Printable version of thread

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 9th July 2019, 07:05 PM

Welcome to the World Cup of Sportspeople! With the Women's Football World Cup in full swing just finished and the Men's World Cup being a resounding success last year, we'll be following on with a tournament, not of countries, but of the sports-men and women themselves. This contest is designed to select the greatest sportspeople from each continent through a number of rounds, selecting the best of the best, and pitting them together to show who we really think is the best sportsperson of them all!

This is the Voting stage for Europe. We received 193 different nominations in all - taking away our auto-qualifiers, Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo, this gives us four groups of 47/48 players*. Here's how this stage is going to work.

- You can vote for up to 25 sportspeople, but you must vote for at least 10.
- You must rank your votes in order of preference, either by numbering or by the standard Buzzjack +25, +24 ... +1 (Or down to however many you vote for)
- You must vote for sportspeople from at least three different sports
- You must vote for at least one male and one female sportsperson.
- Each sportsperson has been given a short description of their major achievements to make it easier for you to make up your mind.
- The seven sportspeople with the most votes in each group will advance to the Final, whilst the three next highest players will advance to the Intercontinental Playoffs. Everyone else will be booted out.

*Group 1 is slightly smaller as a result of some nominated sportspeople being ineligible:
Ivan Lendl is ineligible as he most recently played for the USA National Team
Monica Seles is ineligible as she most recently played for the USA National Team

Group 1

Franz Beckenbauer (Germany - Football - Captained Germany to a World Cup victory in 1974, European Footballer of the Year twixe)
Sergey Bubka (Ukraine - Athletics - 1998 Olympic pole vault gold, won gold at the European Championships 6 times)
Joe Calagzhe (Wales - Boxing - Held World Championships in two classes, won 46 out of 46 fights)
Linford Christie (England - Athletics - Won 1992 Olympic Gold, three European Championships and one World Championship)
Jim Clark (Great Britain - Motor Racing - Won 1963 and 1965 World Championships)
Nadia Comaneci (Romania - Gymnastics - Fist gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10.0 score, won 5 Olympic golds and 10 European Championship golds)
Alastair Cook (England - Cricket - Fifth highest Test Run scorer of all time, England's most-capped player)
Fausto Coppi (Italy - Cycling - Won Tour de France twice and Giro d'Italia 5 times)
Johann Cruyff (Netherlands - Football - Won Ballon d'Or three times, received Golden Ball of 1974 World Cup where he captained the Netherlands to the Final))
Novak Djokovic (Serbia - Tennis - Won Wimbledon 5 times, US Open 3 times, French Open once and Australian Open 7 times)
Stefan Edberg (Sweden - Tennis - Won 6 Grand Slam titles)
Dario Franchitti (GB - Motor Racing - Won IndyCar Series 4 times and Indianapolis 500 3 times)
Gianfranco Zola (Italy - Football - Won Cup Winners Cup, FA Cup and League Cup with Chelsea, voted their greatest ever player)
Steffi Graf (Germany - Tennis - Won 22 Grand Slam singles titles)
Alex Higgins (Northern Ireland - Snooker - World Champion in 1972 and 1982, won Masters twice)
Graham Hill (Great Britain - Motor Racing - Only driver to win 'Triple Crown of Motorsport')
Kelly Homes (Great Britain - Athletics - Won two Olympic gold medals and two Commonwealth gold medals)
Ana Ivanovic (Serbia - Tennis - Won four Grand Slam titles)
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (England - Athletics - Won Commonwealth Heptathlon Gold, and two golds at the European Indoor Championships)
Dani King (Rowe) (Wales - Cycling - Won Olympics and World Championships three times in the Team Pursuit)
Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany - Football - Won 1990 World Cup and 1996 World Championships with Germany)
Niki Lauda (Austria - Formula One - Won 3 World Drivers' Championships, 25-time Grand Prix winner)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland - Football - Won two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga's all-time leading goalscorer)
Sebastian Loeb (France - Rallying - Won 9 World Championship Titles, with 79 rally wins)
Paolo Maldini (Italy - Football - Won 26 trophies with AC Milan, captained Italy for 8 years)
Lothar Matthaus (Germany - Football - Captained West Germany to win the 1990 World Cup, most capped German player of all time)
Pietro Mennea (Italy - Athletics - Won gold at the 1980 Olympics, won three European Championship golds)
Vincenzo Nibali (Italy - Cycling - Won Tour de France in 2014, won the Giro twice and the Vuelta once)
Ronnie O'Sullivan (England - Snooker - Won 5 World Championships and 7 Masters titles)
Christine Ohourougu (England - Athletics - Won gold in the 2008 Olympics, won two World Championships and one Commonwealth gold)
Tony Parker (France - Basketball - MVP of EuroBasket 2013 which he won with France)
Paula Radcliffe (England - Athletics - Won London Marathon 3 times and New York Marathon 3 times, won three World Cross Country golds)
Jonathan Rea (Northern Ireland - Motorcycling - Won 4 Superbike World Championships)
Wayne Rooney (England - Football - England's all-time top goalscorer, Manchester United's top goalscorer)
Michael Schumacher (Germany - Formula One - Won 7 Championships and a record 91 Grand Prix races)
Maria Sharapova (Russia - Tennis - Won 5 Grand Slams and Olympic Silver)
Kelly Smith (England - Football - 117 caps for England national team, won UEFA Women's Cup with Arsenal)
Annika Sorenstam (Sweden - Golf - Won 90 international tournaments, voted Player of the Year 8 times)
Raul (Spain - Soccer - Most capped Real Madrid player scoring 323 goals, won UEFA Club Forward of the Year 4 times)
Jackie Stewart (Great Britain - Motor Racing - Won three World Drivers' Championships, won 27 Grand Prix races)
AP (Tony) McCoy (Northern Ireland - Horse Racing - Won a record 4358 races, and won Champion Jockey a record 20 times)
Raymond Van Barneveld (Netherlands - Darts - Won World Championship 4 times and World Masters twice)
Lasse Viren (Finland - Athletics - Won four Olympic Gold medals)
Dan Wheldon (England - Motor Racing - Won 2005 IndyCar Drivers' Championship)
Jan Zelezny (Czech Republic - Athletics - Holds the World Record Javelin Throw, won two Olympic Golds and three World Championships)

