Top 14 Sporting Moments of 2014

To start the year I have decided to come up with another list. 2014 was a great year despite the downs, the rejections, the mishaps and so on but the ALMIGHTY decided to keep me alive which only means he’s been with me all the way. May 2015 bring us all the joy we desire (Amen).

2014 was surely an interesting year for me Sports wise and I will like to share my favorite sporting moments.

14. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 5th UK Championship : this is ‘snooker’ I am talking about here. O’Sullivan for me is the best to have played this game after Steve Davis. So what is so special about this man Ronnie? He won the UK Championship (his 5 title) in December. So? He did it with a broken ankle. Yea you play with your hands but if his opponent was fully fit what excuse did he (the opponent) have? I figured.
13. Rory Mcilroy’s Ascension: he won four majors this year, and he finished the year as the world’s number 1. Lest I forget he also made the cut because he’s a Manchester United fan.
12. San Antonio Spurs NBA Triumph: Just happy it wasn’t Miami Heat that won the NBA finals.  Kudos to San Antonio’s old trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.
11. Real Madrid’s El-clasico win over Barcelona (October 25, 2014): despite having a particularly serious work related session on this day, the MD at my work place gave us time to watch this game. Boy was I glad and GOD bless him because the team (Real Madrid) I favoured won and they did it in style coming from a goal down to win 3-1.
10. Robin Van Persie’s 1st Goal against Spain at the World Cup (June 14, 2014): for me this was the goal of the tournament. Daley Blind’s pass was perfectly timed but the execution oh my GOD was Amazing. I have seen this goal over a 100 times already. This header by Van Persie deserves to win any tournament.
9. Rooney Handed The Arm Band for Both Club and Country: This is a good reward for a brilliant player. The timing was right and I wish him all the success he desires.
8. Man United’s Victory over Liverpool (December 14, 2014): I wasn’t so sure about this game because I hate it when Man Utd faces a team with an epileptic run of form. United won 3-0 and David DeGea deserved the clean sheet.
7. Man United’s victory over Arsenal (November 22, 2014): this was a game I was so sure United wouldn’t lose. Myself and some of my friends had a wager of some sort but that’s story for another day. The Red Devils had not lost to Arsenal in 7 games and we needed a pick me up (beat a big team) if we were to be real top four contenders this season. Arsenal were surely the pick me up we needed. Man Utd won 2-1 at the Emirates. I will largely attribute this victory to Michael Carrick and David DeGea.
6. Man United acquiring the services of Louis Van Gaal: I was skeptical at first, as a matter of fact I was hoping it wouldn’t happen. I now took time out to think of who could Manage my beloved Manchester United and nobody steadily came to mind. By no one coming to mind I mean no fantastic Manager came to mind. The good ones (Carlo Ancellotti, Pep Guardiola, Ottmar Hitzfeld etc) were taken. Another plus is Van Gaal believes in youth, so our Youth Academy will always get a look in. For example Tyler Blackett, Paddy Mcnair and James Wilson are products of the academy.
5. Blessing Okagbare’s Commonwealth Domination: this young Nigerian lady showed what she was made off at the Commonwealth games which held in Glasgow last year. She won the 100m gold in a time of 10.85 seconds breaking the Commonwealth games record of 10.91 set by Debbie Ferguson-Mckenzie in 2002. Okagbare also won the 200m gold at the Commonwealth games. Africa’s sprint Queen surely made Nigerians proud.
4. Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 win: my favourite Formula 1 star won his second title this year. It was a tough run for him all season with constant threat from his Mercedes Team mate Nico Roseberg. Seb Vettel didn’t turn up this time around and yes I follow Formula 1.
3. Eric Lamela’s stunning goal in the Europa League (Rabona): Description of this goal cannot be put into words. Eric Lamela scored this beauty of a goal against Asteras Tripolis in the Europa league. You can find it on You Tube. Its called the “Rabona”. A player though he hasn’t found his footing in the English Premier League is clearly a bag of skill that needs time to adjust.
2. Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph over Atletico Madrid (La Decima): The best ever football team by miles. The La Decima (10th Champions League Trophy) had eluded them for 12 years. They kept spending heavily to build a team that would bring home La Decima after winning their 9th UCL trophy against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo’s  Ballon D’or Win : I am a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo no doubt and I will be till he hangs his boots. Great professional with a good heart. The best player I have consistently seen.
That’s my Top 14 Sporting Moments of 2014. Thanks for your time and support people. A New Year filled with blessings from the ALMIGHTY awaits us (Amen).

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