Best & Worst of 2011 / Editor / 12 December 2011 /

From David Villa's Champions League final strike to England ignominious exit from the Rugby World Cup, we asked our contributors to select their best and worst of 2011. Some have stuck to the sports they know best while others have branched out. Here's part one...

Dave Farrar

Moment of 2011: David Villa's goal in the Champions League Final. It sealed the game and summed up everything that Barcelona do so well. A genuine out of the seat moment.

Performance of 2011 (Team or individual): Rory McIlroy winning the US Open - a staggering feat of brilliance and concentration, and proof that the Masters had been an aberration and not a trend.

Hero of 2011: Aaron Rodgers. He barely made a mistake as he guided Green Bay to the Superbowl. And did it all with unassuming class. Brilliance and humility may be rare in modern sport, but they're not unachievable.

Villain of 2011: Alain Rolland. For ruining the denouement of what had been a good Rugby World Cup. His decision to send off Sam Warburton may have been technically justifiable but could he have kept it 15 against 15? Of course he could. We'd tuned in to watch two teams play, not him referee.

Bet for 2012: David Haye to beat Vitali Klitschko. It's not a popular view, but the younger Klitschko is the better Klitschko, and Haye did a lot better against him than a cynical media suggested. He'll be too quick and clever for a 40-year-old who's past his best.

Andrew French

Moment of 2011: Darren Clarke winning The Open - he's been through more than enough, and gave great hope to anyone who tries to combine a rumbustious lifestyle with being very good at sport!

Performance of 2011 (Team or individual): Barcelona in the Champions League Final, where they made a very good Man Utd team look very ordinary

Hero of 2011: Seve Ballesteros - a hero for many years, but to lose him so sadly this year meant we were reminded of his brilliance and influence.

Villain of 2011: Can I have several? The England rugby team? Really don't care exactly what went on - just knowing that even some of those fortunate enough to be selected to represent their country at a World Cup felt they couldn't stay off the sauce annoys the hell out of me.

Bet for 2012: Tottenham to win the FA Cup - as much as they like being considered contenders, I can't see them winning the Premier League. They are using Europe to rotate their squad, so the FA Cup is a realistic path towards silverware. Redknapp will want a return on his achievements sooner or later.

Ben Caudell

Moment of 2011: Roger Federer chased Novak Djokovic out of Roland Garros. The French Open was supposed to belong to Novak Djokovic. He was having an incredible year, and had beaten defending champion Rafael Nadal in every meeting of the year leading up to Roland Garros. The much-hyped meeting didn't occur, thanks to some incredible play from Roger Federer. The former-world number one ended Djokovic's 43 match win streak

Performance of 2011: Tottenham Hotspur/Novak Djokovic. My beloved Spurs defeating AC Milan and making it through to the quarter-finals of the Champions league in February 2011 and since then going on an amazing run of form in the Premier League. Player of the year has to go to Novak Djokovic for winning three Grand Slam titles and 41 consecutive matches, Djokovic's success is extraordinary by any standards, more so when you consider he's competing in an era which also boasts two genuine all-time greats in Federer and Nadal.

Hero of 2011: After finishing as runner-up in the Australian Open, Li Na broke through to take the first Grand Slam title ever for a player, man or woman, from China. Her straight set victory over defending champion Francesca Schiavone was replayed on national television in China and seen by millions.

Villain of 2011: Few can be as disappointed about their 2011 campaign as Andy Roddick.The American slid out of the Top 10 of the world rankings and was replaced by fellow American Mardy Fish, lost his cool several times during the year on court and off court and compiled some of the worst results in his career

Bet of 2012: Back this double - Tottenham Top 4 Premier League + Roger Federer to win a Grand Slam in 2012 @ approx [5.0].

Gareth Purnell

Performance of 2011 (Team or individual): Manchester City's demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford... Ooops!

Hero of 2011: Darren Clarke, for being a normal bloke who won a golf Major and enjoying it like one... for around three months.....

Villain of 2011: David Haye for making us pay per view for his lily livered approach to his fight with Wladimir Klitschko (and don't give me any of this broken toe business!). I want my money back.

Bet for 2012: Tiger Woods to win a golf Major. You might not like him but golf needs him and he's finally on the way back after being the villain of 2009...

