Sports witnessed quite a lot of individual and team brilliance in the outgoing year with Barcelona, led by class-act, Lionel Messi, sweeping all before them while Cadel Evans also had a brilliant year winning the Tour de France after two failed attempts. Below are some of the highlights of 2011Brilliant BarcelonaBarcelona joined the list of the greatest teams of all time with a totally dominant 2010-2011 season. Their 3-1 demolition of Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in the UEFA Champions League final in May was billed as a clash between world footballs two giants - but showed just how good Pep Guardiolas team really are. Goals from the irrepressible Lionel Messi, Pedro and David Villa confirmed their undoubted superiority in front of nearly 90,000 people. Messi crowned an incredible season individually by winning the 2010 FIFA Ballon dOr. Barcelona were also the dominant force domestically, winning the La Liga title by four points after a tough battle with archrivals Real Madrid.Barcelona had one of the most memorable years in their prestigious history in 2011. Five titles, including their third consecutive Liga title, a Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and their fourth UEFA Champions League title have made 2011 one of the most historic years in the Blaugranas storied history.Rooney wonder volleyA year that has thrown up some truly remarkable results in the Barclays Premier League has been dominated by Manchester in 2011. While Manchester City have set an imposing pace in the 2011-2012 half of the year, it was Sir Alex Fergusons Manchester United side that enjoyed the spoils of victory in the 2010-2011 season. Their EPL premiership win was impressive given many questioned the relative strength of Uniteds squad compared to previous Manchester United sides, but they were good enough to beat Chelsea, City and Arsenal. In a year of magic in Manchester, was there a more enduring image than that of an airborne Wayne Rooney scoring a spectacular overhead kick in the Manchester derby' It heralded Rooneys return to form, was one of the goals of the season and was the turning point for the Red Devils in their premiership-winning campaign.Djokovic sweeps Federer, Nadal outWhat a year for the Joker as he swept all before him, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on his way to an unbelievable 43 match winning streak which only ended in June at the hands of Roger Federer in the French Open. Clay obviously isnt his forte so it was no surprise that he was eventually undone on that surface.It may be a while before we see that sort of winning streak again, an amazing achievement by the Joker and at his age he will be around for many years to come!In the semi-final of the 2011 US Open, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer looked across the net at each other like a pair of prizefighters. One more punch would do it and it was the Swisss turn to go for the knockout. He led 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 5-3 and serving at 40-15. He could not believe what happened next. He put his first serve wide and underdone, it sat up - and the Serb belted a hit-and-hope cross-court forehand from heaven. Djokovic held his arms wide with a What can I say' shrug. Federer netted the next point for deuce and the match was gone. For the second year in a row, he had blown two match points against Djokovic. He was as close to livid as he has been since his wild teenage years.Li Na wins French OpenOn June 4, Li Na became the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a tennis Grand Slam by dropping defending champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 to earn the French Open title. Although Na subsequently struggled post-French Open in 2011, nothing can take away from this career highlight.Sam slams major doubtsSamantha Stosur silenced her doubters and ended a 31-year Australian drought in female tennis when she won the US Open in September. Her magnificent win on Arthur Ashe Stadium against hometown favourite Serena Williams was the finest display of her career, erasing the demons of her loss to Francesca Schiavone in the 2010 French Open final. Stosur didnt miss a beat as she became the first female Aussie to win a grand slam since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980. While Williamss ugly spat with the umpire threatened to rob Stosur of the spotlight, her masterful performance was the highlight of the year for Australian tennis fans.Another title for SlaterKelly Slater notched his 11th Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title in San Francisco in November. Such is the magnitude of the achievement, it prompted Fuel TVs Mark Occhilupo to declare Slater the greatest sportsman of all time. High praise indeed, but Slater has a strong case after remaining at the pinnacle of his sport