Written by Floris-Jan Keus
2020 was a year of ups and downs. Despite the empty stadiums and the cancellation of the Olympic Games and the UEFA Euro 2020, there have also been beautiful moments. We look back on both the good and the bad of 2020.
Let’s start with a positive story. What could be better than Liverpool fans who can finally celebrate a championship of their team again after thirty years?
Liverpool stars, including Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mané, gave ‘The Reds’ its first title since 1990, making it the first ever Premier League title. Liverpool have never been champions in this league, founded in 1992, while it has won the Champions League (2x), the World Cup and the Europa League in the meantime.
Besides the top players, Jürgen Klopp also deserves a lot of credit. In five years, the German manager turned Liverpool into a well-oiled machine, which first won the Champions League and then was too strong for all the top teams in the Premier League. Although there was no big celebration possible, the fans of Liverpool still enjoy the title of “the best team in England” every day.
2020 was a top year for Lewis Hamilton. On November 15, he captured his seventh world title during the Grand Prix of Turkey. The British Formula 1 driver put himself on the same level as Michael Schumacher, who also became world champion seven times. Hamilton can surpass the legendary driver in numbers next year.
Earlier this season, Hamilton already broke a record set by Schumacher. He passed the 91 Grand Prix victories with which Schumacher was the record holder for a long time. Hamilton’s counter has now reached 95 Grand Prix victories.
2021 promises to be another memorable year for Hamilton. It starts on New Year’s Day, when he is knighted for his achievements and social commitment. From 1 January he can call himself Sir Lewis Hamilton. For God and the Empire.
Also in tennis two athletes are at the top together. Due to the thirteenth victory of Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, the Spaniard now has as many Grand Slam titles as Roger Federer. Both won twenty in total.
In October of this year, Nadal won his beloved Roland Garros by beating Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard is always at his best on the gravel in Paris. Since 2005, he has taken home the cup thirteen times. Mainly because of this, he can now call himself the record holder of most Grand Slam titles together with Federer. In 2021, the battle between the two continues.
On to the lows of 2020. One moment that shocked everyone was Romain Grosjean’s accident during the Bahrain Grand Prix. The French driver of Haas was sitting in a burning car for 28 seconds, but managed to escape in time.
Grosjean got into trouble on the first lap when he collided with AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, after which Grosjean crashed into the guardrail at high speed. His car broke in two and caught fire. Everyone watching held their breath. Would the driver still come out alive?
28 seconds later Grosjean managed to get out of his car. “Those 28 seconds felt like a minute and a half. They seemed to pass in slow motion”, he would later say. The 34-year-old Frenchman ended up with only a few burns, partly because the discussed halo, a new safety system, remained intact during the collision.
2020 will also go down in the books as the year in which two sports legends passed away.
On January 26, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, which was also not survived by the seven other passengers, including his daughter Gianna.
Bryant is remembered as one of the greatest basketball players ever, who excelled by his creative play. With the Los Angeles Lakers, he won the NBA championship five times, being voted Most Valuable Player twice. In 2008 and 2012 Bryant won gold with the United States at the Olympic Games. The Los Angeles Lakers star passed away at age 41. His great achievements will stand for eternity.
After sixty years of life, Diego Maradona passed away on November 25 at his home in Argentina. A heart attack took the life of the former football player.
Maradona is regarded worldwide as one of the best football players of all time. He impressed at Boca Juniors and FC Barcelona, took the Argentina team by the hand towards the world title in 1986 and helped Napoli to its first ever league title in 1987. With his fabulous technique and memorable dribbles, he put a smile on the face of many football fans.
After his death, Argentina announced three days of national mourning and Diego Armando Maradona was honored all over the world.
For some, 2020 was a year to forget, but we are taking the good memories back to 2021. Nobody knows what will happen next year, but it is certain that we can enjoy sports more. On to more memorable moments!
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