New Delhi: It was a year of the rise and fall of heroes, and new ones toppling the heroes of yore. The world of sports nonetheless, remained consummate with accomplishment, trauma and scandal all the same.
CNN-IBN chose to honour the heroes who brought the world to their feet with their endeavour for glory, with a blend of paramount skill and a touch of arrogance.
And when it came to racing to the blaze of glory, not just over the past year but a career than spanned 15, no one did it better than Michael Schumacher.
He may not have won the Formula One Championship on his last ride, but he gave the game a gear never seen before. Instead he lost out to a young Spaniard who took the F1 world by storm, Fernando Alonso.
Alonso, in fact, came a close second in the viewers’ poll, a clear indicator of how motor racing influenced the world of sport in 2006.
While the racing circuits were buzzing with jaw-dropping contests, the world of tennis saw records tumble one after the other. Roger Federer, crowned already the King of tennis, followed the racing duo winning three Grand Slams and a host of Masters titles.
Italy’s football captain Fabio Cannavaro led his team to a fourth World Cup title, perhaps the biggest event in sport second only to the Olympics.
While his club team and Italian giants Juventus fell from grace to be relegated after a match-fixing scandal, Cannavaro carried the national team amidst unabashed criticism to football’s greatest achievement that also won him the World Player of the Year award.
Brazilian footballing magician Ronaldinho was next, following a stupendous season for Spanish club Barcelona where his side won the Spanish Primera Liga as well as the prestigious European Champions League titles. A disappointment for Brazil at the World Cup didn’t shrink the histrionics and winsome smile of his one bit.
Tiger Woods was a broken man at the start of the season. He lost his father, but golf’s favourite son didn’t let his first love go unnoticed. Woods strung together herculean performances winning him eight US Majors titles, quite possibly his best season ever.
The year did see a sea of controversies rocking the world of sports, but they will never be able to take away the triumphs of these great men, through whom people all over the world won and lost with.
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