Michael Lintorn

Moment of 2011: Miroslav Klose ends Lazio's Rome derby drought. Nothing beats a last-gasp winner, especially if it comes in a club's biggest game of the season, a fixture that side had lost five times in a row, and is then followed by a contender for celebration of the season.

Performance of 2011: Javi Varas against Barcelona. Just two away teams kept a clean sheet at the Camp Nou in 2011 and the first of those, Deportivo, faced the reserves. Sevilla's shut out was far more memorable and earned almost exclusively by goalkeeper Javi Varas, who made an absurd number of saves, even stopping a Lionel Messi penalty in injury time.

Hero of 2011: Roberto Mancini. Mancini was ridiculed in 2010 and much of 2011 by the English media for his negativity, yet Manchester City are now the most prolific team in the Premier League and top of the table, having earlier lifted their first trophy in 35 years. Even his one gamble, keeping faith in Mario Balotelli, appears to be paying off quite spectacularly.

Villain of 2011: Mark Hughes. There are others perhaps more deserving but I like the symmetry in having him opposite his Manchester City successor. He looked a stronger contender for hero in June after guiding Fulham to a rare top-half finish. Things have gone downhill since his shock resignation though, with lowlights including criticising their ambition, defending Carlos Tevez (too obvious a pick for this category) and his majestically mistimed attack on Mancini's managerial style hours before he masterminded a 6-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Bet for 2012: AC Milan to win Serie A @ [1.92]. After a slow start, AC Milan have won seven of their last eight, and with Napoli focusing on the Champions League (my long shot there!), they are easily the pick of the contenders in Serie A. Given Juventus' fondness for post-Christmas collapses, don't be surprised if the Rossoneri retain quite comfortably - so long as they don't sign Tevez, that is!

Kevin Hatchard

Moment of 2011: My beloved Green Bay Packers winning the Superbowl. I still find it a bit surreal and unnerving that the Packers have performed so consistently this year.

Performance of 2011: Barcelona beating Manchester United in the Champions League final. It's an obvious selection, but it was a brutal demolition delivered in the most artistic way possible.

Hero of 2011: Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp deserves huge credit for turning a group of promising youngsters and unknown quantities into 2011's Bundesliga champions. In addition, anyone who is clearly too lazy to shave more than once a week is a hero in my book.

Villain of 2011: X Factor's Tulisa, for wrecking Misha B's chances of victory with all that "bullying" trash talk. Boo! Hiss!

Bet for 2012: Back Aston Villa at [12.0] in the To Win Premier League without Top Six market. I've covered a lot of Villa's games this season, and they have the attacking power to reel in a Newcastle team that is starting to pick up injuries.

Alan Dudman

Moment of 2011: Fellow Timeform Radio team member Lorna Fowler winning the St Patrick's day derby on board Plato at the Cheltenham Festival. Her mount was the [2.20] favourite and was guided up the hill expertly, to our loud cheers roaring her home to land the charity race.

Performance of 2011: An equine one, Frankel's brilliant 2000 Guineas performance at Newmarket gave me one of the most surreal experiences watching a horse race. I couldn't quite believe how Henry Cecil's colt tore apart a classic field in the manner that was astonishingly brutal. Any victory in that fashion will now be known as being 'Frankelised'.

Hero of 2011: Alistair Cook and his amazing stack of runs in the Ashes. Having grown up watching years of pathetic England displays against the Aussies, it was worth the late nights and early mornings to see the Essex left-hander punishing the home attack, scoring 766 runs at an average of 127.66.

Villain of 2011: I'm not a huge rugby union fan, and less so for the hugely underwhelming performance in he World Cup, so it's the entire England team - and Rob Andrew.

Bet for 2012: Any remaining member of McFly as a back-to-lay in the next reality TV series.

Paul Krishnamurty

Moment of 2011: Rory McIlroy's record-breaking win at the US Open, signalling the arrival of Tiger Woods' successor as the game's leading superstar.

Performance of 2011: Luke Donald winning both PGA and European Tour money-lists. An unprecedented achievement, unlikely to ever be repeated.

Hero of 2011: Darren Clarke, for defying huge odds to win his first major at the Open Championship. One of the game's nice guys now has a lasting golfing legacy.

Villain of 2011: Caddie Steve Williams, for indefensible racist comments about the man to whom he owes his fame and fortune.

Bet for 2012: Rickie Fowler to win the Open Championship, in what may be the last time decent odds are available.

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The Champions League Final proved popular with our writers for different reasons...

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