Sportsman of the year?

Below is an article by an argentine journalist
http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1537703-el-deportista-del-ano

It is hard to choose an athlete/sports player/personality of 2012. At the Olympics, the date of the year, Usain Bolt repeated the titles of Beijing 2008: 100m, 200m, and the 4 x 100m relay. Without his best form, he demonstrated he’s not only talent. Outside of the track he seduced with his irresistible charisma and within it with his competitive spirit. He redefined athletics, distancing it from doping and putting it closer to the public. He makes his rivals better, like his compatriot Johan Blake, his escort in both races. He has become a great ambassador of the sport. We saw Michael Phelps lose on his last Olympics. His competitors had no mercy. He respected them with the generosity of great champions. And we loved him for it. His recovery, with 4 titles won between individual and relay, has put him at an unreachable place. He retired with 22 medals, 19 golden.

Radamel Falcao Garcia changed because he wanted to become the best center forward in the world. He added hours of extra training to his routine to improve himself in all aspects of the game. And he achieved it. The work paid off. His formidable 2012 also links him to two Argentine coaches that helped him reach the objective: Jose Pekerman at Colombia and, above all, Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid. Inexplicably, Cholo was not amongst the best three coaches of the year according to FIFA. If we take everything he did over the calendar year (Europa League, European Supercup, and two very good semesters in La Liga), he is comfortably in the podium.

Alejandro Sabella will also raise his cup, happy about the almost perfect season for the national team. Through good results and consolidated partnerships, the formation is now a matter of memory. Defensive discipline is still lacking, for which the entire team is responsible. Pep Guardiola, the Barack Obama of world football, retired from an unrepeatable Barcelona for energetic reasons like the same Bielsa retired for in 2004. Speaking of the devil, the Loco had a frenetic year at Athletic Bilbao. After the glorious first semester with the Europa League and Copa del Rey, he picked a fight even with the architect of the construction. From the club, they filtered his dressing room pep talks. Today the Basques fight relegation. Spain was champion of the most important tournament: the Eurocup. Andres Iniesta was the best and aspires to win his first Balon D’Or.

At the NBA, Lebron James won his first ring and added a gold medal in London for a brace alla Michael Jordan in 1992. At the ATP Tour, Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam and also hung gold at the Olympics. Novak Djokovic retained his place as first in the ranking. He won Australia in January and the Masters in November. But without a doubt, 2012 belongs to the Master Roger Federer. He won Wimbledon for seventh time, recovered the N 1, beat the Pete Sampras record and closed the year with a magical visit to Argentina. Never before has our country registered so much love for a foreign athlete.

The Pumas had their “Four Nation” debut in a foundational moment for Argentine Rugby. Not only did they not embarrass themselves, they were competitive. After a very good start, the intensity of their rivals wore the team off as the tournament went on. They should have won against Australia but they were unable to close off the deal. Maravilla Martinez gave glamour and popularity to boxing. A dancer on reality tv shows and the ring, he vindicated the art of avoid being hit until that hit to Chavez Junior, the longest minute and a half of the year. He’s a star of the sport, who manages his career well. He coexists naturally with the show and his high profile doesn’t affect his high performance. So who do we pick of all these highlights? None of them. There’s no need to explain. The sportsman of the year is Lionel Messi.

Messi by far IMO. Broke a huge record and cemented his place as one of the best players in history.

7amood11 wrote:Messi by far IMO. Broke a huge record and cemented his place as one of the best players in history.

He was already cemented tbh he broke the record... Top 10 tbh and Im backed up with many other journalists and analysts of the game...

That was the best end to any article I've read in a very long time! Indisputable for Messi.

It's between messi and Federer to me. I don't know how many tennis fans are here, but Federer is the phenomenal talent of tennis like messi is for football. Arguably confirmed he is the goat of his sport this year and beat a brit in the Wimbledon final. I'd say Federer

Seems top me that the last line is dripping of satire.

What did Messi win this year though? Not a single thing.. LeBron won the regular season MVP, Finals MVP and NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal ffs..

Swagg wrote:What did Messi win this year though? Not a single thing.. LeBron won the regular season MVP, Finals MVP and NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal ffs..

