AP
Stocks mostly lower again after big drop

By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer

Wall Street loses more ground as oil rises; personal spending, incomes jump

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks slid again Friday after their sharp dive in the previous session, with investors anxious about a new oil price record and dubious that personal income and spending will remain resilient.

The Commerce Department said spending rose 0.8 percent in May, as taxpayers started receiving their stimulus checks. The increase was higher than the 0.7 percent economists predicted. The report also said personal incomes surged 1.9 percent -- significantly more than anticipated. After taxes, incomes surged 5.7 percent, the largest amount in 33 years.

But the data provided only a bit of solace to investors nervous about the average consumer struggling with rising prices, falling home values and the shaky job market.

"They're saying that's great, but what's going to happen in July and August, when we don't have the help from the stimulus checks?" said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors.

With many commodities on a seemingly unstoppable incline, Wall Street remains concerned they will slam consumers with not only elevated costs for energy and food, but also for other goods if cash-strapped companies decide to pass along the rising costs. Early Friday, crude was up more than $1 above $141 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after briefly surpassing $142 in pre-market trading. Corn and soybean prices have also been hitting new all-time highs.

"If you're looking for problems that face investors, that face the U.S. economy, they're everywhere," Johnson said, pointing also to still-tight credit conditions for the nation's banks.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 40.47, or 0.35 percent, at 11,412.95, sinking to levels not seen since September 2006 and compounding Thursday's 358-point skid.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.73, or 0.06 percent, to 1,283.88, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.15, or 0.26 percent, to 2,315.22.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 553.2 million shares.

Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which tends to move opposite its price, was at 4.00 percent, down from 4.03 percent late Thursday. The dollar was lower against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Thursday's drop came on a combination of worries about oil prices and the financial, automotive and technology sectors. General Motors Corp. shares dropped to their lowest level in more than three decades.

GM shares rose 18 cents to $11.61 on Friday.

In other economic news, the University of Michigan's June index of consumer sentiment came in at 56.4, a bit lower than its reading in May and slightly below the average analyst estimate.

Also Friday, a Lehman Brothers analyst lifted his prediction of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s asset markdowns in the second quarter. His write-down estimate rose to $5.4 billion from $3 billion. On Thursday, a Goldman Sachs analyst forecast a $4.2 billion write-down at Merrill and a nearly $9 billion write-down at Citigroup Inc.

Merrill shares were flat at $33.05, and Citigroup shares fell 53 cents, or 3 percent, to $17.13.

Keeping investors downbeat about the tech sector, Palm Inc. posted a worse-than-expected quarterly loss after the market closed Thursday. The smart phone maker said sales of Treo phones were slowing.

Palm Inc. shares fell 64 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $5.90.

Another smart phone maker, Research In Motion Ltd., extended its sharp decline from Thursday, when it issued a troubling forecast. The BlackBerry maker fell $3.67, or 3 percent, to $119.77.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.18, or 0.17 percent, to 697.24.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.01 percent after Wall Street's tumble. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.21 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.58 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.65 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

THE FED

Bear Stearns too interconnected to fail, Fed says

'Contagion' would have resulted, necessitating drastic action

By Greg Robb, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Bear Stearns Cos., in the view of the Federal Reserve, simply was too interconnected to allow the investment house to fail, according to the minutes of two emergency meetings that Fed officials held last March.

Presented with the full extent of the liquidity crisis facing Bear Stearns on March 14, the minutes said, the Federal Reserve Board quickly "agreed that, given the fragile condition of the financial markets at the time, the prominent position of Bear Stearns in those markets, and the expected contagion that would result from the immediate failure of Bear Stearns," emergency action was called for -- in this case, a loan from the Fed to Bear Stearns through J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM:

JPMorgan Chase & Co

Sponsored by:

JPM 35.17, -1.15, -3.2%) , which ended up acquiring the company.

But just two days later, on Sunday March 16, the Fed decided that "significant support, such as an acquisition of Bear Stearns or an immediate guarantee of its payment obligations, was necessary to avoid serious disruptions to financial markets."

The Fed also implemented an emergency cut of a quarter of a percentage point in the discount rate to inject liquidity into the markets.

The meeting minutes, made public by the U.S. central bank on Friday, simply summarize the discussions and thus don't shed much light on internal deliberations.

