Rahim disoal siasat lima jam, video seks diserah Bukit Aman

The Malaysian Insider – Thu, Mar 24, 2011 11:09 PM MYT
Oleh Yow Hong Chieh

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Mac – Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik, salah seorang “Datuk T” yang mempertontonkan rakaman video seks didakwa melibatkan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mengadakan hubungan seks dengan seorang wanita, telah diserahkan kepada polis hari ini.
Rakaman video itu diserahkan selepas Abdul Rahim memberikan kenyataan di Bukit Aman.
Bekas ketua menteri Melaka itu (gambar) berkata, beliau menyerahkan salinan asal video seks agar mereka dapat menentukan ketulenannya.
“(Video) itu boleh diperiksa oleh pakar forensik untuk melihat sama ada ia direka atau sebaliknya,” kata beliau kepada pemberita di sini hari ini.
“Kita boleh panggil pakar-pakar, malah dari FBI (Biro Siasatan Persekutuan) di Amerika, untuk menentukan ketulenan video,” kata beliau ketua Pemuda Umno ini.
Rahim berkata beliau berharap polis boleh mempercepatkan siasatan memandangkan ia penting bagi rakyat Malaysia mengetahui “aktor” dalam video itu.
Katanya, beliau juga menyerahkan jam tangan Omega, yang didakwa milik Anwar, bagi membuktikan identiti lelaki yang sebenar.
“Meskipun (Anwar) tidak mengaku (memiliki jam tangan), pakar forensik boleh menentukan sama ada jam tangan sebagai bahan bukti penting,” katanya.
Rahim disoal siasat selama lima jam sejak 5 petang tadi.

Video seks: Anwar tak perlu sumpah al-Quran, kata Hadi

The Malaysian Insider – Tue, Mar 22, 2011 3:42 PM MYT
Oleh Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mac — Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang menolak desakan agar Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bersumpah atas al-Quran bagi membuktikan beliau bukan lelaki yang didakwa dalam rakaman video seks melibatkan seorang wanita, yang didedahkan semalam.
Sehubungan itu kata beliau, hanya Mahkamah Syariah yang boleh meminta Anwar, yang juga Ketua Pembangkang, agar berbuat demikian.
“Jika anda mahu beliau bersumpah, maka anda perlu mengikut hukum syariah. Hanya mahkamah ini (syariah) yang boleh memutuskan sama ada beliau kena buat sumpah sedemikian.
“Saya minta kes ini didengar di Mahkamah Syariah,” kata beliau merujuk kepada dakwaan terbaru yang dirujuk kepada pemimpin kanan Pakatan Rakyat itu.

Pakatan nafi lelaki dalam video seks Anwar

The Malaysian Insider – Mon, Mar 21, 2011 4:31 PM MYT
Oleh Shannon Teoh dan Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani


KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Mac — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) menafikan lelaki yang didakwa dalam rakaman video, melanggan seorang pelacur di sebuah hotel di ibu negara akhir bulan lalu sebagai Ketua Umumnya Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Ini (rakaman) video Anwar yang direka,” kata pengarah komunikasi PKR Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
“Ia bukan Datuk Seri Anwar. Ini satu lagi usaha Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk memberi persepsi umum bahawa beliau seorang yang tidak bermoral, yang tidak layak untuk menerajui negara ini,” kata anggota biro politik PAS Khalid Samad kepada The Malaysian Insider.
Naib presiden PKR Chua Tian Chang juga mendakwa BN semakin terdesak, “beralih daripada isu-isu besar seperti pilihan raya dan dasar kepada serangan peribadi.”
Pagi tadi, seorang lelaki yang menamakan dirinya “Datuk T” mempertontonkan rakaman video menunjukkan seorang pemimpin kanan PR sedang mengadakan hubungan seks dengan seorang wanita, dipercayai pelacur asing dari China.
Video 21 minit itu, dalam empat segmen, menggambarkan pemimpin tersebut yang juga seorang Ahli Parlimen mengadakan hubungan seks di sebuah hotel di sini, dilihat akan menggegarkan arena politik negara sekali lagi.
Ia yang dirakamkan pada 21 Februari lalu dipertunjukkan kepada media di sebuah hotel di sini pagi ini.
Menurut Datuk T, beliau mahu media menonton rakaman tersebut sebelum dia menghantarkannya kepada pemimpin berkenaan dan isterinya.
Malah katanya, jika pemimpin politik itu mengenal pasti dia adalah tuan punya diri dalam rakaman tersebut, maka dia dan isterinya harus meletakkan jawatan.
Datuk T mendakwa lelaki dalam rakaman video itu bukan seorang yang bermoral tinggi dan oleh itu, tidak layak bertindak sebagai pemimpin.
Dalam satu kenyataan yang turut diedarkan kepada media, yang tertera nama pemimpin tersebut, dikatakan bahawa ahli politik tersebut pergi ke hotel yang menawarkan khidmat seks dan kemudahan SPA.
Selepas pemimpin itu meninggalkan hotel, dia sedari bahawa dia tertinggal jam tangan jenama Omega di bilik dia memperoleh khidmat seks.
“Saya diminta mendapatkan jam tangan di bilik tersebut. Oleh kerana saya tidak nampak jam tangan pada meja, saya memeriksanya di belakang tempat persolekan. Saya terkejut melihat banyak wayar di belakangnya,” kata kenyataan itu.
Kata kenyataan itu, wayar berkenaan disambungkan ke CCTV yang kemudiannya didapati merakamkan hubungan seks pemimpin itu dengan pelacur tersebut.
Bekas perdana menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, dalam memoirnya yang dipasarkan awal bulan ini mendakwa bekas timbalannya itu pernah dibekalkan dengan empat wanita untuk khidmat seks pada 1990-an.
Anwar, yang kini berhadapan dengan kes liwat keduanya, telah menafikan tulisan Dr Mahathir itu.
Akhir 2007, Presiden MCA Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek memutuskan untuk meletakkan jawatan selepas didapati muncul dalam rakaman video seks.
Pada 1989, bekas setiausaha agung MIC D. P. Vijandran telah dipaksa meletakkan jawatan timbalan speaker Dewan Rakyat berikutan kontroversi video seks.

