Portugal V Netherlands : UEFA Euro 2012 Match Report - Football
Published: 17 Jun 2012 - 22:01:30
No great escape for Dutch as Portugal go through
Portugal beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Sunday to set up a Euro 2012 quarter-final with the Czech Republic and condemn the Dutch to a first group-stage European Championship exit since 1980.
Needing to win by two clear goals to stand any hope of progressing, Holland took an early lead through Rafael van der Vaart but were undone by goals in each half from man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo.
From a Dutch perspective, the final score was rendered immaterial as Denmark's 2-1 loss to Germany in the other Group B match meant they would not have qualified for the last eight even in case of victory.
Portugal, for whom Ronaldo belatedly reproduced his Real Madrid form at this tournament, will compete for a semi-final place against the Czechs in Warsaw on Thursday.
Runners-up at the World Cup two years ago and top scorers in qualifying, the Netherlands leave Ukraine with their tails between their legs after three consecutive defeats.
Mindful of the pressing need for goals, Holland coach Bert van Marwijk handed starts to both Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and van der Vaart, who replaced captain Mark van Bommel and inherited the captain's armband from him.
Van der Vaart needed less than 11 minutes to vindicate his manager's decision, collecting a pass from Arjen Robben and shaping a delightful 25-yard shot inside the left-hand post to put Holland ahead.
However, if the Dutch thought they were in for a comfortable evening, Portugal quickly had them on their toes with a flurry of chances sparked by Ronaldo drifting inside and brushing the post with a low strike.
Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was allowed to shine on his 50th appearance, thwarting Helder Postiga following an errant back-pass by Gregory van der Wiel and then showing sharp reflexes to box away a Ronaldo header.
Holland failed to heed the warnings though, and in the 28th minute Ronaldo levelled, powering onto Joao Pereira's incisive, stabbed pass and clipping the ball past Stekelenburg from close range.
Strangely, scoring the opening goal seemed to have inhibited the Dutch, and they were cowed even further by Ronaldo's equaliser.
So often scorned for his international displays, Ronaldo was a man transformed, and after working Stekelenburg with an audacious dipping shot from 35 yards, he crashed a header narrowly wide from a corner.
Van Marwijk gambled in the second half, throwing on winger Ibrahim Afellay for left-back Jetro Willems, but still Portugal came, Nani spurning a good chance by firing at Stekelenburg after Ronaldo had rolled the ball across goal.
The Madrid man was not so forgiving when Nani returned the favour in the 74th minute, checking inside sharply to send van der Wiel sprawling and then calmly beating Stekelenburg at his near post.
Van der Vaart hit the post with a right-foot curler, but it was the only bright moment in what was a desperate second period for the Dutch, who saw Ronaldo wobble an upright in the final minute.
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China May home prices fall, pace of declines picks up - Reuters
BEIJING |
BEIJING (Reuters) - Average home prices in China's 70 major cities fell 1.5 percent in May from a year earlier, Reuters calculations based on official data published on Monday showed, and the pace of decline picked up in major cities such as Shanghai.
It was the third straight monthly decline on a year-on-year basis since the government imposed strict curbs on property speculation more than two years ago, with the price decline deepening from a fall of 1.2 percent in April.
In month-on-month terms, home prices fell 0.1 percent, the eighth straight decline since the Reuters weighted index was launched in January 2011.
The National Bureau of Statistics said new home prices fell 1.2 percent in Beijing in May from a year earlier and were down 1.6 percent in Shanghai.
Month-on-month, they remained unchanged in Beijing and were down 0.1 percent in Shanghai.
Many Chinese buyers worry about a rebound in property prices as the government loosens monetary policy to spur a slowing economy, although Beijing has retained its administrative curbs on the real estate market, local media reported on Monday.
"It seems home prices and tightening policies have reached their bottom so quite a few home buyers are starting to panic again," the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, said in an analytical report. This is reminiscent of 2009 when prices doubled in several months after Beijing rolled out a 4 trillion yuan ($628.43 billion) stimulus package, the newspaper said.
China has relaxed monetary and fiscal policies after a more than two-year long tightening campaign to cool the country's red-hot property market as the euro zone debt crisis hit global financial markets and braked domestic growth.
The central bank cut interest rates on June 7, the first such move in more than three years, after it lowered banks' reserve requirement ratio three times since November.
"Although these measures are not aimed at salvaging the property market, they are a shot in the arm for the cash-strapped real estate market," the People's Daily added.
