटका पेश किया। जिसे वर्ली मटका कहा जाता है। इसके 2 साल बाद रतन खत्री ने कुछ बदलाव के साथ न्यू वर्ली मटका पेश किया बाद में रतन खत्री और कल्याण जी भगत साझेदार हो गए और मटका मार्किट को नई ऊंचाइयों तक पहुंचाया। दोनों के द्वारा चलाये गए मटके खूब फेमस हुए। मुम्बई में काम करने वॉर मजदूर और गृहणियां इन पर खूब पैसा लगाती थी। मध्य मुम्बई से शुरू हुआ सट्टा मटका का यह खेल आज पूरी दुनिया मे खेला जा रहा है।

उस दौरान मुम्बई में कपड़ा मिलें खूब फल फूल रही थी। उनमें काम करने वाले मजदूर मटका की तरफ आकर्षित हुए। सट्टा खेलने वालों की इतनी वृद्धि से आस पास के कई लोगों ने अलग अलग मटका खोले धीरे धीरे मध्य मुम्बई सट्टा का अड्डा बन गया। वर्तमान में सट्टा मटका नए रूप से खिलाया जा रहा है। आजकल ऑनलाइन प्रणाली के तहत सट्टा मार्केट आ गए है। आप घर बैठे सट्टा मटका की वेबसाइट पर विजिट करके सट्टा खेल सकते है। वेबसाइट कई अलग मटका में सट्टा ख़िलवाती हैं जिनमें कल्याण मटका प्रमुख हैं।

1. कल्याण मॉर्निंग मटका
कल्याण का मॉर्निंग मटका सुबह 11 बजे ओपन एवं 12:02 पर क्लोज हो जाता है। कल्याण मॉर्निंग मटका का सबसे तेज रिजल्ट हम अपनी वेबसाइट पर प्रकाशित करते हैं जिसे देखने के लिए आप हमारी वेबसाइट के साथ बने रहें।

> कल्याण मोर्निंग पैनल चार्ट
कल्याण सट्टा बाजार दिन में कई दफा संचालित किया जाता है। जिनका ओपन और क्लोज टाइम अलग अलग रहता है। कल्याण मॉर्निंग सट्टा बाजार का टाइम 11:00 AM पर ओपन एवं 12:02PM पर क्लोज होता है। भारत में कल्याण मॉर्निंग पर सट्टा लगाने वाले भी कई लोग है। यहां आपको कल्याण मॉर्निंग पैनल चार्ट दिखाया जा रहा है। जिसे हमारे द्वारा दी गयी ट्रिक से समझकर बड़ा मुनाफा कमा सकते हैं।

2. कल्याण मटका
कल्याण का कल्याण मटका सबसे ज्यादा खेला जाने वाला मटका है। इस मटके की ओपन होने की टाइमिंग शाम 4:50 बजे है जबकि 06:50 पर आपको इसका फाइनल रिजल्ट मिल जाएगा।

> कल्याण मटका पैनल चार्ट
कल्याण रिजल्ट आने के पश्चात पैनल चार्ट अपडेट होता है जिसमें ओपन एवं क्लोज के रिजल्ट के साथ आज की फिक्स जोड़ी भी रहती है। जिसे समझकर आप अपनी गेसिंग ट्रिक से इसको निकाल सकते हैं।

> कल्याण मटका जोड़ी चार्ट
कल्याण मटका जोड़ी चार्ट को कल्याण का फाइनल जोड़ी अपडेट होने के बाद अपडेट किया जाता है। कल्याण का फाइनल रिजल्ट 06:50 पर आता है। कुछ ही देर में जोड़ी चार्ट अपडेट हो जाती है जिससे आसानी से गेसिंग कर सकते हैं।

3. कल्याण नाईट मटका
कल्याण मॉर्निंग एवं कल्याण के बाद तीसरा सबसे प्रमुख मटका कल्याण नाईट है। कल्याण नाईट रात में 9:15 PM पर ओपन एवं रात 11:30 पर क्लोज हो जाता है। 11:30 पर कल्याण नाईट रिजल्ट आ जाता है।

> कल्याण नाईट पैनल चार्ट
गेसिंग करने के लिए कल्याण नाईट पैनल चार्ट उपयोगी होता है। आप 11:30 पर हमारी वेबसाइट में कल्याण नाईट पैनल चार्ट प्राप्त कर सकते हैं।

कल्याण नाईट रिजल्ट आने के बाद कल्याण नाईट जोड़ी चार्ट अपडेट कर दिया जाता है राय 11:30 तक कल्याण का जोड़ी चार्ट अपडेट हो जाता है। जिसका सहायता से आप kalyan night guessing कर सकते हैं।

4. कल्याण बाज़ार
कल्याण बाजार रिजल्ट रात को 12:01 पर घोषित किया जाता है। कल्याण बाजार रिजल्ट ओपन 09:45 PM जबकि क्लोज 12:00 AM है।

> कल्याण बाजार पैनल चार्ट
कल्याण बाजार ओपन ओपन टू क्लोज रिजल्ट आने के पश्चात कल्याण बाजार पैनल चार्ट आप हमारी वेबसाइट पर देख सकते हैं।

While the smell of corporate jollies is far less obvious than at the World Cup, that still has not stopped ten brands from trying their best to muscle in on the Beautiful Game again.