Kuok and Ananda continue to be cream of Malaysia's wealthiest

ANN - Friday, March 4
Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - The 40 wealthiest Malaysians are worth US$62.1bil, up by US$11.1bil compared with last year, according to the latest rich list published by Forbes Asia.

In a statement, Forbes Asia said the combined wealth was almost 22% more than the list in 2010.
"The better coffers come on the back of the country's healthy economy which grew 7.2% last year, the highest rate since 2000," it said.
The first two spots were still occupied by Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien and Tan Sri T. Ananda Krishnan, respectively.
Kuok, 87, has held pole position since 2006 when Forbes Asia began ranking the 40 richest Malaysians.
He was worth US$12.5bil, up by half a billion from last year.
His biggest source of wealth was his stake in Wilmar International, the world's largest listed palm oil company.
Ananda, 72, was at No 2 with US$9.5bil, up from US$8.1bil last year.
His Maxis Communications Bhd is Malaysia's biggest cellphone service provider.
At No 3 is this year's biggest gainer in dollar terms, Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua.
The 81-year-old, widow of casino magnate Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, was one of three women on the list this year.
Her Genting shares took off when the company's Singapore operations on Sentosa Island opened, boosting the family's net worth by US$2.7bil to US$6.6bil from a year ago.
Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, who built IOI Group into one of the world's biggest palm oil producers, fell down a spot at No 4 with a net worth of $5bil, up by US$400mil from last year.
AirAsia Bhd's Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, budget airline pioneer and Forbes Asia's 2010 Businessman of the Year, was ranked No 20 this year, down one spot from last year despite his wealth increasing to US$470mil from US$330mil last year.
The only newcomer this year was Chia Song Kun at No 24 with US$400mil.
The share price of his QL Resources Bhd, the seafood, egg production and palm oil company, has doubled since last year.
Datuk Tony Tiah Thee Kian at No 35 was the only returnee to the list after a year's absence as stocks in his TA Enterprise Bhd have recovered. He was worth US$170mil.
Not all did well, however, as there were three this year who saw their wealth reduced, led by Tan Sri Vincent Tan at No 9.
The self-made entrepreneur, who runs Berjaya Group, saw his wealth decline to US$1.25bil from US$1.6bil last year.
Timber tycoon Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King was the only person who did not see any changes to his wealth. He was still worth US$1.2bil and ranked No 10.

Hosni Mubarak richest man in world with estimated 70 billion dollar fortune: Report

By ANI

ANI – Tue, Feb 8 2:53 PM IST
London, Feb 8(ANI): Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is likely the richest man in the world with an estimated fortune worth about 70 billion dollars.

According to the Guardian, Mubarak has money stashed in several Swiss and other foreign bank accounts, and has shadowy real-estate holdings in Manhattan, London and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
The 70 billion dollars would put the 82-year-old comfortably ahead of Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, who is worth about 53.5 billion dollars, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the richest American with 53 billion dollars.
According to Princeton Political Science professor Amaney Jamal, Mubarak's three-decade rule in Egypt had kept him in a perfect spot to get a piece of any government action.
"There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain. This is the pattern of other Middle Eastern dictators," Jamal told ABC News.
"This is the pattern of other Middle Eastern dictators so their wealth will not be taken during a transition," he added.
Mubarak was appointed Vice President in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on October 14, 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat.
He is the longest-serving Egyptian ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. (ANI)

Yahoo news.

Mourinho wants Adebayor at Madrid

Real Madrid are reportedly interested in rescuing Emmanuel Adebayor from his Manchester City nightmare.

It is no secret the Togolese striker wants out of Eastlands after struggling for first-team action under manager Roberto Mancini.

The 26-year-old has fallen down the pecking orders behind Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli and is searching for a new club to revive his career.

Now according to Spanish newspaper Sport, his next destination could be Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is seeking a new striker after long-term injury to Gonzalo Higuain.

The Portuguese is familiar with Adebayor during his spell as Chelsea coach and believes he is the man to compliment Cristiano Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, City would be willing to let their man go the moment they land Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko.

