Top 5 Sports Highlights of 2014

I badly wanted to include both Sundowns and Floyd Mayweather in the five, while my garrick fishing quest at Zinkwazi also came to mind.

However, my brief was to select just five and I had better not annoy the boss by straying beyond the limits set for this assignment.

Here is my five and note that my choice of the FIFA World Cup at number one is with a particular order in mind.

1. FIFA World Cup in Brazil

The 2014 tournament is the best I have seen. It treated us with many goals, an attacking philosophy and a spectacular demolition of the host nation. England were spectacularly unimpressive, while Cameroon were very far from being Indomitable Lions. My beloved Italy also proved poor at this excellent tournament and Luis Suarez took too literally his role of adding bite to the Uruguayan attack. I thought Germany and Argentina were both very good and deserving of their spots in the final. Lionel Messi was not at his deadly best in the title decider, but overall I believe he had a decent tournament and can feel good about an improved contribution to the national cause. I was very happy to see the final decided by a delightful finish from Mario Gotze. I am not a great fan of penalty shoot-outs.

2. Marc Marquez rules MotoGP

Talk about MotoGP greats almost inevitably ends up with the mention of names such as Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi and Mick Doohan. I guess some would also argue for the inclusion of Eddie Lawson on this elite list. Freddie Spencer, Kenny Roberts and Wayne Rainey will also have their supporters. These motorcycling legends all won multiple world titles and I believe that Marc Marquez is just about ready to be added to the Hall of Fame. The past season was a stunning one for the 21-year-old Spaniard. Marquez claimed his second MotoGP crown and won a record 13 races in the process. Marquez, the youngest ever MotoGP champion, also has 125cc and Moto2 world titles under his belt.

3. Proteas return to Test summit

South Africa entered 2014 in the wake of the retirement of Jacques Kallis. He spent 18 years in the Test side and many feared the consequences of his departure. However, the Proteas moved on in style and ended the year ranked number one in Test cricket. AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla stepped up to the plate impressively, while Faf du Plessis underlined his value with some important contributions at number three. Dean Elgar is beginning to look like a Test opener. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander were again excellent. I am also encouraged by the form shown by Kyle Abbott, the return of Marchant de Lange from injury and the obvious potential of Kagiso Rabada. I am a tad concerned about our spinning options. Imran Tahir blows very hot and then very cold. Dane Piedt was impressive in his Test debut, but it was against Zimbabwe. I guess Simon Harmer and Eddie Leie are knocking on the door and maybe I should have more faith in our slow bowling resources. After all, the Proteas did manage a Test series win in Sri Lanka this year with JP Duminy useful with the ball on that trip. The one big disappointment of the year was the home Test series loss to Australia. Mitchell Johnson again proved a formidable foe, while David Warner took a liking to a bowling attack not used to being disrespected in such spectacular fashion.

4. Glasgow glory for Le Clos and Springboks

The Springbok Sevens squad struggled for consistency in the 2014 IRB Sevens Series, but were forgiven when they delivered a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow. South Africa edged four-time champions, New Zealand, in the final with Seabelo Senatla scoring two tries in a 17-12 victory over the mighty All Blacks. The Blitzbokke beat both Samoa and Scotland on their road to the gold medal match. KZN swimmer, Chad le Clos, also flew the South African flag high in Glasgow. Le Clos won no fewer than seven medals and later in the year also starred in the FINA World Cup series and at the World Short-Course Championships in Doha.

5. Bafana Bafana secure Nations Cup berth

Shakes Mashaba succeeded Gordon Igesund as Bafana Bafana coach this year and has made a massive impact during his time in charge. Bafana won their qualifying group for the Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea and avoided defeat in doing so. They also secured a point in Nigeria and came within minutes of beating the Super Eagles in that memorable 2-2 draw. Bafana achieved this success despite the death of captain, Senzo Meyiwa, during their AFCON qualifying campaign. Bafana also had to make do without the injured Itumeleng Khune. They will face Algeria, Ghana and Senegal in Group C at the Nations Cup finals. Their opening match is against the Algerians on 19 January. Amazulu striker, Bongani Ndulula, is the only KZN-based player in the Nations Cup squad named by Mashaba on 30 December.

Including a Uefa Champions League and La Liga double for Atletico Madrid here sure would have been awesome for me, but that dream was shattered in Lisbon in Real nasty fashion.

(File Photo: Josh Skevington)

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre