ca_gere Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Roland Garros final is today featuring the legend that is Roger Federer. Got me thinking... Who do people consider to be the greatest sportsman or woman of all time? For what reasons? For me, Federer is up there. It's hard to think of someone else who plays their sport with as much natural talent and flair as he does. Even when he wasn't winning anything back in the day, everyone talked about how precise and deliberate all his shots were and how smoothly he moved etc. He has a calm demeanour that never wavers and seems to be able to step up a gear on the big occasions. Also, making the semi finals (at least) of the last 20 grand slams is an unbelievable acheivement in consistency.Anyway, there are loads of different criteria to be taken into account as all sports differ from one another. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 willie miller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 reasons?EDIT: moustache perfectly acceptable as a reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 well apart from his recently deceased tache, he's aberdeen and perhaps scotlands greatest ever player. he could also lay claim to being one of the finest defenders the game has seen in general. plus he's the first name that came into my head and i'm sure only aberdeen fans would agree.tiger woods would be another that springs instantly to mind for much the same reasons that you've listed federer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Raises a good point...a lot of exceptional players are limited by their situation. Wille Miller being Scottish, he was never going to conquer the world. Same as the likes of Georgie Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov. Awesome players who, due to their nationality, could only get so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 hagi was indeed awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest idol_wild Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Alfredo di Stfano LaulhFor the fact he was the model for the most perfect footballer. He had everything and could play in every position with ease. He would sacrifice his own situation for the team's cause. He was an absolute gentleman and personified determination, courage and a sheer will to win.All round brilliant person.There's a really good feature on him in last month's FourFourTwo magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Alfredo di Stfano LaulhFor the fact he was the model for the most perfect footballer. He had everything and could play in every position with ease. He would sacrifice his own situation for the team's cause. He was an absolute gentleman and personified determination, courage and a sheer will to win.All round brilliant person.There's a really good feature on him in last month's FourFourTwo magazine.He often falls just behind Pele and Maradonna in people's estimations. The more technically gifted players often get more addulation, but the off the ball stuff is just as important. A quick google tells me he scored 216 goals in 282 matches for Real too. Unreal! Would have been amazing to see him in action. I made it my mission to see zidane play before he retired as I thought he's the best player there'd likely be during my lifetime . Got the chance at Juve v Real in the champs league a few years ago and he was every bit as good as I'd hoped. He didn't even do that much during the game but his touch and awareness was on another level. Incidentally, Thomas Gravesen was man of the match. He didn't give the ball away the whole 90 mins. Also, Ibrahimovich was doing some mad skills then hit the cross bar three times in a row on purpose during the warm up. What a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Jazz Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Always difficult to compare one sport against another, but here are a few names:Jack NicklausSugar Ray RobinsonDiego MaradonaRoger FedererDon BradmanMichael JordanMichael Phelps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stichman Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Ferenc Pusks. Or Pusks Ferenc, if you're Hungarian. What a man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stichman Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 I reckon Zidane is head and shoulders above any other player that has existed certainly in my lifetime. He was just immense. I still have wet dreams about that goal at Hampden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 holy shit, that Bradman guy is miles ahead of everyone else in batting average.I'd heard the name before but wasn't aware of how awesome he was.Kobe bryant is close to Michael Jordan in the natural talent department, in that he makes pros around him look rubbish, but will never come near to what he did for the globalization of the sport, nor will he beat his overall stat record. There's nobody in the world close to Phelps at the moment but it's hard to determine whether that's because he's so good or they're all so crap. 16 Olympic medals = meh... 16 bongs in a row would be the true sign of a champion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Lance Armstrong, for me. Anyone that can be a world champion at 21 like he was, get hit with cancer (and his prognosis was terrible!), then come back and win the Tour de France 7 times is nothing short of absolutely jaw droppingly incredible.If he wins number 8, then there'll be absolutely no question about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Wirelessly posted (SonyEricssonK770i/R8BC Browser/NetFront/3.3 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)Muhammad Ali for me. For being an amazing fighter, and a great character, as well as facing jail for refusing to go to Vietnam and still refusing to go. 'I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me no nigger'. Got stripped of the title for refusing the draft and, banned from boxing for 4 years and he came back and won the title back. Also did a lot for rights for black people. A true legend.'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 I'm not suggesting he's the greatest sportsman of all time, but an afternoon of Youtubing old United games took me on a Duncan Ferguson treasure hunt. Duncan Disorderly maybe, but what a presence! Furthermore, anyone who can throw Paul Ince away as if was a soggy lettuce is alright in my book. 4 million...those were the days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossP Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 On a personal level, Jan Ove Waldner really epitamises the perfect table tennis player. Lightning quick around the table, with near perfect positioning. I learned so much from watching him play. He inspired millions of people to pick up a bat, as well as winning World Titles consistently over 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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