for over 20 years. Slaters win was delayed momentarily by a farcical maths error by surfings governing body, but it only delayed the inevitable in Hawaii, before Slater rightfully claimed another world crown.Bolts blitz in Daegu relayIn eight days of competition nobody had broken a world record in Daegu. The closest thing the World Championships had come to a single defining moment was Usain Bolts disqualification for a false start in the 100m final. But Bolt wanted to deliver something special for the public. In the very last race he and his team-mates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Yohan Blake broke Jamaicas own world record mark in the 4x100m relay, and did it in style. When Blake handed the baton to Bolt on the final bend, chaos erupted in the lanes around them. Britains Harry Aikines-Aryeetey collided with the USAs Darvis Patton, who tumbled, causing Trinidad and Tobagos Aaron Armstrong to leap up and out of his lane. Jamaica cruised serenely on. Bolt seemed to have the track to himself, but ran hard regardless. His split was clocked at 8.7 seconds, Jamaica finished in 37.04sec.Sallys remarkable winSally Pearsons beaming smile made its way back into the headlines this year when she claimed a gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles at the world championships in South Korea in September. Pearson smashed her personal best twice in the one night and moved to fourth on the all-time list after her time of 12.28 seconds in the final. Pearson, who came second at the Beijing Olympics before being disqualified in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, will have her eyes not only on securing gold in London in 2012, but on smashing Bulgarian Yordanka Donkovas 23-year-old world mark of 12.21 seconds. Pearson is only the 10th Australian to claim gold at the Athletics World Championships, and her year culminated by claiming the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year award alongside male winner Usain Bolt.New Zealand claim World CupIt was supposed to be a walk in the park, but the Rugby World Cup final turned out to be anything but a stroll for New Zealand. Undefeated for the tournament, the All Blacks went into the match as unbackable favourites and when prop Tony Woodcock crossed after 15 minutes the floodgates were expected to open. But, the All Blacks couldnt add to their lead until after the break where fourth-string fly half Stephen Donald slotted a penalty for an 8-0 lead. Moments later, France sent a shock through Eden Park, their skipper, Thierry Dusautoir, running a wonderful line to touch down next to the posts. Les Bleus trailed by just one point for 33 nerve-wracking minutes but, for once, the All Blacks held firm under pressure to the immense delight and relief of the 60,000-strong crowd.Cricket: End of an eraAfter three Ashes defeats in five years and with Australias World Cup winning streak over, the writing was on the wall for Ricky Ponting. The most winningest captain in Test cricket history, Ponting handed the reigns to his deputy Michael Clarke in March and made the almost unprecedented decision to play on under the new skipper. For a man who had acheived so much at the helm, it was fitting that Pontings brilliant 104 in Australias World Cup quarter-final loss to India was his last act as captain.Tiger winsAfter a 749-day slump, Tiger Woods managed to finally pull off a win at the Chevron World Challenge. Maybe this means the old Tiger is back, but it will be interesting to see what 2012 will bring.McIlroy breaks recordsRory McIlroy showed us that records are made to be broken when he broke numerous records at the U.S. Open, including the 72-hole scoring record previously held by Jack Nicklaus, Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk.Stevenson takes world titleFor sporting drama alone, Sarah Stevensons narrow last-gasp victory over Guo Yunfei of China to seal the third world title of a consistently successful taekwondo career was remarkable. Considered alongside her personal circumstancesshe flew to Korea in May to compete for the welterweight title two weeks after learning both her parents had been diagnosed with terminal cancerit was nothing short of extraordinary. Her father died in July and her mother in November. Stevenson is determined to win gold in London in their memory. I want to win gold for mum and dad. After that, I can start grieving properly.Cadel Evans2011 Tour de France winner!This easily rates as the best sporting moment of 2011. Cadel Evans finished runner-up in the Tour de France on two previous occasions, that alone would be enough to hang up the bike and call it a day. Not for Cadel though, at 34 years old, the fifth oldest winner in the Tours history, Cadel became the first Australian to win the event in its 108 year history.
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