The Eastlands club have reportedly agreed on a £27 million deal for the Bosnian hitman.

ESPNSTAR.COM

Giants poised for final battle

Arch rivals Malaysia and Indonesia will face off for the prestigious AFF Suzuki Cup in home and away leg finals on Boxing day and December 29.

According to affsuzukicup.com, Indonesia, long regarded as one of the sleeping giants of Asean football, have chartered their way to the showpiece final after their 2-0 aggregate victory over surprise package the Philippines in the last four.

Malaysia, under the canny tutelage of tactician K. Rajagobal, have progressed to the final of Asean's premier cup competition for the first time since 1996 with an impressive 2-0 aggregate win over defending champions Vietnam.

Whilst Indonesia thrashed Malaysia 5-1 in their group opener, it is fair to surmise that the scoreline did not do any justice to the actual match and such a one-sided score is not anticipated this time around.

Indonesia will be hoping it's a case of fourth time lucky having made it to the final on three previous occasions only to suffer heartbreak in their respective fixtures (4-1 loss to Thailand in 2000, 4-2 loss on penalties against Thailand in 2002 after a 2-2 draw and 5-2 aggregate defeat to Singapore on 2004).

In fact, Indonesia have faced Malaysia in the semi-finals during the 2004 edition and despite crashing to a 2-1 home reverse, they staged a stunning fightback with four second-half goals in the return leg at the Bukit Jalil Stadium to claim a 5-3 aggregate triumph.

Indonesia manager Alfred Riedl will rely on his vital engine cog duo of captain Firman Utina and Muhammad Ridwan to boss the middle of the park and provide the ammunition for deadly hotshot striker Cristian Gonzales, whose two goals against the Philippines has seen him become the tournament top scorer with three strikes.

Malaysia on the other hand, will be relying on the pace and guile of Safee Sali to trouble the Indonesia rearguard while the likes of Norshahrul Idlan and S. Kunanlan will be called upon to provide the service for the attack.

Custodian Khairul Fahmi has been a rock between the sticks after replacing Sharbinee Allawee after the 5-1 debacle to Indonesia and the keeper has only let in a single goal from four games.

The desire and hunger of both teams yet to be crowned as Kings of Asean football promises to be an explosive spectacle in the AFF Suzuki Cup final.

ESPNSTAR.com

Football superstar Ronaldo: That’s my son in Singapore

By Ewen Boey – December 9th, 2010
It’s official: Brazilian superstar footballer Ronaldo has a son living in Singapore.

The ex-Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid star confirmed via his Twitter account on Wednesday night that he is indeed the biological father of 5-year-old Alexander, who lives with his mother Ms Michele Umezu, 28, in the city-state.
Ms Umezu, who works as a freelance model, had a brief fling with the three-time Fifa World Player of the Year when they met back in Tokyo in 2004. Alexander is believed to be a product of that union.
Ronaldo, who now plays for Brazilian club Corinthians, had said on Monday on his Twitter feed that he had a DNA test to determine whether he was really the father of a five-year-old boy in Singapore.
The 34-year-old striker took the test because Ms Umezu has been trying since 2009 to have him recognised as the father and is demanding child support.
“The test results proved what I showed my feelings when I saw Alex,” Ronaldo tweeted on Wednesday night.
The man once dubbed “The Phenomenon” added, “Alex is my son, the brother of three more beautiful children like him. And I will always be a father to all the pleasures and duties. Welcome.”
The hype began in the middle of this year, when those present at a reception hosted by the Brazilian embassy in Singapore noticed little Alexander, as he bore an uncanny resemblance to the famous football star.
“He’s a carbon copy of Ronaldo,” a guest present that night told The Straits Time on Tuesday.
The child has since been the talk of the 1,300-strong Brazilian community, with Brazilian media and websites running pictures of Ms Umezu, Ronaldo and Alexander.
“We’re all very curious about her, me and my friends. We haven’t seen her but we hope to meet her,” said former sports journalist Flavia du Chenoy Bucey, 24, who moved to Singapore last year and had interviewed Ronaldo’s first wife, Milene Domingues.
It is reported that Ms Umezu first met Ronaldo in Tokyo in 2002 at a party celebrating Brazil’s World Cup triumph. She was then working at a nightclub.
When speaking to the Brazilian media in April, Ms Umezu remained tight-lipped, but said that her son knew who his real father was.
“Sometimes, he wants to see pictures of him. he looks like his father,” she said, referring to Ronaldo, who currently plies his trade with Brazilian club Corinthians.
“When he grows up, he would like to be like his dad,” she added.
This is not the first time Ronaldo has faced trouble in his personal life.
In 2008, the three-time married footballer was involved in a scandal with three transvestite prostitutes whom he met in a nightclub in his home town of Rio de Janeiro.

More Americans say Obama is Muslim

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Roughly one in five Americans wrongly says President Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to two new US opinion polls out Thursday amid a furor over a planned mosque near New York's "Ground Zero."