He broke lots of footballing records which had been intact for 3 to 4 decades. Plus he's been the best footballer of the last year, football being the biggest sport in the world. I know all of these other athletes have been amazing but ask yourself this: which athlete can truly claim to have been hands down the best in his sport, or at least as dominant as Messi?

barca 2011 wrote:

Swagg wrote:What did Messi win this year though? Not a single thing.. LeBron won the regular season MVP, Finals MVP and NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal ffs..

He broke lots of footballing records which had been intact for 3 to 4 decades. Plus he's been the best footballer of the last year, football being the biggest sport in the world. I know all of these other athletes have been amazing but ask yourself this: which athlete can truly claim to have been hands down the best in his sport, or at least as dominant as Messi?

What has he broken besides Gerd's record? LeBron isn't as dominant as Messi, but he is close.. He's hands down the best basketball player in the world though

Swagg wrote:What did Messi win this year though? Not a single thing.. LeBron won the regular season MVP, Finals MVP and NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal ffs..

Spanish Cup, La Liga best forward and best player, La Liga top scorer, Golden boot (second time, equalled the record), Champions League top scorer (fourth time, equalled the record).

What has he broken besides Gerd's record? LeBron isn't as dominant as Messi, but he is close.. He's hands down the best basketball player in the world though

Major scoring records equalled or broken by Messi in 2012

12 Equalled most goals in a year for Argentina national team (G.Batistuta, 12 1998)
14 Most goals in a Uefa Champions League season (R.Nistelrooy/L.Messi, 12 2002-03/2010-11)
14 Equalled most goals in a Uefa Champions League/ European Cup season (J.Altafini, 14 1962-63)
25 WR Equalled most goals in a year in international matches (V.Woodward, 25 1909)
50 Most goals in a Spanish league season (C.Ronaldo, 40 2010-11)
50 Most goals in a European Golden Shoe (D.Georgescu, 47 1976-77)
73 Most goals in a Spanish club season (C.ronaldo/Messi, 53 2010-11)
73 Most goals in a European club season (G.Müller, 67 1972-73)
73 WR Most goals in a club season (A.Stark, 70 1924-25)
78 WR Most goals in a year for club (G.Müller, 72 1972)
82 WR Most goals in a club and national team season (Pelé, 75 1958)
90 WR Most goals in a year for club and national team (G.Müller, 85 1972)
287 Most career goals for Barcelona (César, 232 -1955)

The full list contains almost 100 football records for year 2012.

Usain Bolt.

How the hell do you compare different sports..makes no sense.

Swagg wrote:

barca 2011 wrote:

Swagg wrote:What did Messi win this year though? Not a single thing.. LeBron won the regular season MVP, Finals MVP and NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal ffs..

He broke lots of footballing records which had been intact for 3 to 4 decades. Plus he's been the best footballer of the last year, football being the biggest sport in the world. I know all of these other athletes have been amazing but ask yourself this: which athlete can truly claim to have been hands down the best in his sport, or at least as dominant as Messi?

What has he broken besides Gerd's record? LeBron isn't as dominant as Messi, but he is close.. He's hands down the best basketball player in the world though

Dont lie to the people.

The gap between Messi and whoever is next is huge.

Lebron isnt better than Durant. And if he is, its by a shade.

Federer isn't even the best in his own sport......

Anyway from the sport i watch it's Bradley Wiggins for me..... to dominate the Tour De France and then come straight to the Olympics and dominate every event he participated in there. Is nothing short of remarkable and probably unprecedented to dominate such grueling events in such quick succession.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Federer isn't even the best in his own sport......

Anyway from the sport i watch it's Bradley Wiggins for me..... to dominate the Tour De France and then come straight to the Olympics and dominate every event he participated in there. Is nothing short of remarkable and probably unprecedented to dominate such grueling events in such quick succession.

