Who were the heroes and villains of 2007?

Other / Paul Moon / 27 December 2007 / Leave a Comment

Pablo Luna runs through the best and worst of the past year...

It has been a strange old year but some things remain the same. Our wimpettes, otherwise known as the England cricket team, continue to show a serious lack of gumption. We have slipped from second in the rankings to fifth and are in free-fall without a parachute in sight. I predict a tough time in New Zealand with our current weak mental attitude. We need a saviour!

The underachieving England football team, led by the inept Steve McClaren and the dithering Brian Barwick hit new lows in not qualifying for the 2008 European Championships and with the finest crop of players in our history! A very sad effort indeed.

However, there were some joyous occasions for British Sport in 2007 and you could not help but be touched by Frankie Dettori's first win in 15 attempts to win the Derby. Padraig Harrington became the first European to win a major tournament for eight years after beating Sergio Garcia in a play-off at Carnoustie. Lewis Hamilton brought back interest in motor racing after years of monotonous predictability.

My five personal favourite sporting moments include Peeping Fawn trained by Aidan O'Brien winning five of her ten races. This bay filly won on all types of going and was kept in racing all through the summer and continued to improve. I cannot ever remember a three-year-old filly given such a hard schedule and thriving. Her victory in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood cost me dear but took my breath away. She was my horse of the year!

The England rugby team, despite some rough infighting performed to their maximum and got to the finals of the 2007 World Cup Rugby Finals in France. A rare English occurrence of a team surpassing expectations. They showed our spineless cricketers what could be achieved with determination and courage.

I continue to be impressed and amazed with the way Australian cricket maintains its vice-like grip on the World scene. Their destruction of England in the Ashes Series was ruthless, clinical and complete. They have raised the standard of batting, bowling and fielding. Their preparation and spirit is supreme and there is not an end in sight despite losing Warne and McGrath to retirement.

There was one moment of athletics bliss in which we could all share, Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE winning the New York Marathon 10 months after giving birth to daughter Isla who joined her on a parade of honour. Her sense of fair play is unparalleled wearing a red ribbon when competing to show her support for blood testing as a method of catching drugs cheats and this from a competitor who has to deal with asthma. Paula's positive attitude to her asthma makes her the perfect role model for others with the condition. She is the dominant force in women's marathon and is happy and balanced yet maintaining her competitive instinct. What a woman!

She would take top sopt in my favourite sporting moments except for a man called Joe 'Pride of Wales' Calzaghe MBE. What a display of courage and skill by him to beat Mikkel Kessler for his 44th victory in a 14-year unbeaten career. This has included 32 knock outs.

Calzaghe is the longest reigning titleholder in any weight class in boxing, recently passing the ten-year mark as the WBO super middleweight champion. He is the current WBO, WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine world super middleweight champion and the former IBF super middleweight world champion.

I can only envisage the dedication, determination, skill and strength of will of this man. It beggars belief that he has maintained those levels of commitment for 14 years.

Although I am not a fan of the vastly contrived BBC Sports Personality of the Year the 2007 award went to the best man for once. Joe Calzaghe has embossed himself to his rightful place that is greatness.