And about 30 percent of Americans say followers of Islam should be barred from running for president or serving on the US Supreme Court, according to one of the surveys, published in Time magazine and available on Time.com.
The Time poll found 24 percent of respondents said Obama -- a Christian church-goer who has repeatedly spoken out about his faith -- is a Muslim, while 18 percent said the same in a study from the non-partisan Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The White House responded by underlining that Obama "is a committed Christian" and that his "faith is a part of who he is, but not a part of what the public or the media is focused on everyday."
Deputy communications director Jen Psaki said in a statement that Obama relied on his faith in dealing with challenges like the sour US economy and the Iraq war "but he doesnt wear it on his sleeve."
The polls amounted to another headache for Obama and his Democratic allies, who worry they face a rout in November elections to decide control of the US Congress and key governorships because of the sour economy.
Pew took its poll before Obama waded last week into a bitter dispute over plans for a mosque and community center roughly two blocks from the New York site of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Time conducted its survey afterwards.
Obama on Friday affirmed the right to build on religious freedom grounds, and on Saturday clarified that he was not taking a stand on the "wisdom" of doing so.
Republicans, including some possible 2012 White House hopefuls, have vowed to make Obama's support for the right to build the project, which is broadly opposed by a majority of the US public, an issue in the upcoming elections.
Pew noted the overall number of those saying Obama is a Muslim had spiked from 11 percent in March 2009 but that the view "is more widespread among his political opponents than among his backers."
Still, "even among many of his supporters and allies, less than half now say Obama is a Christian. Among Democrats, for instance, 46 percent say Obama is a Christian, down from 55 percent in March 2009," said Pew.
Just 34 percent of Pew's respondents overall correctly identified him as a Christian, down from 48 percent from March 2009, and 43 percent said they did not know his religion, up from 34 percent.
Time found 47 percent of its sample labeled Obama a Christian, while 24 percent said they did not know his religion.
Pew's assessment had an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, while it was roughly three percentage points for the Time study, which found sizeable hostility to Islam nine years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by Osama bin Laden's extremist Al-Qaeda Islamist network.
Forty-six percent said Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence against non-believers, against 39 percent who said "about the same" and six percent who said it was less likely to do so, said Time.
And 32 percent said Muslims should be barred from running for US president, while 28 percent said they should be prohibited from serving on the US Supreme Court, and 25 percent said most US Muslims do not believe in US values.
Asked about the controversial mosque project in New York, 23 percent said it would serve as a symbol of religious tolerance, 44 percent said it would be "an insult" to the victims of 9-11 and 27 percent said it would be both.
Overall, just 26 percent supported the project, while 61 percent said it should not be built, according to Time.
The poll also found 34 percent of respondents would oppose the construction two blocks from their home of a Muslim community center and place of worship for major religions in the United States.
But 24 percent said they would oppose such a project by Mormons; 18 percent would oppose one for Jews; and 14 percent would oppose one for Catholics.
A senior White House aide, requesting anonymity, noted that 60 percent of those who said the president was a Muslim learned it from the media and charged that his "faith is often maligned and distorted by critics."

Malaysian Man Utd fans cry foul over ban on 'devil' shirts

AFP

Thu Jul 22, 12:18 pm ET

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Manchester United's fans in Malaysia erupted in astonishment and anger on social media Thursday after clerics warned Muslims against wearing the team's famous jersey with its "devil" emblem.

Manchester United and the rest of the English Premier League are hugely popular in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where conservative religious leaders said the jersey was un-Islamic and should be banned.

Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were flooded with comments from fans in the Southeast Asian nation.

"Maybe the religious leaders are just fans of Liverpool?" quipped one supporter on Twitter.
"Why this become an issue after Manchester United has won the title for 11 times? They haven't been watching the matches all this while?" said Sharifah Shahidah, a die-hard Manchester United fan of two-decades standing.
"What am I gonna do with all my Man Utd jerseys? And my sons' jerseys?" Sharifah, a Muslim mother of two and an IT programmer, asked on her Twitter account. "Should I cover the emblem with a picture of flower?"
Malaysian clerics said Wednesday that Muslims must not wear the iconic red jersey because devils should be shunned, not celebrated, and urged those who had worn the garment to "repent immediately".
Also off-limits are the shirts of teams including Brazil, Portugal, Barcelona and Serbia, all of which carry an image of the Christian crucifix in their team emblems.
"This is very dangerous. As a Muslim, we should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devils," said Nooh Gadot, a top Islamic leader from southern Johor state.
Manchester United Fan Club Malaysia, which has about 7,000 members, declined to comment, but the fan club's chief, Lawrence How, noted there was no official ban on the jerseys.
The clerics agreed there was no "fatwa", or religious edict, but that one was not needed when it was clearly wrong for Muslims to wear such a garment.
Malaysia is a generally moderate Islamic country, but conservative clerics have issued controversial edicts in the past, including a ban on the ancient practice of yoga, which is criticised for including Hindu elements.

Muslims warned against 'devilish' Man Utd jersey

AFP - Thursday, July 22

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – Muslims must not wear the famous Manchester United red jersey because of the "devil" emblem on its team crest, Malaysian clerics said Wednesday.