Wiggins is a cheater... Dopping system is doing wonders at Sky team.. Even Richie Porte at the same team was better on mountain in le tour than many good climbers... It was hilarious when every team was broken in the France's great mountains, sky team looks very fresh, with mediocre names in it...
The commentator in my country couldn't even stop himself from joking about this ridiculous team..
Wiggins is a former velodrome cyclist, and now wins le tour??? This is like Puyol becoming an attacker and being the goal scorer in Spain... Or Usain Bolt to win the marathon

tuddor wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Federer isn't even the best in his own sport......

Anyway from the sport i watch it's Bradley Wiggins for me..... to dominate the Tour De France and then come straight to the Olympics and dominate every event he participated in there. Is nothing short of remarkable and probably unprecedented to dominate such grueling events in such quick succession.

Wiggins is a cheater... Dopping system is doing wonders at Sky team.. Even Richie Porte at the same team was better on mountain in le tour than many good climbers... It was hilarious when every team was broken in the France's great mountains, sky team looks very fresh, with mediocre names in it...
The commentator in my country couldn't even stop himself from joking about this ridiculous team..
Wiggins is a former velodrome cyclist, and now wins le tour??? This is like Puyol becoming an attacker and being the goal scorer in Spain... Or Usain Bolt to win the marathon

Until that's proven you have no leg to stand on really....

You are just using stereotypes from a by gone era.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

tuddor wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Federer isn't even the best in his own sport......

Anyway from the sport i watch it's Bradley Wiggins for me..... to dominate the Tour De France and then come straight to the Olympics and dominate every event he participated in there. Is nothing short of remarkable and probably unprecedented to dominate such grueling events in such quick succession.

Wiggins is a cheater... Dopping system is doing wonders at Sky team.. Even Richie Porte at the same team was better on mountain in le tour than many good climbers... It was hilarious when every team was broken in the France's great mountains, sky team looks very fresh, with mediocre names in it...
The commentator in my country couldn't even stop himself from joking about this ridiculous team..
Wiggins is a former velodrome cyclist, and now wins le tour??? This is like Puyol becoming an attacker and being the goal scorer in Spain... Or Usain Bolt to win the marathon

Until that's proven you have no leg to stand on really....

You are just using stereotypes from a by gone era.

every time a cyclist rise suddenly to be a new dominant force in cycling, he is found sooner or later using illegal methods... So people said about Lance and Contador, that they're guilty until proven.. but hey they were performing with ridiculous powers, so is bradley... I saw this movie 1 million times in 7-8 years of cycling watching.. From Baso, Ulrich, Armstrong days to Sela to Rasmussen to Valverde and Contador now... Sky is next mate! They're are too good suddenly... The same cyclists were kinda sh*t some not long period ago.. Not to mention Cyclists like richie Porte from that team who were already found with illegal substances before... The dopping industry is always a step above the anti-dopping controls, but in the end, in2-3 years they analyze those substances with new tehnology and they found them guilty..

I don't know how much fan of a cycling you are or for how long, but mate i've seen this movie... The ridiculous and unexplained fact about wiggins is what i stated above.. How can you suddenly change after a life in velodrome cycling to come on the road to win le tour?? It's a huge huge difference.. At velodrome everything is based on power (like 100 m at athletics) and winning a climbing it's all about endurance (like marathon)...
What about Froome?? Who was Froome 2-3 years ago?? A no name... And now comes to finish 2nd in le tour?? It's impossible, you can't just come one to beat natural climbers like nibali, baso, evans etc with no previous results as a younger.. Everything it's so fcked up about SKY team.. Don't know, maybe you live in Britain or watch le tour with english commentary(Sky is a british team for who doesn't know), it's the only thing that can make someone not knowing about their dopping ...
The dopping era it's far from being ended.. At least cycling fights against it.. even Franck Schleck was found guilty this summer(i didn't expect this one.. even Luxemburg )

The Franchise wrote:Dont lie to the people.

The gap between Messi and whoever is next is huge.

Lebron isnt better than Durant. And if he is, its by a shade.

You're in the minority that believe Durant is better.. Just like some people believe Cristiano is better.. Most people say LeBron is clearly the best player I the world, whether it be journalists, sports analysts or whatever

@harmonica ok you made your point, I didn't take all of those accomplishments in..

I wouldn't mind either winning Sportsman of the Year, I think it's LeBron though