The deadline is 23:59 Sunday 14th July. Get voting!

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 9th July 2019, 07:08 PM

Copy-paste list without descriptions:
Franz Beckenbauer
Sergey Bubka
Joe Calagzhe
Linford Christie
Jim Clark
Nadia Comaneci
Alastair Cook
Fausto Coppi
Johann Cruyff
Novak Djokovic
Stefan Edberg
Dario Franchitti
Gianfranco Zola
Steffi Graf
Alex Higgins
Graham Hill
Kelly Homes
Ana Ivanovic
Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Dani King
Jurgen Klinsmann
Niki Lauda
Robert Lewandowski
Sebastian Loeb
Paolo Maldini
Lothar Matthaus
Pietro Mennea
Vincenzo Nibali
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Christine Ohourougu
Tony Parker
Paula Radcliffe
Jonathan Rea
Wayne Rooney
Michael Schumacher
Maria Sharapova
Kelly Smith
Annika Sorenstam
Raul
Jackie Stewart
AP (Tony) McCoy
Raymond Van Barneveld
Lasse Viren
Dan Wheldon
Jan Zelezny

Posted by: Mack. 10th July 2019, 02:16 PM

25- AP (Tony) McCoy
24- Michael Schumacher (pre-2010)
23- Novak Djokovic
22- Steffi Graf
21- Jim Clark
20- Ronnie O'Sullivan
19- Franz Beckenbauer
18- Niki Lauda
17- Jackie Stewart
16- Joe Calagzhe
15- Nadia Comaneci
14- Dario Franchitti
13- Raymond Van Barneveld
12- Jonathan Rea
11- Paolo Maldini
10- Sebastian Loeb
9- Alex Higgins
8- Graham Hill
7- Sergey Bubka
6- Lasse Viren
5- Dan Wheldon
4- Jurgen Klinsmann
3- Ana Ivanovic
2- Stefan Edberg
1- Jan Zelezny