Manchester United and the rest of the English Premier League are massively popular in Muslim-majority Malaysia and the rest of the Asian region, but conservative religious scholars said the jersey is un-Islamic.

Also off limits are the shirts of teams including Brazil, Portugal, Barcelona, Serbia and Norway, all of which carry images of the cross on their team emblems.

"This is very dangerous. As a Muslim, we should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devils," Nooh Gadot, a top Islamic cleric from the southern Johor state, told AFP.

A vendor holds up a Manchester United jersey at a shop in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian clerics have warned that Muslims must not wear the famous Manchester United jersey because of the "devil" emblem on its team crest.

"It will erode our belief in Islam. There is no reason why we as Muslims should wear such jerseys, either for sports or fashion reasons," said Nooh, an advisor to the Johor religious council.

"Even if it (the jersey) is a gift, we should decline it. It is even more sinful when people realise this is wrong and still buy these jerseys to wear," he added.

Nooh said there was no "fatwa", or religious edict, against the shirts but that one was not needed when it was clearly wrong for Muslims to don such a garment.

"These Muslims should repent, repent immediately," he said.

Another leading cleric, Harussani Zakaria, a cleric from northern Perak state, agreed that devils should be shunned, not celebrated.

"Yes of course in Islam we don't allow people to wear this sort of thing," he told AFP. "Devils are our enemies, why would you put their picture on you and wear it? You are only promoting the devil."

Malaysia is a generally moderate Islamic country, but conservative clerics have issued controversial edicts in the past including a ban on the ancient practice of yoga, which is criticised for including Hindu religious elements.

World Cup 2010 Final Spain the Champion

                                                          Getty Images

Oranje face up to bitter defeat

(FIFA.com) Monday 12 July 2010
Unbeaten in 25 matches and on a 14-game winning streak, the Netherlands went into the FIFA World Cup™ Final boasting two formidable records. They were proud figures, but both sequences came to a shuddering halt as the Oranje were undone by Spain's breakthrough goal deep into extra time in Soccer City.

                                                                                        Getty Images
Defeat was especially harsh on the Dutch who must face up to their third loss in a FIFA World Cup Final™, the 1974 and 1978 showpieces also having passed the Oranje by. Despite the heartache, coach Bert van Marwijk had to admit that Spain deserved to win the encounter. "Spain had more chances, but with a little bit more luck we would've won it," said Van Marwijk. "We had our chances, but [Iker] Casillas made the difference," added centre-back John Heitinga, no doubt recalling Arjen Robben's two chances to beat the Real Madrid goalkeeper in one-on-ones.

                                                                                                 SI.com
We did all we could to become champions. We can be proud of the distance we've travelled and what we've done.Arjen Robben "They had more chances than us,” Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg told FIFA, but that being the case, the match remained tight enough for both sides to believe they could have emerged triumphant. "After two Finals ending in defeat, we really wanted to go all the way this time and go down in history," said Stekelenburg. "We came here with that ambition. To lose like this is difficult."

                                                                                                      SI.comNo regrets
The Ajax No1 nonetheless admitted that he was never convinced the match would go to spot-kicks. "I wasn't thinking about penalties yet because I really had to concentrate on what was happening on the pitch," he said. "I felt that Spain applied a lot more pressure from the start of extra time."
Andres Iniesta capped that pressure by finding the net with a shot into the far corner four minutes from time. "I honestly thought that going to penalties would have left us with a huge chance of winning the World Cup," said Heitinga, who was sent off after 109 minutes after earning a second yellow for a foul on the Spanish scorer. "The goal we conceded was very hard to swallow."
With so little to choose between the teams, it was tough for the Oranje players to find anything positive to say after the whistle. "The team can't blame themselves," said Robben. "We did all we could to become champions. We can be proud of the distance we've travelled and what we've done." Team captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst added at the end of his final outing that he was "proud to belong to this team despite this failure". He and his colleagues will now have to travel home empty-handed, with thoughts of what could have been sure to linger for a number of years to come.

World Cup final matchups: Netherlands vs Spain

BARRY WILNER, AP
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Matchups for Sunday's World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City:
When the Netherlands has the ball
Possession, possession, possession.

The Dutch like to build their attack from the back, meaning the far back: goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg often begins the buildup with passes to his defenders. Captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored the first goal against Uruguay in the semifinals, but he's rarely involved in the offense. Instead, the idea is to get the ball from the back line to creative midfielders Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel, Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel de Jong, who was suspended for the semifinals.

They, in turn, probe defenses while allowing Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt to making darting runs outside and, often in the case of Van Persie, to the inside. Sneijder usually is the man in control of the ball and distributing it to the forwards.

But Sneijder certainly can finish, and his five goals tie him for the World Cup lead. He's also adept at free kicks, as is Robben. Watch for Robben to do everything he can to get the ball on his left foot in space, particularly at the edge of the penalty area. And watch the frenetic Kuyt, who pops up all over the attacking zone.

The deep Dutch offense will test Spain's outstanding defenders, forcing them to close down quickly as the Netherlands gets close to the box. Outside halfbacks Joan Capdevila and Sergio Ramos will be very busy.

When Spain has the ball

Possession, possession ... you get the idea.

No team in the world passes better than Spain. Its game is based on precision, and like the Dutch, the Spaniards often get keeper Iker Casillas to initiate with passes to his defenders. But he's also more likely to play a long goal kick toward midfielders Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta, or even to strikers David Villa or Fernando Torres if he starts. Torres has struggled to recover from knee surgery and barely played in the semifinal win over Germany.

Villa is Spain's best finisher, and is tied with Sneijder for top scorer in the tournament. His quick bursts get him into open areas, and he's accurate with either foot.

Villa also is a sparkplug, the most exciting performer on a squad filled with artistic players such as Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso.
Spain's only goal against Germany, despite dominating the match, came on a set piece, and Xavi is masterful on corner kicks and free kicks. Watch for the taller Spaniards such as defender Gerard Pique and midfielder Sergio Busquets in front of the net on corner kicks, although it was the shorter Carles Puyol who powered in a header off Xavi's corner kick for the winner in the semifinals.
The Netherlands has been criticized for being slow on defense. If that's true, Van Bronckhorst, Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen could be under siege.
Goalkeeping

Casillas is among the world's best keepers and has been for years, earning him the nickname San Iker in Spain. He's particularly masterful cutting down angles on shooters, and he made two huge saves late in the semifinals after Uruguay pulled within 3-2. As Spain's captain, he obviously has leadership skills, and he's among the most popular players on the team. This is his third World Cup.
For Stekelenburg, it's his first. He's been a tad inconsistent and let in a shot by Diego Forlan against Uruguay that perhaps he should have stopped with his arms. But Forlan regularly scores on lots of keepers.
Stekelenburg will be the tallest player on the field and he might need every bit of it to handle the sharp shots the Spaniards can send his way. He is new to this level of competition and generally has handled himself well. He also has not faced an attack like this.

Coaching

Bert van Marwijk's biggest accomplishment might be meshing a variety of big names with various styles into a Clockwork Oranje. This is a more patient Dutch team than most, and it doesn't panic and change its style of play when it falls behind. The most impressive performance thus far came when the Netherlands rallied to beat Brazil in the quarterfinals. The Dutch stuck to their game plan, a testament to how prepared van Marwijk has them.

Vicente del Bosque has been considered something of a caretaker for Spain; Luis Aragones put together the squad that he guided to the 2008 European Championship.

Del Bosque made a few adjustments when he replaced Aragones, particularly in the midfield, where he opted for Busquets' more defensive style instead of Cesc Fabregras. Generally, he has stayed out of the way and let his group's talent and on-field leadership carry it. Showing faith in his players even after a weak start to the tournament in a 1-0 loss to Switzerland was his best move.

Intangibles

Now is the time for both teams, whose key performers are in their primes.

The Dutch have won zero World Cups. Spain has won the same number. So the incentive is massive to erase previous failings, particularly for the Netherlands, which lost the 1974 and '78 finals to West Germany and Argentina. Spain has had an even more checkered history, wasting just as much talent with weak showings at major events.

The Netherlands likely will have more fan support at the final in Soccer City, which just happens to have orange seats for those who believe in omens.

News from Yahoo Malaysia Sports
Photos from AFP, sportillustrated.cnn.com

Octopus Paul predicts Spain to win World Cup

BERLIN (Reuters) -- Germany's oracle octopus Paul picked Spain to beat the Netherlands in the World Cup final on Sunday in a live television broadcast watched across Europe.

The two-year-old celebrity octopus, who has accurately picked the outcome of all six of Germany's World Cup matches so far, quickly tipped Spain to beat the Netherlands. It took him only three minutes to make up his mind.
"That was fast -- it looks like a clear-cut victory for Spain," said Tanja Munzig, spokeswoman for Sea Life in Oberhausen. She was surprised by his speed in picking Spain. For some matches it took Paul 70 minutes to decide.
The octopus, considered by some to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates, got the choice of picking food from two different transparent containers lowered into his tank -- one with a Dutch flag on it and one with Spain's flag.
Reaction in Spain was swift, with the country's biggest selling sports daily website Marca.com running the headline: "The octopus Paul makes us champions".
The container Paul opens first is regarded as his pick. On Friday he wasted no time in diving for the container on the right side with the Spanish flag on it.
Two German television networks interrupted their programming for live coverage of the two-year-old celebrity octopus's picks. Networks in Spain, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe also broadcast Paul's decision live.
Earlier on Friday, Germans heaved a sigh of relief when Paul tipped Germany to beat Uruguay in the World Cup match for third place. There were cheers in offices across Germany after crowds of viewers tuned in to watch Paul live.
Normally he only picks Germany matches. But for the final Sea Life made an exception.
The octopus in Oberhausen turned into a global celebrity for correctly picking the winners of all six of Germany's World Cup matches -- including their two defeats to Serbia and Spain.
On Friday Paul first settled on top of the Germany container but after a few minutes shifted to the Uruguay container. Then after about 15 minutes he went back to Germany container, quickly opened the lid and ate the morsel of food inside.
Not an ordinarily superstitious people, Germans have become believers in Paul's possible psychic powers. The country was shocked and distraught when he picked Spain to beat Germany after tipping German wins over Argentina, England, Ghana and Australia.
Paul's selections have become top news across Germany and around the world. Some commentators even wondered aloud whether his improbable winning streak might have begun to influence some of the more superstitious players.
But after Paul accurately picked Spain to beat Germany in the semi-final, some Germans called for a public roasting of the oracle octopus. Newspapers and websites were filled with suggestions on how to cook and eat him.
Officials at Sea Life in Oberhausen have installed extra security to protect their octopus.
"Paul is in safe hands with us," said Munzig.
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was quoted in Spanish media reports saying -- in jest -- he was concerned about Paul's safety.
"I am concerned for the octopus...I am thinking of sending him a protective team," Zapatero said.
Spain's Environment and Fisheries Minister Elena Espinosa also said: "On Monday I shall be at the European Council of Ministers and I shall be asking for a (fishing) ban on Paul the octopus so Germans do not eat him."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/07/09/paul.octopus/index.html#ixzz0tBpORei1

