Left field

Five defining moments from a decade of sport

As the decade draws to a close, we pick five sporting moments which have defined the last 10 years.

1. Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic flame at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, a Games set in a country which embraces the outdoor life and punches well above its weight in most sports.

Aboriginal Freeman, who had suffered racial prejudice as a child, symbolised the optimism of a new start in a new century for a bustling immigrant nation. She went on to surmount suffocating pressure by winning the 400 metres gold, Australia’s only track gold.

2. A tattered U.S. flag, rescued from the rubble of the World Trade Centre which had been destroyed in the attacks on the United States in the previous year, was carried into the stadium during the opening ceremony for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

There had been serious doubts that the Games and the subsequent World Cup in Japan and South Korea would go head after the events of 9/11. In the end both took place without incident albeit at enormous security costs.

3. Zinedine Zidane, the supreme soccer player of his generation and scorer of two headers in France’s 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil, emerged from international retirement to help take his team to the 2006 final against Italy.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

World Cup will survive without Messi and Ronaldo

"Ronaldo and Messi could miss the World Cup!" screamed the headlines after Portugal drew 1-1 in Denmark and Argentina were humiliated 3-1 at home to Brazil.

It sounds awful, doesn't it? How will we ever manage without Cristiano and Leo, two of the poster boys for the elite, Masters of the Universe level of footballer we've come to know and love?

Leaving aside for a minute the fact that Argentina almost certainly will qualify, and Portugal are by no means out if it either, let's get one thing clear: the World Cup will get along fine without them or any other individual players, should their countries get left behind.

Comparatively minor tournaments, such as soccer at the Olympics and regional championships outside Europe and South America, need glamour players from the big leagues to attract worldwide interest from media and sponsors. Domestic leagues need them to do overseas rights deals, the Champions League needs them to keep the money flowing but the World Cup is in a different category altogether.

The World Cup has always been bigger than any one player, or indeed any combination of them. It has consistently been a tournament that has created new stars rather than one that has simply allowed established ones to shine.

It's striking, in fact, how many players have come into recent tournaments lavished with praise, and adorning the advertising posters of the boot manufacturers, only to find themselves upstaged.

Take France in 1998. I don't remember anyone going to that tournament with the express intention of seeing Zinedine Zidane. He was certainly much admired, but he was not in the same league as Ronaldo, the FIFA World Player of the Year for 1997, and we all remember how the tournament turned out.

Where Bolt stands in my personal greatest hits

Having been privileged to be sitting a few metres from the finishing line as Usain Bolt shattered his own 100 and 200m world records in Berlin – and having also witnessed his double in Beijing, I got to wondering where those performances ranked in my personal bag of live events.

So, here is my list of contenders, followed by my podium. I’ve included only events I have attended in a professional capacity as a sports reporter as memories of some others I’ve enjoyed as a “punter” might be clouded by beer.

In chronological order: —- Jonathan Edwards soars in the triple jump, 1995 world championships, Gothenburg OK, it was “only” the triple jump but the entire stadium was looking at Edwards when he set off down the runway for his opening jump. He seemed to defy gravity as he sailed 18.16 metres to become the first man to legally break the 18-metre mark. Twenty minutes later he went even further with 18.29 – a record that still stands. —- England beat Netherlands 4-1 in Euro 96, Wembley The moment when Terry Venables’ side really looked as if they were going to deliver a big prize after “30 years of hurt.” England’s best display for decades tore the Dutch to shreds as the Alan Shearer/Teddy Sheringham strike force suggested that football really was coming home. It all went wrong in the semi-finals with a penalties defeat by Germany. —- Michael Johnson completes 400 metres/200 metres double, 1996 Atlanta Olympics The organisers re-arranged the programme so Johnson could have a crack at the unusual double and he did not disappoint, taking both titles with crushing displays. When he posed by the scoreboard showing a world record 19.32 seconds for the 200, clutching his golden spikes, it seemed his bizarre upright style might re-write the rules of running. Then came Bolt. —- Zidane scores twice to lead France to victory in 1998 World Cup final Zidane had bestrode France’s bumpy journey to the final on home soil and though not renowned as a great header it was him who twice connected with corners to set up the emotional 3-0 win over Brazil. It earned his country the trophy for the first time and injected some much-needed fresh blood to a tournament so dominated by Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy. —- Australia come back from the dead to win 1999 cricket World Cup semi-final on last ball Australia were down and out midway through their semi-final against South Africa but through the bowling of Shane Warne and the sheer willpower of captain Steve Waugh, they got back into the game.

