New Zealand nominated for Laureus Team Of The Year Award

Laureus World Team of the Year nominees:

All Blacks (NZ) Rugby Union - first time a national team achieved a 100% record in professional era
Bayern Munich (Germany) Football - won Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble
Brazil Men's Football Team - won Confederations Cup, beating World Cup holders Spain in final
Bob & Mike Bryan (US) Tennis - completed doubles 'Golden Slam' - four Grand Slams and Olympic gold
Miami Heat (US) Basketball - won NBA title for second straight year, beating San Antonio Spurs in final
Red Bull (Austria) Motor Racing - won fourth straight Formula One Constructors' World Championship

Guess those Bryan boys would be the biggest rivals. Bayern had a stellar year too and are obviously in the biggest sport, but you can't do any more than have a 100% record can you? Especially not in a sport as competitive as rugby.

Who would you guys want to win? Interesting to see the opinions of those non-Kiwis where rugby is their favourite sport.

probably going to be Bayern given how hard an achievement this is and the global appeal of the sport. Germany does not have the mega salaries of England, Spain or Italy, so that is a particularly special achievement in a much more globally competitive sport.

however as far as international sides go, i think it should be the ABs no question. If it were also a RWC year then i would say they would pip even Bayern, but it does feel like a major piece of silverware is required rather than an unbeaten record. For example i am sure there are several international football teams who go through a calendar year with a 100% record. but there can only be one in a world cup year.

Swiss/German founders….never awarded to a German team….Congrats Bayern.

Lions really should be in the finalists though, more anti Welshness

Team of the Year?

Nope.

Team of the Century so far would be more appropriate. Really, it's basically total dominance (a few dips) since rankings were created in 2003.

Winning all matches doesn't seem high on the logic of this. Miami Heat lost 30 games in winning the 12-13 season- I mean if the AB's lost 30 I don't think they'd be up for this. Different horses for courses. Perhaps rugby is easier to get 100%...just don't see a lot of teams doing it.

Bayern Munich lost one in pool play. Red Bull never will all the F1's but hey that pair did win all their tennis matches- 5 tourneys...say 5 matches in each? 25 straight wins...not shabby at all. Brazil were also 100%- they won...all 5.

Go figure...

disneychilly wrote:Laureus World Team of the Year nominees:

All Blacks (NZ) Rugby Union - first time a national team achieved a 100% record in professional era
Bayern Munich (Germany) Football - won Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble
Brazil Men's Football Team - won Confederations Cup, beating World Cup holders Spain in final
Bob & Mike Bryan (US) Tennis - completed doubles 'Golden Slam' - four Grand Slams and Olympic gold
Miami Heat (US) Basketball - won NBA title for second straight year, beating San Antonio Spurs in final
Red Bull (Austria) Motor Racing - won fourth straight Formula One Constructors' World Championship

Guess those Bryan boys would be the biggest rivals. Bayern had a stellar year too and are obviously in the biggest sport, but you can't do any more than have a 100% record can you? Especially not in a sport as competitive as rugby.

Who would you guys want to win? Interesting to see the opinions of those non-Kiwis where rugby is their favourite sport.

Brazils team have no chance- you cant win something like this without actually winning anything. the confederations cup means nothing.

NZ and bayern are the best shouts.

Red Bull. meeeh- killing the sport for me. but yes deserve to be up there

quinsforever wrote:probably going to be Bayern given how hard an achievement this is and the global appeal of the sport. Germany does not have the mega salaries of England, Spain or Italy, so that is a particularly special achievement in a much more globally competitive sport.

however as far as international sides go, i think it should be the ABs no question. If it were also a RWC year then i would say they would pip even Bayern, but it does feel like a major piece of silverware is required rather than an unbeaten record. For example i am sure there are several international football teams who go through a calendar year with a 100% record. but there can only be one in a world cup year.

bayern do have mega salaries and are able to steal all the best players from the teams around them. But anyway still a top team.

mystiroakey wrote:

quinsforever wrote:probably going to be Bayern given how hard an achievement this is and the global appeal of the sport. Germany does not have the mega salaries of England, Spain or Italy, so that is a particularly special achievement in a much more globally competitive sport.

however as far as international sides go, i think it should be the ABs no question. If it were also a RWC year then i would say they would pip even Bayern, but it does feel like a major piece of silverware is required rather than an unbeaten record. For example i am sure there are several international football teams who go through a calendar year with a 100% record. but there can only be one in a world cup year.

bayern do have mega salaries and are able to steal all the best players from the teams around them. But anyway still a top team.

