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The nature of sport produces winners and losers. For every champion, there's a chump. For every glorious victory, a crushing defeat.
Normally, it's just those who came out on top that get remembered. Not today.
Today, we celebrate those who stunk up 2015. This sporting year was a vintage one for things failing to go to plan, situations that left some burying their head in the sand, heading for the exit door or just standing around dancing awkwardly in a shark costume.
It was an annus horriblis for IT guys, Swiss hotel managers and in a way, us all, who suffered every catastrophe with them along the way. It would not have been half as memorable a year as it was without them.
Who were the sporting losers of 2015? Check out our list below...
Show all 9 1 /9The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 Nigel Pearson Have you ever noticed how Nigel Pearson is immediately installed as favourite when any average Championship club sack their manager? The former Leicester boss’ stock remains high despite a controversial 2015: In February, following two weeks at the Alan Pardew School of Touchline Etiquette, he attempted to throttle an opposition player in James McArthur, and later tried to confuse a journalist with a bizarre game of 20 questions – 'Have you been on holiday for six months? Is your head in the sand? Are you an ostrich?' Rather than returning to football, he’d be better taking some time out, perhaps a trip away with the family – not his son though. The Foxes he left, meanwhile, are now the best team in England.
Plumb Images/Leicester City FC/Getty Images
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 Jose Mourinho The Special One would have had 2015 ticked off as an unwavering success back in May after his Chelsea side claimed another Premier League, but absolutely nothing has gone right for the Portuguese in the defence of that title. Hated more by the medical profession than Jeremy Hunt following his treatment of club doctor Eva Carneiro, Mourinho is also loathed by families across the country after his seven-minute meltdown following a televised Saturday evening home defeat to Southampton ate into the start of Pointless Celebrities on another channel. The Blues boss looked to have hit rock bottom three weeks later at West Ham: dismissed to the stands with his side behind once again, Mourinho was subjected to taunts from a nearby Danny Dyer. Mug. And then he was sacked.
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 Right Shark What’s your favourite moment in Super Bowl history? Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction in 2004? The Boss and the E Street Band rocking out Tampa Bay back in 2009? Paul McCartney wheeling out his piano for yet another rendition of Hey Jude a decade ago? (Ok, ignore that lost one). In February, the NFL had a new hero as Super Bowl XLIX’s MVP award went to a backing dancer known only as Left Shark. Out of time and bereft of rhythm, Left Shark completely stole Katy Perry’s half-time show, almost breaking the Internet as social media, Photoshops and memes went into overdrive. A legend had been born. Apparently, the New England Patriots also beat the Seattle Seahawks that night but – just like Right Shark – nobody cares or remembers.
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 The Manager of the Baur-au-Lac Association with undesirable characters can affect a brand’s reputation, just look as the negativity surrounding Premier Inn and the use of Ainsley Harriott... sorry, Sir Lenny Henry in their television adverts. However, it’s another hotel – the five-star Baur au Lac in Zurich – that makes it into our losers list after it was raided, not once, but twice by police in order to arrest Fifa officials. One can only imagine that the man in charge of the Baur au Lac is some kind of Basil Fawlty figure, ignorant to the misdemeanours of Sepp Blatter and Co, allowing them to operate in peace because he mistakenly believes them to be a group of visiting hotel inspectors.
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 The IT guy at Real Madrid David De Gea's failed transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid is already the stuff of legend. As soon as the deal fell through a propaganda war not seen since the end of the cold war over what had gone wrong began. Both sides blamed the other but they did appear to agree that it had something to do with the necessary paperwork failing to go through on time, which in turn was reportedly down to Real Madrid's failure to open a document sent to them by United. Cue a lot of memes involving that irritating Microsoft Office Paper Clip and probably a severe rollicking for the IT man at Real Madrid.
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 David Ginola It turns out that the football world doesn't love David Ginola as much as he loves himself. The house-wives favourite sprung the biggest surprise since he was voted 1999 PFA Player of the Year when he announced that he would be vying Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency. He had the backing of a big betting firm, but unfortunately not the five nominations from the football federations he needed, so two weeks after his big announcement he was out of the race. It made Ginola look a bit of a fool, but at least the man himself still thought he was perfect: 'Just as I did as a player, I gave everything until the final whistle.'
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 Suzann Pettersen In a year when much has been done to market women’s sport to wider audiences, nothing has worked quite as well as good old-fashioned controversy. During September’s Solheim Cup, Europe’s Suzann Pettersen failed to concede a two-foot putt after American Alison Lee had mistakenly picked up her ball on the 17th green, mistakenly believing she had been awarded the hole. Whether it was gamesmanship, an unsporting attitude or a belief that Lee may go all Wayne Rooney with her close-range shot, Norwegian Pettersen remained unmoved despite tears from both her opponent and playing-partner, Charley Hull. The contentious incident, however, proved to be the catalyst for a dramatic USA comeback; trailing 10-6 at that point, they eventually prevailed to a deserved 14.5-13.5 win. Just don’t think this makes up for Brookline.
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 Shane Watson When recalling this year’s cricket, it’s hard to ponder the term loser and not envisage Adam Lyth’s sad face, making its way back to the pavilion following an awkward knock of seven. However, Lyth would eventually end the summer an Ashes winner, and so it is the Australian Shane Watson who makes our list. Belittled by the English team and supporters, seemingly disliked by his own country, this walking wicket was trapped leg before in both innings of the First Test in Cardiff back in July. Not only were his scores of 30 and 19 of little help to the cause, his rash actions – like a drunk footballer let loose on Twitter – in reviewing both decisions unsuccessfully would hinder his side later in the game. The Aussies would go on to lose the match by 169 runs and the series 3-2; Watson has not played Test cricket since.
The nine biggest sporting losers of 2015 Anyone who stayed up late to watch sport The idea of staying up through the night to watch sport has always been more exciting in theory than in practice, and you can blame years of watching batting collapses live from Adelaide for that. However, with the Ashes scheduled in England this year, night owls had to instead endure Laura Bassett's injury-time own-goal, that saw England eliminated from the Women’s World Cup semi-final, and, much worse than that, Tyson Fury singing Aerosmith for their sporting anti-climaxes. Fury’s dulcet tones though were not Boxing’s biggest crime in 2015, and the millions who tuned in to watch Floyd Mayweather’s long-awaited fight with Manny Pacquiao live from Las Vegas were rewarded with 12 rounds of tedium that even made the second series of Broadchurch seem enthralling. Spare a thought for the true insomniacs.
Who do you think was the biggest loser of the lot? Let us know in the comments...
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