All of the Fed's decisions were unanimous. As a result, it's impossible to gauge there was any opposition voiced to any part of the controversial proposals taken to forestall a collapse.

But there are some nuggets.

"Although many potential investors had been invited to invest, Bear Stearns had determined that J.P. Morgan was the most suitable bidder," the summary said.

The amount of trouble that the company was in also was spelled out in the minutes. Action was required the weekend of March 15 because Bear Stearns "would have difficulty meeting its repayment obligations" once trading began in Asia on March 17, the summary said.

In addition, the Fed also waived certain capital requirements for J.P. Morgan Chase to smooth the takeover, the summary said.

As part of that merger, the Fed eventually agreed to lend almost $29 billion to finance the takeover.

In defense of the Fed's action, some experts have noted that the central bank had limited options,. While federal banking laws have clear procedures for failing banks, there are no such regulations in place for investment banks.

This glaring problem is likely to be addressed by the next Congress.

The Fed has put in place an emergency program to lend money to broker-dealers. This fund expires in September, and Fed watchers are already discussing whether it will be extended.

Former St. Louis Fed president William Poole said earlier this week that the fund would most likely be extended if there was demand for funds from the nation's investment banks. The Fed's hoping that lending would slowly wind down and then the fund could be shut, he said.

Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.

Ronaldo, 70 Juta Pound dan 7 Juli

Kurang dari dua pekan Cristiano Ronaldo bakal berganti kostum, dari seragam merahnya Manchester United menjadi seragam putihnya Real Madrid. Itulah kabar terbaru seputar ‘hiruk pikuk’ perburuan Los Merengues terhadap bintang The Red Devils berusia 23 tahun itu seperti yang dilansir Daily Mirror dalam edisinya di hari Rabu, 25 Juni 2008.

Tepatnya, Daily Mirror mengklaim, Madrid bakal mendapatkan tanda tangan Ronaldo pada hari Senin, 7 Juli mendatang. Untuk memboyong CR7, julukan Ronaldo, Madrid sanggup merogoh kas klub sebesar 70 juta pound atau sekitar Rp 1,27 triliun sebagai fee transfer: besaran yang menjadi rekor transfer termahal melampaui besarnya nilai transfer Zinedine Zidane dari Turin (Juventus) ke Santiago Bernabeu pada musim panas 2001 lalu yang mencapai 46 juta pound (Rp 837 miliar).

Benarkah? Begitulah keyakinan Madrid meskipun kubu MU sendiri secara tegas menyatakan tidak akan melego pemain bintangnya itu yang telah menjadi sosok kunci di balik keberhasilan skuad Sir Alex Ferguson meraih double winners musim lalu.

Ronaldo yang kini tengah menikmati masa liburannya, dijadwalkan harus ‘setor muka’ kepada klub pada 14 Juli mendatang seiring dengan dimulainya program latihan pramusim. Itulah saat dimana Ronaldo harus bertemu muka, kali pertama, dengan Ferguson sejak ia mengutarakan hasrat dan minatnya untuk bergabung bersama Los Blancos . Karena tak mau berselisih atau bertengkar dengan bosnya itu, Ronaldo pun diisukan tidak mau menunjukkan batang hidungnya di Carrington, Manchester.

Berikut lika-liku langkah Madrid dalam upayanya memboyong Ronaldo.
13 Mei 2008, Madrid menggebrak dengan menyodorkan fee transfer 100 juta euro.
14 Mei 2008, Ronaldo bersikukuh bakal tetap bertahan bersama MU.
16 Mei, 2008, Ronaldo berubah pikiran dan mengaku adanya kemungkinan jika ia bakal hengkang di bursa transfer musim panas.
23 Mei 2008, Ronaldo ditengarai bakal memberi konfirmasi tentang komitmennya di Old Trafford.
28 Mei 2008, Ferguson diisukan bakal terbang ke Austria-Swiss untuk berdialog dengan Ronaldo.
29 Mei 2008, Sikap Madrid lewat Presiden Ramon Calderon mulai melunak.
4 Juni 2008, Ronaldo memberi sinyal hengkang dari Old Trafford.
6 Juni 2008, Ronaldo menolak memberi konfirmasi terkait isu Madrid.
7 Juni 2008, MU mengadukan Madrid ke FIFA.
12 Juni 2008, FIFA menolak memberi hukuman kepada Madrid.
16 Juni 2008, MU menolak menyodorkan kontrak baru (revisi gaji) bagi Ronaldo.
20 Juni 2008, Ronaldo menyatakan kemungkinannya bergabung ke Madrid ‘sangat besar. MU membalas dengan sikap resmi: menolak tawaran dari tim manapun.
21 Juni 2008, Sejumlah pemain MU ramai-ramai membujuk Ronaldo untuk tetap tinggal.
23 Juni 2008, Pelatih Madrid, Bernd Schuster meminta klub melakukan segala cara untuk dapat memboyong Ronaldo.

