MADRID, 31 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The year 2022 that comes to an end this Saturday has left endless sporting moments, as usual, both nationally and internationally. We review some of the ones that we believe are the most outstanding.
1. Deportation of Novak Djokovic. The Serbian tennis player experienced a very uncomfortable situation at the beginning of the year. Despite not being vaccinated against the coronavirus, he traveled to Australia to play the first ‘Grand Slam’, apparently with permission, but upon arriving there, he was detained by the authorities and finally, after several trials, he was deported for being considered a threat to the public health of the country.
2. Final ‘early’ in the African Cup of soccer. The Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe decided to whistle the end of the duel between Tunisia and Mali in the 85th minute to the astonishment of all. After protests, he resumed it, to end up whistling the end again in minute 89. The Tunisians no longer wanted to go out and play despite losing 1-0. The organizers later said that the referee had suffered a heat stroke that had affected him.
3. Virginia returns. On January 23, 2022, Spanish women’s football received great news. Midfielder Virginia Torrecilla, who had undergone surgery for a brain tumor in 2020, was able to step on the pitch again. She was in the final of the Spanish Super Cup at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas at FC Barcelona-Atlético de Madrid. The Spaniard was able to enjoy the last minutes before the ovation of the stands and footballers, and after the clash she was blanketed by the Barça players themselves.
4. Kamila Valieva case. At the Beijing Winter Olympics there was a controversy with the 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who was able to compete despite revealing that she had tested positive at the National Championships. Valieva was the heavy favorite for the individual title, but she could not contain her nerves in the Free Program and was left out of the podium, with the image of her coach cold towards her after her exercise.
5. Invasion of Russia. On February 24, the world came to a standstill after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became official. The sport reacted in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and many federations and organizations sanctioned Russian sports, although their athletes, in some cases such as tennis, were able to compete as neutrals. UEFA banned Russian and Belarusian clubs from participating, and FIFA eliminated the national team from the play-off for Qatar 2022.
6. Insults to Osaka in Indian Wells. The Japanese tennis player suffered an unpleasant incident in the Californian tournament. A fan insulted her and despite the fact that she went to the chair umpire asking to be expelled from her, she was not located. The former number one in the world lost focus, she could not hold back her tears after ending her match with a defeat against Veronika Kudermetova.
7. World record number of spectators at the Camp Nou. The Barça fief experienced two magical nights in the Women’s Champions League, which ended with two full stands. In the quarterfinals, against Real Madrid, 91,553 spectators attended, surpassing the 90,195 for the Rose Bowl during the United States-China match in the 1999 World Cup final. Weeks later, in the semifinals against Wolfsburg, the mark was broken with 91,648.
8. Incidents in the Champions League final. The match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris was marked by incidents before and after. Organized gangs tried to steal tickets and caused chaos at the entrances to the stadium, causing the match to be delayed until 9:30 p.m. so that the ‘reds’ fans, the most affected, could access. After the game, chaos once again reigned in the streets and the fans of both teams experienced difficult situations that led to an investigation by UEFA. An independent report revealed “egregious failures” by the body and harshly criticized the attitude of the French police towards the fans themselves.
9. PGA Tour-LVI break. The usually quiet world of golf suffered a convulsion this year. The irruption of a new circuit, the LIV Golf, with the strong monetary injection of Saudi Arabia, caused many of the figures such as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka or the Spanish Sergio García to head there, breaking with the PGA and the European Circuit. All those who opted for the march lost their membership status and the impossibility of being chosen for the next Ryder Cup, while the players from one side and another have also seen their personal relationship crack in many cases.
10. Andrea Fuentes and her rescue. During the Swimming World Cups, the Catalan, coach of the American team, walked quickly to jump into the pool after verifying that her swimmer Anita Alvarez had fainted while she was submerged and had become unconscious at the bottom. The Olympic medalist acted quickly and avoided a bigger scare.
11. Tension in Nuevo Mirandilla. The match between Cádiz and FC Barcelona in LaLiga Santander 2022-2023 experienced moments of tension when in the final stretch of the match the fans of one of the funds began to report that a person had fainted. The local goalkeeper, Jeremías Ledesma, did not hesitate to run out to ask for a defibrillator and the medical services of both clubs went to the place to help. The game was stopped for almost an hour until the fans could be evacuated.
12. Farewell to two tennis legends. 2022 will also be remembered for the goodbye of two racket sports figures such as Serena Williams and Roger Federer. The American, winner of 23 ‘grands’ and about to turn 41 at the time, said goodbye at the US Open, while the Swiss, champion of 20 ‘Grand Slams’, was forced to do so because of his physical problems . He did it in the Rod Laver Cup playing a doubles with his friend Rafa Nadal, excited after the end of the match.
13. The case of the women’s team. With women’s football experiencing one of its best moments of impact, in September there was a ‘storm’ within the national team and the break between one part and the coaching staff headed by Jorge Vilda. Days later, 15 players sent an ’email’ to the RFEF requesting not to be summoned because of what the situation was causing them on a mental level, and the coach has not counted on them again, nor with the captain Irene Paredes nor the striker Jennifer Hermoso . There is a World Cup in 2023 and the conflict seems, for the moment, difficult to resolve.
14. Kipchoge makes history. The Kenyan athlete achieved the feat of beating his own marathon world record, set at 2:01:39 in 2018. The African achieved it again on the same stage, the streets of Berlin, where he stopped the clock in 2: 01:09.
15. Messi settles his debt. The Argentine striker was finally able to savor world glory. The one from Rosario led Argentina to the conquest of its third star in the World Cup in Qatar, which left many images to remember, with the ’10’ as the protagonist as his already famous ‘What do you look at, silly, go there silly’ that he coached the Dutchman Weghorst after the tense quarter-final duel.