Based on that NZ are a shoo in!!

The only concern is that NZ won nothing of note- No world cup year.

But I would happily give it to them.. 100% record. The 4 nations is insanely tough to win all the games in.. the AI's were really tough tests as well.

Nothing of note? Rugby championship against the #2,#3 teams in the world home and away? And then three-nilled Australia in the Bledisloe cup before a northern hemisphere tour? Fricken NBA teams hardly crossed the street by comparison.

Yes to us rugby fans its of note. But to the wider world. if they won all there games and a RWC - it would be looked at more positively.

mystiroakey wrote:The only concern is that NZ won nothing of note- No world cup year.

But I would happily give it to them.. 100% record. The 4 nations is insanely tough to win all the games in.. the AI's were really tough tests as well.

Lets face it, being a RWC year is hardly a guarantee of success for them now is it and I agree they have won nothing of note in comparison with the other contenders, but the brand requires recognition wherever it goes.  

Bayern's achievement is galactic by comparison

Champions league? It's just a local club competition - same argument applies.

like mysti said. nothing of note.

the rugby championship? that must be a really old name with lots of tradition, no? maybe extending all the way back to 2011?

with lots of countries represented, no?

The Rugby Championship is a bit like the World Series of Baseball in that regard. give it a big name and hope suddenly everyone else is going to give a cr1p.

Does it matter how old it is? Winning it is still the toughest ask in world rugby. Never mind a clean sweep, for the second consecutive year...

The lions only beat Australia twice and fans are still crowing on about it.

especially for the 250 countries who dont take part. their chances of winning are fairly slim

Its tougher to win a RWC mate,

And what about countries that don't play in the nba? Or champions league?

NZ have won it (and the tri-nations beforehand) 6 times since 1996 without losing a game.

and yes NZ have won only ONE world cup in the professional era.

so which is harder again?

GloriousEmpire wrote:And what about countries that don't play in the nba? Or champions league?

well the cl has about 50 odd countries competing which also in truth have representation from almost every nation on earth.

look anyway. I think NZ have a right to win this, but the CL is very global in fact more so than most WC's

quinsforever wrote:NZ have won it (and the tri-nations beforehand) 6 times since 1996 without losing a game.

and yes NZ have won only ONE world cup in the professional era.

so which is harder again?

Depends on how you measure it:

You can make a pretty good argument that's harder to win a rugby championship because you usually have to play the worlds top teams home and away. A world cup on the other hand you might only have a couple of hard games. You just can't afford to drop one of the last 3.

Professional game

World cups
NZ 1 from 4
SA 1 from 4
Australia 1 from 4

Rugby Championships
NZ 12 from 18
SA 3 from 18
Australia 3 from 18

Looks like RC is harder to win for the Boks or Wallabies (who have never gone unbeaten).

mystiroakey wrote:

GloriousEmpire wrote:And what about countries that don't play in the nba? Or champions league?

well the cl has about 50 odd countries competing which also in truth have representation from almost every nation on earth.

look anyway. I think NZ have a right to win this, but the CL is very global in fact more so than most WC's

nobody has a right to win it, despite some believing they do.

Its all opinions inst it.

And it means nothing .

Its not real silverware

mystiroakey wrote:Its all opinions inst it.

And it means nothing .

Its not real silverware

It's nice to be nominated. But you'd expect someone else to win. The sports are bigger and the competition broader.

Scratch wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:

GloriousEmpire wrote:And what about countries that don't play in the nba? Or champions league?

well the cl has about 50 odd countries competing which also in truth have representation from almost every nation on earth.

look anyway. I think NZ have a right to win this, but the CL is very global in fact more so than most WC's

nobody has a right to win it, despite some believing they do.

The CL is a European competition isnt it? so by its very definition is not global. If non Europeans playing in it makes it global then so is the Heineken cup. Not that being global is any reason to win this. I mean how global is mens tennis pairs? Remove the Nadals, Federers, Borgs, Sampras's, Williams etc from the sport and leave pairs and what do you have? Sure the sport is global, but the event certainly isnt high on anyone's discussion list.