Adebayor Bertahan di Emirates

Anda pendukung Arsenal boleh bernafas lega? Pasalnya, musim depan Emmanuel Adebayor bisa dipastikan tidak akan meninggalkan Emirates Stadium. Adebayor memegang komitmen dengan menyatakan akan melanjutkan tiga tahun dari kontrak berjalan yang ditandatangani olehnya.

Musim panas ini striker internasional Togo itu berada di persimpangan jalan. AC Milan dan Barcelona menaruh minat serius pada Adebayor. Milan yang paling serius dengan mengungkapkannya melalui Wakil Presiden Klub, Adriano Galliani (Baca: Bukan Eto’o atau Drogba, tapi Adebayor). Bahkan marjin kesepakatan antara Milan dan Arsenal begitu tipis (Baca: Soal Adebayor, Keseriusan Milan Diuji).

Tapi kemudian, “Saya masih terikat kontrak tiga tahun dengan Arsenal. Saya berada di tim yang hebat dan kontrak yang bagus. Yang terpenting yakni saya menikmati dan tentu saja saya akan bertahan selama tiga tahun,” beber Adebayor seperti apa yang dirangkum The Telegraph.

Apa yang diumumkan Adebayor berbanding 180 derajat dengan apa yang diungkapkan agennya, Vincenzo Morabito, kemarin. Morabito menyatakan kans kepergian kliennya untuk mengikuti jejak Mathieu Flamini ke San Siro sudah mencapai 80 persen.

Galliani sendiri kemudian mengakui kalau memperoleh Adebayor sama peliknya dengan keinginan merekrut Ronaldinho dari Barcelona. Galliani mengatakan: “Ada kata setuju dari (pelatih) Carlo Ancelotti untuk memperoleh Ronaldinho atau Adebayor. Membeli salah satu berarti menyingkirkan yang satunya.”

Loyalitas yang ditunjukkan Adebayor jelas menjadi obat mujarab pusingnya Arsene Wenger yang ditinggalkan Flamini dan Alexander Hleb yang sedang ditunggu oleh Inter Milan atau Barcelona. Bertahannya Adebayor membuat daya dobrak The Gunners musim depan diharapkan tetap terjaga. Adebayor musim lalu merupakan top skorer klub yang mengoleksi 24 gol di Liga Premier, atau berselisih lima dari koleksi gol Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

Dalam kesempatan yang sama, Adebayor, 24 tahun, menampik kalau ia merupakan pemain yang mata duitan. Hal ini berkaitan dengan pemberitaan sebelumnya yang menyebutkan bahwa ia mendesak Arsenal untuk memperbaharui kontrak dengan bayaran mencapai 120 ribu pound (Rp 2,2 miliar) per pekan. “Saya bermain untuk kesenangan diri. Saya bermain karena saya memang suka. Saya lahir di Togo yang berarti tidak pernah memikirkan bermain untuk uang,” sergah mantan penyerang AS Monaco itu.

Jadi Penonton, Villa Pasrah

Tak terbayangkan sebelumnya oleh David Villa jika tendangan bebas yang dilakukannya di menit ke-28 babak pertama semifinal Euro 2008 antara Spanyol versus Rusia yang berlangsung di Ernst Happel Stadium, Wina, Austria, tadi malam, bakal berbuntut panjang. Beberapa saat kemudian, seusai menendang free-kick tersebut, Villa tampak pincang. Akhirnya, ia pun terpaksa keluar lapangan pertandingan digantikan Francesc Fabregas.

Seusai pertandingan, pelatih Tim Matador, Luis Aragones, menutup pintu bagi Villa untuk bermain di babak final di tempat yang sama Minggu (29 Juni) lusa. Aragones memberi konfirmasi jika cedera yang dialami striker Valencia itu sebenarnya tidak terlalu parah. “Villa bakal absen di babak final. Memang cederanya tidak terlalu serius (parah). Tapi, ia tetap bakal absen karena ototnya tertarik,” tegas Aragones seperti yang dikutip BBC Sports News.

