SportsCafe's Favourite Sporting Memories of the decade

SportsCafe's Favourite Sporting Memories of the decade

no photo

|

Getty

From Barcelona's improbable comeback vs PSG to Arsenal breaking their trophy drought to India's World Cup triumph to Leicester's miraculous league victory, this decade has given us many great sporting moments, and we, the editorial team at SportsCafe, have hand-picked our favorite memories.

Barcelona ‘seis’ed control for the greatest-comeback this decade:

After losing 4-0 in the away leg, as a Barcelona fan, it was heart-breaking. We had lost to PSG, despite having Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr and there was no way we could hide from the humiliation. Barcelona gave away the first leg like a child when the parents force them to give their toy. Camp Nou was destined to witness a miracle if Barcelona wanted to get through to the finals and up stepped the team. Everything fell in place on the day and when it mattered, Neymar, of all the people, stepped up and took the throne literally from the Parisians. If you remember Messi’s gladiator-esque photo in front of the Catalans, you lived your life right. That night had everything - goals, miracles, drama and more importantly, faith. Neymar upped his game in the 80th minute and scored crucial goals to take Barcelona to 5-5 in aggregate, yet the final goal was yet to come. Ter Stegen and Sergi Roberto stepped up after Stegen was fouled in the middle of the pitch and Neymar took the free-kick. Neymar took a touch, turned away from the defender and knocked a left-footed pass straight to the lunging Roberto who won the game as the Camp Nou erupted. Barcelona literally ‘seis’ed their opportunity as the seismic calculator went berserk with HISTORY re-written. 

Wenger’s delight: The end of a 3,283-day long torment 

“What is the most cherished memory in your life?” people keep asking me, to which I reply “Arsenal winning the FA Cup in 2014”.  Unsurprisingly, the reply invokes a few puzzled reactions and judgemental stares (which I can understand), but for me, personally, there is no memory sweeter than that. Ever since the day I started supporting Arsenal, back in 2005, for nine long years until 2014, all the club had given me was one heartbreak followed by the other. And the worst thing was that, they did it after giving me hope; they built me up, they broke me down. On May 17, 2014, everything changed, though. The club that broke my heart for a whole decade, ended up providing me the happiest moment of my life. I, honestly, cannot put into words the sheer euphoria I experienced when Aaron Ramsey’s shot rifled into the bottom corner. But it didn’t hit me until I saw Le Professeur lift the trophy; tears started rolling down my cheeks, uncontrollably. Sporting moments may come and go - hell, Arsenal might even win the Champions League before I die - but to me, nothing will top ever this moment; not in this decade, not in my lifetime. 

'And Dhoni, finishes it off in style'

Not only the greatest sporting memory, April 2, 2011 still remains the best day of this decade for me. I have never been happier, never danced in joy as much as I did that day and never ever has a sportsperson given me more reasons to love this beautiful sport. As MS Dhoni deposited Nuwan Kulasekara for a six over long-on, entire India came to a standstill and let their frustration go. The Hotel Taj Mahal Palace was out of reach for the common public that day and the iconic Mumbai Marine Drive hosted thousands of fans at the top of their voice, blowing horns, trumpets, whistling and screaming into megaphones. Watching all this on the news channels, I was jealous of every single soul in Mumbai out there, witnessing the iconic moment. No shot in this decade mattered as much to an Indian cricket fan as this one, no cricketer in this decade has been revered as much as MS Dhoni and no stadium brings back happy memories more than Wankhede. Underdog Gautam Gambhir became a folk hero, it laid the foundation for Virat Kohli’s journey into the bigger world, and for me, it remained a red-letter day that I would never get bored rewinding.