Even so, South Africa got to the last four balls needing one run to reach the final. That was when last pair Lance Klusener and Alan Donald had a collective panic attack and the Australians, calm, ordered and organised ran out Donald to secure a tie that sent them through on the basis of their Super Six record.

Wisden described it as the greatest-ever one-day international and Australia went on to beat Pakistan in the final. —- Tiger Woods tames St Andrews in 2000 British Open Woods went into the Open as a huge favourite but his display on the most famous course in golf stunned even his biggest fans.

During four days he guided his ball round the links course with such precision that had he walked it and placed the ball with his hand he would have been hard-pressed to improve his situation. He avoided every bunker on the course, on every round — when the best of the rest were coming to grief on a regular basis — and finished 19-under par to win by eight shots. Rarely since the days of Don Bradman could one sportsman be so far ahead of the rest of the pack. —-

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Now it’s official — Kaka signs for Real Madrid

They took their time getting there but Kaka is now officially a Real Madrid player.

The Spanish club and AC Milan issued statements at 0030 local time with the player due to hold a news conference in Brazil, where he is on international duty.

No figures have been given for one of the biggest transfers ever in soccer but it has been announced the 27-year-old has signed a six-year deal.

Media reckon the deal is around 68 million euros which puts it second in the list behind Zinedine Zidane's 2001 move from Juventus to Real.

It's tough to say if he is really worth that much. It's difficult to say if any human being is worth so much, especially in current economic climes.

I've watched Kaka a lot in the last two seasons and he has not been as good as he was in 2007 when he inspired Milan to their seventh European Cup.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

The Real Madrid Presidential Candidacy ‘Promisometer’

The campaign to be the next president of Real Madrid Football Club has finally kicked into gear with the claim from the little known Eduardo Garcia that, if elected on June 14, he will bring with him the Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Promising big-name signings has long been an easy way for candidates to drum up support for the presidency at Real and Barcelona, the two member-owned Spanish clubs, but ever since Florentino Perez came from nowhere to take the 2000 election what was once an entertaining sideshow has become the key battleground.

Perez, you may remember, outrageously delivered on a promise to sign Luis Figo from Barcelona in 2000 and the grandmaster is set to announce he is standing again, after resigning in 2006.

Garcia, the 29-year-old director of an IT consultancy, is considered a huge outsider for the position but he earned a bit of publicity with his claim that he could land Drogba, as well as Palmeiras attacking midfielder Keirrison and Racing Santander left back Ivan Marcano. (The fact the interview was hidden away on page 6 of sports daily AS shows how seriously his candidacy is being taken in the local media.)

The latest election campaign at Real was ushered in by the resignation of Ramon Calderon, who failed to deliver on his pre-election promises of bringing Kaka and Cesc Fabregas in 2006.

While agents rub their hands, clubs in Europe and South America will bracing themselves for a flurry of interest in their players, as candidates try to outdo each other in the rush to win the votes of club members.

The other candidates will have to work pretty hard to outdo Florentino.

Quiet day for April Fools

I’ve been scouting around for some sporting April Fools but I’ve not spotted many good ones.

Maybe some websites and blogs have held off on the jokes given the state of the world economy is no laughing matter.

Gazzetta dello Sport’s French football blog Sotto La Tour Eiffel says Zinedine Zidane will come out of retirement to play for Marseille.

Have you seen any better April Fools? We are assuming of course that Alan Shearer is really going to manage Newcastle United. However, there has been no official confirmation so far…