Keputusan sang pelatih gaek itu diterima Villa dengan lapang dada. Villa pun pasrah tidak dapat menambah lagi koleksi golnya di Euro 2008. Posisinya sebagai top skorer sementara terancam dapat dilampaui penyerang muda Tim Panser, Lukas Podolski. “Sekarang saya harus dapat menikmati jalannya pertandingan dari luar lapangan,” akunya.

“(Memaksa) Turun bertanding di hari Minggu bagaikan ikut berjudi. Saya mau untuk melakukannya (bertanding) meskipun saya harus bermain dengan satu kaki. Tapi, (keputusan) ini adalah untuk kebaikan tim. Masih ada para pemain lainnya yang bakal tampil lebih baik dibanding seorang pemain yang dililit cedera seperti saya,” terang Villa.

Pemain berusia 26 tahun yang isunya sedang diincar Chelsea dan Liverpool itu mengaku sangat kesal ketika ia mengalami cedera tersebut. Awalnya, saya sangat kesal dan marah. Sebab, saya tahu betul jika itu (cedera) membuat kesempatan saya tampil di babak final jadi tipis. Tapi, meski hanya jadi penonton, saya tetap akan menikmati laga di hari Minggu dan berharap dapat merayakan keberhasilan kami menggondol gelar juara Eropa,” tandas Villa.

Sementara itu, Aragones memberikan sinyal jika dengan absennya Villa, maka posisinya tetap akan diisi Fabregas. Dalam arti, di babak pamungkas Tim Matador bakal bermain dengan lima gelandang yang terbukti mampu meluluhlantakkan Rusia.

“Saya tahu betul jika ia (Fabregas) bakal mampu membuktikan kemampuannya. Seperti para pemain lainnya, ia adalah pemain yang luar biasa. Saya pikir (dengan keluarnya Villa), lebih baik untuk menambah jumlah pemain gelandang sebagai upaya untuk menguasai lini tengah dan menekan pertahanan lawan. Buktinya, gol dari Xavi (Hernandez). Jadi, tujuannya membuat mereka bebas untuk bergerak,” terang Aragones.

LAMPARD

Frank James Lampard, Jr. (born 20 June 1978) is an English football player currently at Chelsea and previously with West Ham United and Swansea City.

Lampard was born in Romford, London, England. He is the son of Frank Lampard, Sr., the former England full back and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United. His family is related to another famous footballing family, the Redknapps. Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, a boys' independent school in Brentwood, Essex.

A current England national team regular, he has won the English Premiership twice (with Chelsea, 2004—05 and 2005—06), the FA Cup (with Chelsea, 2007) twice the League Cup (with Chelsea, 2005 and 2007), the FA Community Shield (with Chelsea, 2005), and the UEFA Intertoto Cup (with West Ham, 1999).

In November 2005 he was named runner-up to Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho in the European Footballer of the Year awards. A month later he finished in second place, once again behind Ronaldinho, in the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He was also named FWA Footballer of the Year in 2005.

HENRY

Thierry Daniel Henry (pronounced [tjɛʁi ɑ̃ˈʁi], born 17 August 1977) is a French football player. Renowned for his pace, goal-scoring record and ability to create assists, he plays as a striker for the French national team and FC Barcelona.

Henry was born and brought up in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne—a suburb of Paris—where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Italian defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million.

Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. His footballing style and personality have ensured that he is one of the most commercially marketable footballers in the world; he has been featured in advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Renault, Pepsi and Gillette.

CESC

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (pronounced [ˈsɛsk ˈfaβɾəɣəs suˈɫeʁ̞]) (born 4 May 1987 in Arenys de Mar, Barcelona, Spain)[2][3] is a Catalan footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Arsenal in the English Premier League and for the Spanish national team. Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003. He did not feature much in his first season for The Gunners, but following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, his playing time increased. Before long, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records as he began to earn a reputation of a technically-gifted player. In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up the senior squad and played in the 2006 World Cup. In 2006, Fàbregas committed his long-term future to Arsenal and signed an eight-year contract.