A credit card company, villains of the 2006 World Cup, when they managed to persuade FIFA to deny bearers of any rival cards from using them to buy Madhur matka, are one of the terrible ten at EURO 2008, as are an American fast food giant, purveyors of the sort of diet that will never make you a footballer.

The most visible around town have been a German tire manufacturer, decking out their female staff in black and gold livery from dawn to susk, while their all-black coaches with tinted windows cruise sinisterly around Vienna.

Castrol have been given an inordinate amount of publicity in FIFA literature around EURO 2008, allegedly because of their revolutionary ‘Index’, which is the latest electronically-generated performance analyst tool.

Personally, I can’t see much of interest in the CastrolIndex which is not already available in ProZone or similar existing programs.

Like an cyborg Wing Commander Reep (the progenitor of the English long-ball fixation), the Index furnishes the fan with such indispensable minutiae such as:

The Netherlands and Russia’s attacks ran at an exactly average speed of 28.72kmh in their quarter-final….Portugal hit the woodwork five times in the tournament, more than any other team, and were also first for being offside….Five nations have had more shots on goal than semi-finalists Turkey….Luca Toni has shot wide more times (12) than anyone else in EURO 2008

What do they know? Their stats rate the best goalkeeper in numbers of saves as Petr Cech, the same chap whose blunders let the Turks overturn a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 and eliminate his country.

Likewise, Castrol’s best midfielder is Spain’s Xavi, but the criteria are only completed passes. Why then did Aragones sub him for Cesc Fabregas yesterday? Because there is more to being a midfielder than horizontal passing.

To confuse matters further, another page is called ‘Top Midfielders’, where the prize goes to….Tranquillo Barnetta of Switzerland, who is streets ahead of his nearest challengers Michael Ballack and Wesley Sneijder, according to Castrol.

The closer to goal the higher a player scores with a pass, shot or tackle, while a long pass is worth more than a short one (Reep’s ghost lives).

No computer analysis seems that satisfying at the end of the day, as it views data cumulatively and not empirically. Or, in other words, it has no feel for the game, and leads to the drawing of erroneous conclusions.

For instance, Russia beat Holland 3-1 because they made 124 fewer completed passes, which could be interpreted as direct football beats possession football. But the stats also show the four semi-finalists rank in the top seven nations at the finals for keeping the ball – Spain (1st), Turkey (4th), Germany (5th) and Russia (7th).

The only smiles I drew wading through the figures were from learning that the tournament’s biggest fouler has been none other than Ballack and the most offside player was Poland’s Euzebiusz Smolarek, or ‘Offski’ to his mates.

Incidentally, who would you think Castrol deems the top striker so far? – David Villa with his four goals, Lukas Podolski with his three, or maybe Russian bear Andrey Arshavin? None of the above. Arshavin is a poor eighth in the Index, far behind shooting star Ivica Olic of Croatia. Podolski came 35th while Villa was 44th. Right….

There’s a football advert doing the rounds in Australia starring Socceroos Marco Bresciano and John Aloisi.

While the pair train in an empty stadium, they are barracked by a lone voice yelling from the stands.

“How do you think you are going to beat Brazil, Socceroos,” the geriatric figure baits. “You haven’t even kicked a goal in the World Cup.”

“Brazil have kicked 191 goals,” the old-timer ridicules with a laugh.

“Here Johnny,” Bresciano prompts and from Aloisi’s Indian satta pass, the Parma midfielder thrashes the ball into the stands and knocks the groaning figure out cold.

“History’s Against Us,” reads the tagline. “Stuff History.”

Whether Nike are claiming any credit following last night’s display against the reigning world champions will likely be determined by the company’s next ad campaign.

But one thing’s for certain – reputations count for nothing for Guus Hiddink’s men.

The simple truth is Brazil might have lost to 42nd-ranked Australia after Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka wasted glorious chances in the second-half in Munich.

The former Leeds United pair will relive their individual moments of promise a hundred times over.

Once again, a World Cup match was decided by mere inches.

While Viduka’s second-half lob over goalkeeper Dida landed fractionally over the bar, Robinho’s 90th minute strike ricocheted off the inside of Mark Schwarzer’s post straight to the feet of grateful striker Fred.

“It was a deserved win,” coach Carlos Alberto Parreira maintained after presiding over an anxious second-half performance from the five-times champions. “We imposed both our style of playing, passing the ball around, and also imposed ourselves physically.”

Australian central defender Lucas Neill saw it rather differently.

“We’re really frustrated and disappointed,” Neill, a player growing in stature with each passing international, said. “But we played very well and I’m really happy to be a part of this Australian team.”

Neill’s proud Socceroos concocted about as many shots as their lauded rivals in a pulsating encounter but will rue a lack of tactical nous from midfielder-turned-defender Scott Chipperfield four minutes after the break.

The FC Basel man, forced back into defence following injury to Tony Popovic, stood too far off Adriano as the burly left-footer shaped to thread a shot goalbound after a neat set-up from Ronaldo.

The result was too much time for the Inter Milan striker and too little view for Schwarzer – a deadly combination.

The ball rolled through Chipperfield’s vulnerable gait and eluded the stranded Middlesbrough ‘keeper for the gamebreaker.

Fred’s last-gasp decider only served to flatter the Brazilians, a side talked about in terms of Pele’s 1970s superstars pre-tournament but on current form a million miles away.

For the Aussies, they might have fallen narrowly short of South America’s football kings but can take satisfaction that a draw with Croatia on Friday should be enough for a knockout spot.