Home ›› 31 Dec 2021 ›› Sport
2021 was a year to cherish for all sports fans across the globe. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many major tournaments were pushed back to this year from 2020, including the likes of the Tokyo Olympics, European Championship, and Copa America.
Tokyo saw the Olympics return to Asia after 12 years, whereas Italy won a major international trophy after 15 years. But the biggest winners were Argentina, who finally ended their 28-year-long wait to lift the Copa America.
In Tennis, teenage sensation Emma Raducanu left the world in awe as she won the US Open, and Novak Djokovic reached 20 grand slams to touch Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s record tally.
In club football, the unthinkable happened as Lionel Messi left Barcelona after 21 years and joined PSG, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United, where he made his name.
The Business Post looks back at the most memorable sporting moments of 2021.
Jacobs wins first gold of post-Bolt era
After more than a decade of domination of Usain Bolt, Tokyo Olympics was the first without the Jamaican sprinter. In the first 100 metre sprint of the post-Bolt era, Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs clocked 9.80 seconds to take home the gold.
USA’s Fred Kerley finished in 9.84 seconds to win silver, and Canadian Andre De Grasse took home the bronze by finishing in 9.89 seconds.
Overall, USA topped the chart with 113 medals, including 39 golds.
Football comes to Rome
Italy, after missing out on the 2018 World Cup, came all guns blazing in the Euro 2020 under Roberto Mancini.
They swept past Wales, Switzerland, and Turkey in the group stages before beating Austria and Belgium in the knockout stage to reach the semis.
In the semis, they were threatened by Spain but managed to hold their nerves in the tiebreaker to reach the final.
Their final against England ended 1-1 after extra time, it went down to penalties where Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma emerged as the hero, saving three penalties to win the Euro.
After the final, in reply to English fans claiming ‘It’s coming home!’, Italy’s Leonardo Bonucci replied, ‘It’s coming Rome!’.
Argentina end their curse
2021 was a glorious year for Argentina as they finally managed to end their wait of 28 years to win a major international title.
The Copa America, switched to Brazil due to the Covid-19 situation in Argentina and political unrest in Colombia, saw Argentina and Brazil reach the final.
And for the first time in 14 years, the two arch-rivals faced off for Latin American supremacy at the iconic Maracana.
And in the final, Rodrigo De Paul’s long ball, courtesy of some shoddy defending from the Brazilian backline, found Angel Di Maria and with a sumptuous chip, he scored to put Argentina forward in the 22nd minute. And then they managed to hang on for the rest of the match to seal their first title since 1993.
Australia: Mission Accomplished!
Australia, the all-conquering force of the cricketing world, had always seen one trophy escape their grasp since its inception- the T20 World Cup.
In the previous six editions, they only reached the final once in 2010 and lost that to arch-rivals England.
In 2021, they went to the World Cup in UAE and Oman after losing five consecutive T20I series and were not on the list of favourites. But they proved every one of their doubters wrong. They won four out of five matches in the Super 12 stage before beating high-flying Pakistan in the semi-final.
And in the final against New Zealand, David Warner, the eventual player of the tournament, and Mitchell Marsh carried them to the trophy to complete Australia’s trophy cabinet.
Raducanu stuns the world
18-year-old Emma Raducanu was ranked 150th before the 2021 US Open. She needed to play three qualifier matches to get in, and from there on, the rest was history.
She beat 11th ranked Belinda Bencic in the quarter-finals, before beating 17th ranked Maria Sakkari to set up a final against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
In the final, Raducanu hammered Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 to lift the title, at only 18 years and 302 days old.
She also made another incredible record on her way to glory as she did not lose any sets in the ten matches she played throughout the tournament.
Messi leaves Barcelona
Lionel Messi joined FC Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000, and for 21 years, they were inseparable. In 2020, he had publicly wanted to leave the club, but after the change in Presidency of the club, the Argentine had decided to stay for a couple of more years.
Messi’s contract ran out on June 30, 2021, but as a deal was in place, he was expected to stay.
But due to LaLiga’s financial restrictions, Barcelona failed to register him, and after 21 years, Messi had to leave the club. In an emotional farewell speech, Messi said with tears in his eyes, “I’ve been here so many years, my entire life since I was 13. After 21 years, I’m leaving, and I can’t tell you we won’t come back because this is my home, and I promised my children that.”
He went on to join PSG, where he is with Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe, and former Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos.