JUVEALE

Juventus

In 1993, he transferred to Juventus F.C., and has been there ever since. Del Piero made his Serie A debut against Foggia in September 1993, scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana after appearing as a substitute, and then grabbed a hat-trick against Parma on his first start. Juventus claimed their first Scudetto in eight years in his first season and success continued to follow. With the Turin club, he won the Serie A championship seven times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006[18]), the Champions League (1996), and the Intercontinental Cup (1996). His best season was in 1997-98, when he scored 21 goals in Serie A and finished top scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals, which included a peach of a freekick against Monaco in the semi finals.

Del Piero struggled for form at the beginning of the 1998-99 season, whilst doping allegations were aimed at Juventus (they were later found innocent). In October he picked up a serious knee injury in the 2-2 draw with Udinese Calcio. This kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. Juventus struggled without him and limped home to a lowly 6th place in the league.

His nickname is Pinturicchio, in reference to a joke by Gianni Agnelli when he compared the emerging Del Piero to Baggio in a parallel between the student Pinturicchio from Perugia and the teacher Perugino. He's also been nicknamed by the fans "Il Fenomeno Vero"[19] meaning "The Real Phenomenon".
A commemorative shirt, celebrating Del Piero's 500th Juventus appearance

One of Del Piero's greatest strengths as a footballer is his versatility, which allows him to play in a variety of attacking positions. While he started his club career playing as a full-fledged striker, he settled into a deeper role as a support-striker. Because of his great technical ability, accurate passing skills and impressive vision, he has also been positioned as a playmaker in the central slot behind the forwards. In any zone surrounding the penalty area, his prowess as a creator of goals came to the fore. Under Marcello Lippi's reign as Juventus coach, Del Piero's creative abilities were on display whatever the coach's formation was. Del Piero showed his class in the lethal "trident-attack" formation along with veterans Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli. After that, he took a leading role in a creative combination with Zinedine Zidane behind Filippo Inzaghi. As Juve's playing style changed in Lippi's second stint with Juventus starting 2001, Del Piero was still vital as his partnerships with Pavel Nedvěd in midfield and David Trezeguet upfront has contributed enormously to Juve's continued success in Italy and Europe.

Del Piero is currently the all-time top scorer for Juventus scoring 241 goals, in all competitions he has also made over 557 appearances in official matches for the club breaking the record of Gaetano Scirea who has 552 appearances for Juventus. Alessandro is still Juventus' main strike force with Trezeguet and newly bought from Udinese in the summer Vincenzo Iaquinta

On May 17th, 2008, against Sampdoria in the final round of the season, Del Piero at last clinched his first Serie A golden boot by scoring his 20th and 21st.

ALE

Alessandro Del Piero, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[2][3] (born November 9, 1974 in Conegliano Veneto) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He is the captain of Juventus where he holds several club records and he is a member of the Italian national team.

His footballing ability is highly regarded and he has won critical recognition. Pelé named Del Piero in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. He was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In the year 2000 Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue.[4] Currently, Del Piero is still the highest earning Italian Player.[5]

As well as earning respect for his playing, Del Piero has won several accolades for his character. Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct[6][7] he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality and playing ability.[8]

Usually, Del Piero plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers, known in Italy as the "Trequartista" position. Although he is not very tall, Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching."[9] His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded.[10] Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special " Del Piero Zone", approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal.[11]

In terms of goalscoring, Del Piero holds the all-time record at Juventus.[12] On April 6th, 2008, Alessandro Del Piero became the all-time top capped Juventus balls, ahead of Juve legend Gaetano Scirea. He is in sixth place in the UEFA Champions League all-time goalscorer records.[13] Within the Italian national team, he is currently joint fourth with Roberto Baggio in the all-time scoring records.

GERMANY PARTY

Wina - Michael Ballack cs tak perlu takut kembali dari Austria dengan dicemooh bila gagal menjuarai Euro 2008 karena fans mereka di Jerman akan tetap memberikan sambutan.

Ya, Berlin Fan Mile kembali dipersiapkan untuk menyambut Ballack cs sepulangnya mereka dari event Piala Eropa di Swiss dan Austria. Jika sukses menjadi juara, bisa dipastikan pesta di jalan yang memiliki jarak 1,2 km ini akan lebih meriah. Namun bila takluk dari Spanyol, tim besutan Joachim Loew itu tak perlu takut mendapat makian atau lemparan tomat karena kekecewaan suporter mereka.

