Sports head soccer championship 2016 flong12/15/2023 ![]() ![]() Hurrey: For all its cynical, depressing tendencies, football has developed a good habit of rallying round in time of tragedy. Your vote: The football world uniting behind Chapecoense (46 percent) A more-than-willing guard of honour from the unseated champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge completed his personal narrative arc rather perfectly. His cheery man-management kept the Leicester ship on its unlikely course, all while publicly engaging in the mandatory downplaying of their title hopes.Įven though his title challengers (if they were worthy of the name) failed to go the distance, Ranieri managed to take Leicester there with good humour - a title race almost entirely devoid of the mind games that usually pollute it in the final weeks. Even allowing for the vague intangibles that apparently make a good coach or a bad one, Ranieri had struck upon the perfect blend for that one season. Plus, as an irresistible cherry on the top of the cake, Riyad Mahrez. A bit of critical distance, away from the can-they-will-they-oh-god-they-have thrills of the early summer, takes nothing away from what that tightly knit group of players achieved.Īnd, in the purest sense, they certainly were a team: built around a peak-performance spine of Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, N'Golo Kante and Jamie Vardy, but with a small army of relentlessly motivated support acts. For Leicester City, though, the fall has been every bit as important as the rise in emphasising the near-absurdity of their Premier League title win. Hurrey: The category that most clearly lays bare the cruelty of the calendar year versus the August-May football season. It was still all about him, but he was still rising to the challenge. This felt like the year that Ronaldo's unique mentality to winning - so often parodied - finally won the grudging appreciation of his precious few remaining sceptics.Ī premature, tearful exit from the final against France - knee ligaments torn - ended up becoming a scriptwriter's dream: Ronaldo spent the next two hours covering every blade of artificial grass in the technical area to gesticulate his team to extra-time victory against the hosts. The role of underdog isn't too familiar to him (his clubs have never been far away from contention, after all) but Portugal's Euro 2016 triumph sealed his status as his country's single-handed Golden Generation. ![]() Your vote: Cristiano Ronaldo (67 percent)Īdam Hurrey: Just on silverware alone - the Champions League, the European championship, the Ballon d'Or and the Club World Cup all bagged within the space of six months - Ronaldo was already assured of this vote. Adam Hurrey reacts to the winners and losers of 2016. The voting for our annual ESPN FC awards has closed and the ballots have been tallied. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĮSPN FC awards: 2016 belongs to Ronaldo, Leicester and Ranieri ![]()
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