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 10th July 2019, 03:16 PM

+25 Novak Djokovic
+24 Joe Calagzhe
+23 Michael Schumacher
+22 Nadia Comaneci
+21 Paolo Maldini
+20 Johann Cruyff
+19 Steffi Graf
+18 Ronnie O'Sullivan
+17 Annika Sorenstam
+16 Franz Beckenbauer
+15 Lothar Matthaus
+14 Fausto Coppi
+13 Paula Radcliffe
+12 Sergey Bubka
+11 Raul
+10 Kelly Holmes
+9 Sebastian Loeb
+8 Alastair Cook
+7 Linford Christie
+6 Jan Zelezny
+5 Niki Lauda
+4 Dani King
+3 Kelly Smith
+2 Lasse Viren
+1 Wayne Rooney

Posted by: Sven10 10th July 2019, 06:08 PM

no 01 Johan Cruijff
no 02 Stefan Edberg
no 03 Maria Sharapova
no 04 Paolo Maldini
05 Raymond van Barneveld
no 06 Niki Lauda
no 07 Nadia Comaneci
no 08 Raul
no 09 Sergy Bubka
no 10 Jackie Stewart
no 11 Ana Ivanovic
no 12 Steffi Graf
no 13 Lasse Viren
no 14 Jan Zelesny
no 15 Franz Beckenbauer
no 16 Novak Djokovic
no 17 Jurgen Klinnsmann
no 18 Robert Lewandowski
no 19 Linford Christie
no 20 Michael Schumacher
no 21 Dario Franchitti
no 22 Sebastian Loeb
no 23 Dan Wheldon
no 24 Ronnie O Sullivan
no 25 Wayne Rooney

Posted by: vibe 13th July 2019, 09:56 AM

+
1. Zola
2. Djokovic
3. Cruff
4. Graff
5. Klinsmann
6. Maldini
7. O Sullivan
8. Schumacher
9. Ohourougu
10. Holmes
11. Edberg
12. Christie
13. Radcliffe
14. Hill
15. Smith

Posted by: King Rollo 13th July 2019, 05:53 PM

This was so difficult.

25pts Novak Djokovic
24 Johan Cruyff
23 Steffi Graf
22 Michael Schumacher
21 Franz Beckenbauer
20 Alastair Cook
19 Ronnie O'Sullivan
18 Niki Lauda
17 Sergey Bubka
16 Joe Calagzhe
15 Kelly Holmes
14 Jackie Stewart
13 Lasse Viren
12 AP McCoy
11 Linford Christie
10 Stefan Edberg
9 Nadia Comaneci
8 Lothar Matthaus
7 Christine Ohourougu
6 Maria Sharapova
5 Raul
4 Jan Zelezny
3 Paolo Maldini
2 Pietro Mennea
1 Paula Radcliffe