"Apapun yang terjadi di final, kami akan kembali ke Berlin dan mengarak tim sekali lagi," tegas Oliver Bierhoff, seakan mengenang momen membanggakan 2006 silam di event Piala Dunia.

"Berlin sudah menjadi bagian tersendiri bagi tim Jerman, mengingat ada satu dengan lima ratus ribu orang di sana," tandas manajer Der Panzer itu seperti dikutip Reuters.

Performa sensasional Ballack cs menjadi salah satu alasan mengapa mereka layak mendapat sambutan bak juara. Setelah tampil memesona di Piala Dunia 2006, Jerman kembali ciamik di Euro 2008.

"Hari tersebut (kembalinya Jerman dari Wina) merupakan hari kerja, tapi saya harap para pekerja dan siswa sekolah diberi waktu untuk menyambut mereka (timnas Jerman)," harap Bierhoff.

Penyambutan skuad Jerman ini menurut rencana akan ditayangkan live oleh televisi nasional. Kemungkinan besar Ballack cs akan diarak menggunakan bis dengan atap terbuka.

( ian / key )

FABULOUS FABREGAS

Fabulous Fabregas
Rossi Finza Noor - detikSport



AFP/Franck Fife
Wina - Cederanya David Villa mungkin sedikit membawa "berkah" bagi Spanyol. Pasalnya, sang pengganti, Cesc Fabregas, justru tampil ciamik dan muncul menjadi bintang "Tim Matador".

Fabregas masuk menggantikan Villa pada menit 34 ketika penyerang klub Valencia itu mengalami cedera. Kerugian buat Spanyol? Bisa jadi, karena daya dobrak Spanyol sedikit berkurang. Namun, selalu ada hikmah di balik setiap kejadian. Siapa sangka akhirnya Fabregas menjadi aktor penting kemenangan 3-0 "La Furia Roja" atas Rusia.

Gelandang berusia 21 tahun ini memang tidak menciptakan gol, namun ia membuat dua assist untuk gol Daniel Guiza dan David Silva.

Assist pertama pemain Arsenal terbilang cukup indah. Setelah menerima bola operan dari rekannya, ia hanya melakukan satu kali sentuhan untuk melambungkan bola ke arah pertahanan Rusia. Guiza yang sudah menanti pun dengan tenang menerimanya sebelum akhirnya menceploskan si kulit bundar ke gawang Igor Akinfeev.

18 menit menjelang akhir pertandingan, Fabregas kembali menjadi kreator gol. Kali ini usai melakukan penetrasi di sisi kanan pertahanan "Tim Beruang Merah" ia mengirimkan umpan silang ke arah Silva yang kemudian menyontek bola ke jala Akinfeev. Spanyol menang 3-0 dan berhak untuk melaju ke final.

Castrol index performance pun menobatkannya sebagai gelandang terbaik Spanyol dalam pertandingan ini. Pemain bertinggi 177 centimeter ini diberikan nilai 1.767. Ia pun terbilang cukup rajin wira-wiri di lini tengah. Fabregas tercatat telah menempuh jarak sekitar 7.787 meter di sepanjang pertandingan.

Uniknya, meski telah terbukti selalu tampil bagus, Fabregas baru satu kali tampil sebagai stater. Yakni ketika menghadapi Yunani di fase grup. Jadi, mungkin kini sudah saatnya Luis Aragones mempertimbangkannya untuk masuk ke dalam starting eleven. Siapa tahu ia bisa mengulangi performa serupa di laga final nanti.

Another draw in the Nou Camp

Barcelona 0 - 0 Man Utd

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty after only three minutes at the Nou Camp and the chance of giving the side a precious away goal. Even, they miss to win the battle at the Nou Camp, but they will definitely become more confidence in facing Barcelona in Old Trafford next tuesday.

We are wondering which team will go to moscow, as in our opinio, the four team in this semifinals have quite same ability and quality to become the champion.

Draw in the Anfield

A headed own goal deep into added time by Liverpool FC substitute John Arne Riise rescued a draw for Chelsea FC after Dirk Kuyt's first-half opener had looked like giving the home team a significant advantage in their UEFA Champions League semi-final.

with this draw, chelsea will only need to hold an 0-0 againts The Reds, as they already get an away goal last night. On the other way, it will be a must win condition for The Reds if they want to advance to Champions League 2008 Final in Moscow.

football horror

football will be more attracting if it doesn't mix with player's karate's skills..