5000/1: The Miracle in Leicester

It's not because of the fact that they were 5000/1 odds to win it. Not because of the Hollywood-esque story that every single player, assistant coach and even Ranieri himself seemed to have. And it's not because the romantic in me hopes that it paves the way forward, because it really won't. This will never happen again and it may be a cynical thing to say but it won’t, at least not in my lifetime and I'm only 24 years old. It's because in an age where money drives everything, Leicester, dilly ding dilly dong and pizza, gave us hope. But as an Arsenal fan, it killed me because that was our title. It should have been our title and yet, in the end, can you really even hate Leicester City? You can try, you can really try but then you'll be overcome by an overwhelming feeling of hate for yourself for hating them because sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture, and this, well this is like Halley’s Comet. A once in a life-time show and while regret will always be a part of it, the fact that I was there, that I can say that I was there when Leicester City stormed to that title will always be the greatest footballing memory of my life. Well, that’s until the next Arsenal title and who knows how long that might take? Centuries maybe.

Australian Open 2017 - The Return of the King 

“The magnitude of this match is going to feel different. I can't compare this one to any other one except for maybe the French Open in '09. I waited for the French Open, I tried, I fought. I tried again and failed. Eventually, I made it. This feels similar, yeah.” Roger Federer’s words after winning the Australian Open 2017, his fifth on the turf, final against Rafael Nadal still echoes in my ears, his tears still reflect through mine. To many, it was the reestablishment of Federer being the crowned GOAT in the world of Tennis, or at least that the Swiss maestro is the better one among the two champions. Like all Fedal finals, this contest, too, was always going to get scripted in the history books. And I, like my fellow Federer fans, was still hoping for a BEL18VE to happen after half a decade passed by, which also saw three GS final defeats. There was a time I thought the end to the career of one of my favourite sportsmen ever has come but like the greatness of Shawshank Redemption, Federer’s magnificence is indisputable. And while the movie speaks of hope being the best thing ever, Federer makes us believe he’s better than hope itself. And even though Nadal came neck to neck against him by winning the 2nd and 4th sets, the hope I’m talking about was put to life when the KING won five straight games in the last set, after a 1-3 deficit, to win the Championship. Personally, that took away a part of the pain of losing the 2008 Wimbledon final to the Spaniard, at least for a while. 

When Blue Tigers roared in alien den

Why the seventh-largest country has always remained an underachiever in the most popular game in the world is a discussion for some other day, but this decade has given Indian football fans a lot to cheer about. Keeping the 2011 and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification aside, I have summoned a different story altogether. Once I came across a quote which said, “celebrate every success in your life equally.” While many may differ and argue that it’s too complacent in the present-day, I stand by the statement. India has long donned the tag of a ‘sleeping giant’, but it’s high time we wake up from the slumber. I agree to that, but as the saying goes, ‘Rome was not built in a day.’ Newly crowned Asian champions Qatar, fresh from their impressive Copa America Campaign, were set to host India, placed more than 50 ranks below them at home. It would be illogical to believe there’s any outcome of the match apart from a win for the hosts. India, without its talisman Sunil Chhetri, were crippled in arguably one of their biggest games of the decade. Yes, it was tough, we hardly play quality opponents, and taking a shot at the continents top team in their own den was HUGE. The game was uncharacteristically lopsided, but the determination to not let the ball pierce the net was visible. A hard-fought 90 minutes, scoreline untouched, the final whistle, a point snatched away, it was surreal. Wake up India, the ‘Blue Tigers’ are roaring!!!

The Rise of the Phoenix - Sebastian Vettel

Rajashri Majumdar

Not many of us would remember the last race of the 2010 season at Yas Marina Circuit because it was the era of Michael Schumacher and the decade of Lewis Hamilton. But if anyone was there who could have given those two a run for their money, it was Sebastian Vettel. The German F1 driver was third in the championship standings and the last race was a battle between Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber. Alonso was in the lead followed by Webber, but Vettel had other plans for those two as he went past both the drivers to become the youngest ever to win the world championship at the age of 23. The emphatic upset and the vibrant finish to the race left a permanent mark in my memory. There have been so many nail-biting races in the history of Formula 1, but this race had its own aura and adrenaline rush right till the end. Vettel had won the championship by just four points with Red Bull Renault and that little teen in me felt pumped and happy for the German, who has gone on to become one of the greatest drivers the racing circuit has ever produced.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all