Posted by: Severin 13th July 2019, 07:16 PM

+
[*]Michael Schumacher (Germany - Formula One - Won 7 Championships and a record 91 Grand Prix races)
[*]Jim Clark (Great Britain - Motor Racing - Won 1963 and 1965 World Championships)
[*]Johann Cruyff (Netherlands - Football - Won Ballon d'Or three times, received Golden Ball of 1974 World Cup where he captained the Netherlands to the Final))
[*]Franz Beckenbauer (Germany - Football - Captained Germany to a World Cup victory in 1974, European Footballer of the Year twixe)
[*]Niki Lauda (Austria - Formula One - Won 3 World Drivers' Championships, 25-time Grand Prix winner)
[*]Paolo Maldini (Italy - Football - Won 26 trophies with AC Milan, captained Italy for 8 years)
[*]Steffi Graf (Germany - Tennis - Won 22 Grand Slam singles titles)
[*]Jackie Stewart (Great Britain - Motor Racing - Won three World Drivers' Championships, won 27 Grand Prix races)
[*]Kelly Homes (Great Britain - Athletics - Won two Olympic gold medals and two Commonwealth gold medals)
[*]Novak Djokovic (Serbia - Tennis - Won Wimbledon 5 times, US Open 3 times, French Open once and Australian Open 7 times)
[*]Dario Franchitti (GB - Motor Racing - Won IndyCar Series 4 times and Indianapolis 500 3 times)
[*]Lothar Matthaus (Germany - Football - Captained West Germany to win the 1990 World Cup, most capped German player of all time)
[*]Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany - Football - Won 1990 World Cup and 1996 World Championships with Germany)
[*]Linford Christie (England - Athletics - Won 1992 Olympic Gold, three European Championships and one World Championship)
[*]Nadia Comaneci (Romania - Gymnastics - Fist gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10.0 score, won 5 Olympic golds and 10 European Championship golds)
[*]Paula Radcliffe (England - Athletics - Won London Marathon 3 times and New York Marathon 3 times, won three World Cross Country golds)
[*]Graham Hill (Great Britain - Motor Racing - Only driver to win 'Triple Crown of Motorsport')
[*]Sebastian Loeb (France - Rallying - Won 9 World Championship Titles, with 79 rally wins)
[*]Christine Ohourougu (England - Athletics - Won gold in the 2008 Olympics, won two World Championships and one Commonwealth gold)
[*]Wayne Rooney (England - Football - England's all-time top goalscorer, Manchester United's top goalscorer)
[*]Maria Sharapova (Russia - Tennis - Won 5 Grand Slams and Olympic Silver)
[*]Dan Wheldon (England - Motor Racing - Won 2005 IndyCar Drivers' Championship)
[*]Joe Calagzhe (Wales - Boxing - Held World Championships in two classes, won 46 out of 46 fights)
[*]Alex Higgins (Northern Ireland - Snooker - World Champion in 1972 and 1982, won Masters twice)
[*]Kelly Smith (England - Football - 117 caps for England national team, won UEFA Women's Cup with Arsenal)

Posted by: Sarah 13th July 2019, 08:56 PM

25+ Michael Schumacher
24+ Novak Djokovic
23+ Steffi Graf
22+ AP (Tony) McCoy
21+ Johann Cruyff
20+ Joe Calagzhe
19+ Nadia Comaneci
18+ Niki Lauda
17+ Ronnie O'Sullivan
16+ Paolo Maldini
15+ Jackie Stewart
14+ Paula Radcliffe
13+ Kelly Homes
12+ Annika Sorenstam
11+ Sebastian Loeb
10+ Kelly Smith
9+ Dani King
8+ Alastair Cook
7+ Stefan Edberg
6+ Raymond Van Barneveld
5+ Linford Christie
4+ Fausto Coppi
3+ Wayne Rooney
2+ Christine Ohourougu
1+ Jan Zelezny

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 16th July 2019, 11:41 AM

Cutting down Europe was always going to be hard, and the final Finalist being decided on a tiebreak made it even more difficult, but that's how it goes. 10th and 11th were only separated by a single point as well. Maldini making it through seems to be repayment for him losing out to Glenn Hoddle in the Ultimate Footballer at least!

Posted by: King Rollo 16th July 2019, 01:01 PM

Some big names going out there but it was a very strong group of people to choose from.

Posted by: Severin 16th July 2019, 03:16 PM

It was always going to have deserving individuals not make the list but I'd have guessed Jim Clark to beat Jackie Stewart any day

Posted by: Mack. 16th July 2019, 03:23 PM

Pleasantly surprised to see AP (Tony) McCoy finish in the Top20. Shame he didn't qualify but didn't think he would get that high up. Shame to see Graham Hill lower down. The right people have gone through.