Photo: AFP

WC 2010 :Goal of the tournament by Gio Van Bronckhorst

World Cup Semifinal SPAIN 1 GERMANY 0

Xavi ended up getting his first point of the World Cup on the well-placed corner kick, bending and timing it to meet the charging Puyol. (AP)

The 1-0 final was the same score by which Spain beat Germany two years ago in the European Championship final. With that victory, Spain ended a 44-year major championship drought. (SI)


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Frank Lampard' Disallowed Goal

Germans shell-shocked by oracle octopus

BERLIN (Reuters) -- Germany was in a state of shock on Tuesday after their "oracle octopus" Paul picked Spain to win the World Cup semifinal match against Germany in South Africa on Wednesday.

Not an ordinarily superstitious people, Germans have become believers in Paul's possible psychic powers.
"This is not a good omen," wrote Bild newspaper's online edition after the news of Paul's pick flashed across Germany.
The octopus has turned into an international celebrity after accurately picking the winner of all five German World Cup matches to date -- including its 1-0 loss to Serbia.
Two national networks interrupted their programming on Tuesday for live coverage of Paul's latest forecast, and groans of disappointment rang out across Germany after Paul went for a container with a morsel of food in it bearing the Spanish flag.
"We were all a little bit shocked when Paul picked Spain," said Tanja Munzig, a spokeswoman for Sea Life in Oberhausen. "To err is not only human -- animals can also make mistakes. Let's hope Paul got this one wrong."
The octopus, considered by some to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates, was again given the choice of picking food from two different transparent containers lowered into his tank -- one with a German flag on it and one with a Spanish.
The container Paul opens first is regarded as his pick for the match. Paul first put his tentacles around the German container before moving to his left to the Spanish box -- first opening the lid and then snatching the morsel of food inside.
Germans stunned by Paul's decision to pick Spain took consolation in the fact that Paul got one of his five picks wrong at the Euro in 2008. Oddly enough it also involved Spain: In the final Paul picked Germany over Spain. But Spain won 1-0.
It was Paul's only inaccurate pick of that tournament. He has never been wrong since and has an overall record of 9-1.
"Maybe Paul was just trying to give Spain a false sense of security," said Munzig, who said scores of journalists were at Sea Life to witness Paul's latest pick. Thousands of people have visited Sea Life to see Germany's newest celebrity.
"To be honest I'm going to have butterflies in my stomach watching the Spain match," she added. "I'm not a superstitious person but he's had an incredible winning streak so far."
Paul was born in England. He has been five for five at the World Cup. He picked Germany wins over Australia, Ghana, England and Argentina -- as well as their Group D loss to Serbia.
Media attention over Paul's picks in Germany and abroad has grown with each pick and some commentators have even wondered aloud whether his uncanny run might even be having an influence on superstitious players.
Paul's winning streak may have contributed to a growing superstition among the Germany team.
Germany coach Joachim Loew admitted he will not wash a favorite blue sweater as long as his team keeps winning. Loew said he bowed to pressure from other coaching staff and players to keep wearing the sweater for their matches.
Every time Loew wore the blue V-neck sweater Germany scored four goals. "I am not even allowed to wash it now and I think I will wear it again (against Spain)," Loew said on Monday.

Copyright 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/07/06/oracle.octopus/index.html#ixzz0svXU64tB

Why soccer's biggest stars failed to shine

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Soccer's superstar players never materialized here at the World Cup. The game's best – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, etc. – often failed to lift their play and, in turn, their teams, to a level this grand stage demands.

The conventional wisdom on why: They were too selfish, unable to adapt to the team concept of a national squad.

Then there's Diego Maradona's take: Unlike the past, the stars weren't selfish enough.

"Today the players are more collective, more team players," the Argentina coach said after his own star-studded team was bounced from the World Cup. "They want to do everything with their teammates. It is a different type of game right now."