Meanwhile, many Chinese cities have relaxed policies, although the central government has maintained its curbs against speculators.
These measures have changed market sentiment and property sales have shown signs of a recovery since March.
The semi-official China Securities Journal reported on Monday that transactions of new and existing homes combined rose 46.5 percent in Beijing in the first half of June as compared with the same period last year, citing data from the local housing bureau website.
The newspaper also cited local consultancy Home Link as saying that 21 of the 76 new property projects that hit the market so far this year saw a rise in transaction prices.
However, high inventories will cap any quick rebound in home prices in the near term, it cited Home Link analyst Chen Xue as saying.
Vanke 000002.SZ, China's largest developer by sales, said earlier this month it would take about 11 months to sell down unsold stocks in key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The company's sales rose 19 percent in May from the previous month to 10.72 billion yuan ($1.68 billion), reversing a decline in April.
($1 = 6.3651 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Langi Chiang and Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong & Kim Coghill)
RSS favours Kalam but NDA divided over its Presidential candidate, Sangma insists he is in the race - indiatoday.intoday.in
Rashtriya Seva Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday came out in support of the candidature of A P J Abdul Kalam in the Presidential poll, saying he is apolitical and that it will be good if he is elected.
"It will be good if he (Kalam) is elected as President.
The comman man thinks that he is a nice man. While rest of the people have a political background, he does not. We can only give our opinion. But only lawmakers can elect the president," Bhagwat told reporters in Haridwar.
Bhagwat's remarks came on a day the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) deferred its decision on whether or not to contest the Presidential election as it was divided over opposing United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee Pranab Mukherjee.
While Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has rooted for Kalam, the former Indian President is yet to announce whether he will contest.
The NDA failed to firm up a position on the Presidential poll as it was divided over opposing UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee and there was lack of clarity on extending support to P A Sangma.
With an intention of using the Presidential poll to rope in parties like AIADMK and BJD and possibly Trinamool Congress, the main opposition BJP-led alliance decided at a meeting in New Delhi that talks would be held with these parties to have a common candidate against Mukherjee.
At a two-hour meeting of the NDA which was skipped by Shiv Sena, JD-U leader Shivanand Tiwari is believed to have disfavoured a contest against Mukherjee because of his stature, reflecting a divide in the coalition.
BJP leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj were said to be of the opinion that there should be a contest but there was no consensus as to whether to support Sangma, who has been propped up by AIADMK and BJD, or Kalam, who is being pushed into the race by Trinamool Congress.
There was a strong view that supporting Sangma would help NDA win back AIADMK and BJD. However, to finetune this, talks should be held with leaders of these parties before any decision is reached, sources said.
Modi needs to review style of working: RSS mouthpiece - in.news.yahoo.com
New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) In an apparent disapproval by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's style of working, an article in the organisation's mouthpiece has indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has several prime ministerial candidates.
It also disapproved of Modi's reported insistence on resignation of Sanjay Joshi from the BJP's national executive last week.
The article, which figures in the latest issue of Panchjanaya, said it was being felt that Modi needed to do a rethink about organisational capabilities.
"It seems Narendra Modi needs to review his style of working and organisational ability," it said.
The article assumes significance because its author Devendra Swaroop is a former editor of Panchjanaya and has access to views of the RSS insiders.
"The role of Narendra Modi in the Sanjay Joshi episode at BJP's national executive meeting in Mumbai is worth considering...why despite having faith in the Sangh, Modi could not control his unhappiness towards a fellow RSS functionary is a mystery. He made Joshi's presence a prestige issue and allowed the media to attack the BJP and the Sangh," the article said.
It also attacked Modi over media reports about Joshi changing his travel plans and boarding a plane instead of going by train after the Mumbai meeting as the train would have touched places in Gujarat.
"It allowed opponents of the BJP to speak against Modi," it said.
Modi apparently insisted that he would attend the conclave only if his bete noire Joshi resigned from the party's national executive and the party bowed to his demand.
In a dig at Modi's prime ministerial ambitions, it said that the BJP had several chief ministers and central leaders who were capable of being its prime ministerial candidates. But it said that the decision should be taken by the the parliamentary party after the party won the Lok Sabha election.
The article in the RSS mouthpiece slamming Modi's action at the BJP executive close to veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani launching an attack on party president Nitin Gadkari, saying "the mood within the party is not upbeat".
Advani said in his blog that people were angry with the Congress-led government but they were upset with the BJP too.
Furyk one ahead after nine holes at U.S. Open - Reuters
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