In sport and otherwise, 2010 served up a whole lot of memorable moments, both joyous and saddening. Here one attempts to take a look at what is in the offing in sport for 2011.
The ICC World Cup 2011 starts off in the first quarter of the year, with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka jointly playing the role of the tournament hosts. While the 50-over game is far less predictable than the tradition format of Test cricket, there are some teams that boast of a stronger hand at the table than others.
India’s credentials as a force to be reckoned with were given a thorough examination in the Indians’ recent trip to South Africa, where the Proteas meted out justice ruthlessly. This does not detract from the fact that, over the past few years, India have developed a habit of inviting teams to participate in series of matches, and subsequently battering them into a pulp on home ground. It will be plain to see if the familiarity of the playing field will swing the title India’s way or not. In their own right, Sri Lanka are pretty good at the 50-overs bame. A formidable batting lineup that can plough through most bowling attacks confidently is their strong point, and indeed this format is one for the batsmen, not the bowlers.
The hosts aside, Pakistan, once dubbed the most consistent performers, are the wild card as we normally are. The past year saw a lot of scandal and controversy overshadow what was happening on the field, and the loss of the three players currently mired in the abovementioned is certainly a blow. Still, there is depth in this squad, as exhibited in some resilient displays against New Zealand.
In tennis, Nadal was head and shoulders above the rest last year again, but Federer scored a win in their last 2010 meeting at the World Tour Finals in London. Federer’s unbeaten run to victory in that tournament hinted that the King is not dead yet. And if he can keep himself together for longer stretches than he did last year, then this ATP season will see a much tighter race between the two men who are still clear leaders in the field.
Still, come 2011, Federer and Nadal have firmly maintained their stranglehold on Grand Slam titles. Del Potro’s defeat of Federer in the 2009 US Open final has more or less become distant memory. One hopes that this year, Murray, Djokovic and Del Potro, who is returning from injury, will raise their game to at least make matters interesting at the top of the rankings table.
In women’s tennis, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki became the world no.1 despite not winning any Grand Slams, and she did so following in the steps of Russia’s Dinara Safina. This begs some questions of the competitiveness of the women’s game, and it would not be amiss to put some attention on the way ranking points are awarded for a fairer reflection of each player’s performance on the biggest stages, aside from consistency throughout the year.
Pakistan’s own Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi broke into the top 20 of the ATP doubles rankings after a stellar year that saw him lift his first ATP 250 title in Johannesburg with partner Rohan Bopanna of India. Together with Bopanna, Aisam ended the year as the no.8 team in the world in terms of performance in 2010. Aisam and Rohan’s efforts for promoting peace between Pakistan and India, encapsulated by their slogan ‘Stop war, Start tennis’, earned them the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award by the ATP, and the Grand Prix for Peace Image of the Year by the Monaco-based Peace and Sport Organisation. To cap a year where Aisam’s representation of Pakistan captured the hearts of a nation facing one setback after another, Aisam was appointed an Ambassador of Goodwill by the United Nations Development Programme. One hopes that after such a landmark year, Aisam will add to his achievements both on and off the court.
In European League football, a season that has seen some truly surprising performances and results by teams that were expected to dominate their respective domestic leagues, the field is set for a change at the top of the four ‘big’ European leagues.
In England, Arsenal are serious title contenders for a change. Chelsea’s bemusing run of poor form continues with a defeat to Wolverhampton. While Carlo Ancellotti has conceded that this latest defeat will make winning the title difficult, it will be interesting to see if the club owner decides to allow the Italian time to rebuild the squad, or, if he fails to lift the title, is shown the door like Avram Grant was. Manchester United are by no means stuttering either, but age, injuries and inconsistency have reared their heads this season for a club looking to becoming the most decorated in English football.
In Italy, Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks intent to make good on his promise to AC Milan fans that he will deliver the Scudetto this season. The towering Swede has looked at his best on returning to the Serie A from Barcelona. Along with Ronaldinho, Pato and Robinho, Ibrahimovich has led AC Milan to the top of the Serie A table. Inter Milan have gone the other way from the top, with Rafael Benitez not getting the performances out of a squad that resembles nothing like what it did in the summer of 2010, when Jose Mourinho led them to an unprecedented treble, and ultimately losing his job. As things stand, Inter might not even be in the Champions League in 2012.
Over in Spain, while it is the same old two horse race for the title between Barcelona and Real Madrid, what makes this edition of La Liga exciting is the way Real are playing under the management of Jose Mourinho. While the defence is still prone to the occasional gaffs that have plagued Real for many a season, forward of midfield there is much to see. Mourinho has structured a side that can attack down the wings and the middle, and Cristiano Ronaldo is thriving in the free role he has been given. Granted that Barcelona demolished them at the Camp Nou, but it will require a repeat of that imperious performance to put paid to Real’s very real chances of ending Barcelona’s glory run in Spain.
In Germany, Bayern are struggling to put together the kind of performances that saw them reach the brink of what would have been a first League-Cup-European cup treble for a German club. Unfortunately for them, they were stopped in the Champions League final by Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan war machine. Instead, the season has so far belonged to Borussia Dortmund, who have raced to a clear 10 point gap on second and third placed Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen. Their young revelations Shinji Kagawa and Mario Gotze have been responsible for this meteoric rise up the tables, and the way they are currently playing, Borussia look set to lift the title in Germany.
As for international football, the Asia cup in Qatar will provide an opportunity to examine the best players of the region on a single stage. Given Qatar’s (albeit shocking) winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, this may also provide a chance to look at how well the Middle East state can execute a tournament of this size, as they last played host more than 20 years ago in 2022.
Lastly, Tiger Woods had a year to forget in 2010. It will be interesting to see if he can forge a path back to the top of the PGA pyramid that he once lorded over.
New Year expectations