This goes against so much of what we've come to believe, and expect, in sports. The reason that Uruguay and the Netherlands square off here Tuesday in a semifinal is because they embraced selfless, team-oriented play.

Such a mentality is celebrated.

What Maradona is suggesting is that this line of thinking has become so widespread it's actually killed the star player, who no longer acts like a star player. Rather than demanding his place in the natural pecking order of pure talent and past performance, they sink back into the pack.

Such thinking would carry little weight except it is Maradona who said it. Who could know more about what's needed for a talented player to morph into a larger-than-life superstar and dominate the World Cup? No one owned this event the way Maradona did in 1986 when he led Argentina to the title.

His implication is that the star needs to act like the star. That he is better than his teammates is a given. Rather than apologize for it, he must remind them of it, make them respect it. He must lead not by being one of the guys but by being above the guys. It's the cult of personality, if you will.

"I think we were more selfish," Maradona said, which has to be the first time an old player said that about a bygone era. "Maybe before it was about being selfish players who [made the] rest of the team work for us."

Today's players receive remarkable hype – television commercials, video games and media attention. They are single-name personalities around the globe.

Yet you'd never hear one say that the rest of the team works for them. They'd be vilified. Instead today's stars go out of their way to support their teammates and talk publicly about how no one player is more important than the other.

Only some players are more important, Maradona notes.

Consider the most competitive environments on earth – the military battlefield, the flight deck of a commercial airliner or a hospital operating table.

This is where failure is not an option. In those cultures, the delineation between the star (the general, the lead pilot) and the others (private, flight attendant) is clear. Often socialization between classes is prohibited – enlisted men do not dine with officers – and the word of the higher-ranked person must be respected.

When having open-heart surgery, no patient would care if the lead surgeon is friends with or helps empower the nurse. In fact, the idea that the nurse would fear disappointing the lead surgeon and would clearly defer to him at all times might be considered a positive. You'd want the most brilliant talent to be the leader.

In Maradona's day, he says, that carried over to a soccer team. He was Diego Maradona and they were not.

"Time changes in life," Maradona said.

In this time, the star player must be humble and supportive. And not just on the field, but in all parts of team life. Obviously all players know they need others to make them better in the game. Someone has to pass them the ball. Or receive a pass. But off the field, is one for all, all for one really the best concept?

It's difficult to say. Maradona only knows the mentality that made him lead a country to World Cup glory. It certainly isn't the only way.

Perhaps it is one of them, though. And with most of the world's top individual players home watching the semifinals, with criticism of their selfish play ringing through their heads, maybe the opposite is true. Maybe they weren't selfish enough.

Maybe Maradona's correct. Maybe the soccer world has gone soft.

(Photos from AFP, Getty images and SI.com)

Is 'Hand of Suarez' in the right spirit of the game?

By Brooks Peck

Strange scenes in the final minutes of Uruguay's quarterfinal victory over Ghana on penalty kicks Friday night. Uruguay's star striker Luis Suarez proving to be a bizarro-world hero of sorts as he ended up saving his team from last minute defeat at the death of extra time with a blatant and deliberate handball right on the goal line.It got him sent off and preceded a missed penalty kick from Ghana's PK master Asamoah Gyan and Uraguay's eventual shootout victory. After the game, Suarez announced that Maradona's Hand of God goal in the1986World Cup no longer holds the divine title:

"It was worth it to be sent off in this way. It was complicated and tough. We suffered to the end but the hand of God, it's mine now."
With the score even at 1-1 and the shootout looking inevitable, the lovable, last African team standing forced one last assault on the exhausted Uruguayans in the final minutes of extra time. What came next was a surreal, yet nerve-shredding game of pinball as Ghana tried to pound the ball into the goal from point-blank range. The Uruguayans somehow just kept fighting Ghana off. Finally, just as it seemed Ghana had produced one too many shots for Uruguay to stop, Suarez put up his hands and slapped the ball away as natural as if he were a volleyball player.

The red card came out for the clear offense and Suarez walked off sobbing as Gyan prepared to seal what seemed to be a sure win for Ghana with one last penalty kick. He was an automatic from the spot to that point — even scoring Ghana's only two goals in the group stage from there. But this time, he missed off the crossbar. Uruguay's subs ran to alert Suarez of their sudden turn in fortune and a deflated Ghana team was forced into a shootout with the suddenly reborn Uruguay. From there, the South Americans won the shootout 4-2, even finishing it off with a cheeky chip from the master of the art, Loco Abreu.

With Uruguay's advancement through such a weird turn of events confirmed, the debate over whether Suarez was a genius savior or a Thierry Henry-level cheat rages. It's obvious Suarez used his hands with purpose, but unlike Henry, he was immediately caught and punished and will now miss the semifinal against Holland. However, Ghana is now out of the tournament because of Suarez's decision to break the rules. Though Ghana did have a golden chance to make Suarez's efforts irrelevant with that Gyan penalty. Is there a correct moral view of this situation? Or is it just an unbelievable turn of events within a game that should be appreciated for its complexities? Luis Suarez doesn't care. His team plays on.

Photo: AP