Whether the AB's win it or not is irrelevant. It requires subjectivity and with that those selecting the winner have no better reasons than anyone else, much like voting for your local MP.

tennis pairs- dont really get that nomination at all.. It has players competing that arnt good enough to compete in there sport in the first place. Its like picking a t20 cricket team.(and probably less value than that)

bayern fair enough. NZ fair enough. Red Bull fair enough.

Brazil no chance. they haven't even had to play qualifying games for the world cup - so literally no competitive games at all last year- the confederations cup means nothing.

I dont know enough about Basketball to talk about it

SA cricket team should have got a Nom!

mystiroakey wrote:tennis pairs- dont really get that nomination at all.. It has players competing that arnt good enough to compete in there sport in the first place. Its like picking a t20 cricket team.(and probably less value than that)

bayern fair enough. NZ fair enough. Red Bull fair enough.

Brazil no chance. they haven't even had to play qualifying games for the world cup - so literally no competitive games at all last year- the confederations cup means nothing.

I dont know enough about Basketball to talk about it

You have to have at least one American sport in there for credibility. You could argue that they are at least the equivent of a European competition given the size and population of the US. Basketball is global anyway. Baseball's probably at least as global as Cricket, if not more so. Ice Hockey, global, American football.... Umm...ummm... yeh...nah.

blackcanelion wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:tennis pairs- dont really get that nomination at all.. It has players competing that arnt good enough to compete in there sport in the first place. Its like picking a t20 cricket team.(and probably less value than that)

bayern fair enough. NZ fair enough. Red Bull fair enough.

Brazil no chance. they haven't even had to play qualifying games for the world cup - so literally no competitive games at all last year- the confederations cup means nothing.

I dont know enough about Basketball to talk about it

You have to have at least one American sport in there for credibility.

Is that because they're the current superpower? I'd better start getting to know ping pong players then...  

nah, it's because they spend more on sports than the rest of the planet put together, and all these awards ceremonies are glorified PR events

quinsforever wrote:nah, it's because they spend more on sports than the rest of the planet put together, and all these awards ceremonies are glorified PR events

so my point still stands...get ready for ping pong...

if the US also cared about table tennis, then they and China could have the mother of

ping pong ding dongs!

quinsforever wrote:if the US also cared about table tennis, then they and China could have the mother of

ping pong ding dongs!

Yes I know...its the ding dongs that worry me...China havn't had their 'turn' at world domination...(however, a little off the OP perhaps...)

however, on that topic, they launched a massive aircraft carrier last year, that they are yet to design planes capable of taking off and landing from it!

Hmmm....I know another country in that position - except they haven't launched their aircraft carrier yet and their jets were abandoned.

do tell. is that us?

I think he means kom jim wop jo or whatever his name is...the one that invites family around to eat them...

Munchen's I'd say, CL maybe European but that makes it the hardest competition in the Football world. Bundesliga a very difficult domestic league to win. German cup not so much, it is not generally competed but the top clubs but Munchen obviously thought a treble was a worthy thing to aim for. Ahhh the days when Man Utd withdrew from the FA Cup!!!

Barcelona have won the triple before and I'm sure other teams have as well. Not sure if those teams won when they did that but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. NZ have at least in their favour that what they achieved is unprecedented. However, it's such a higgeldy-piggledy mixture that I can't see people looking past what Bayern achieved as Brazil weren't unbeaten I think and nor was Red Bull.

The only thing that could sway the vote is NZ's sponsor AIG. They might be furiously spending US taxpayer money to buy votes so they can get international exposure. Fingers crossed.   

Bearing in mind that England won this in 2004 and South Africa won it in 2008, I dont see how anyone can say that the ABs at the moment arent just as good as those teams.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Barcelona have won the triple before and I'm sure other teams have as well. Not sure if those teams won when they did that but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. NZ have at least in their favour that what they achieved is unprecedented. However, it's such a higgeldy-piggledy mixture that I can't see people looking past what Bayern achieved as Brazil weren't unbeaten I think and nor was Red Bull.

The only thing that could sway the vote is NZ's sponsor AIG. They might be furiously spending US taxpayer money to buy votes so they can get international exposure. Fingers crossed.   

Brazil was unbeaten in the confed cup. P5 won 5. 3 pool, semi and final.
B Munich lost a match in pool play, something the ABs have never done in W cups...ever. I mean, if BM get voted best whatever it is in the world at least one team will say..'well we beat them'. mind you..basketball must be the hardest to win because 14 teams will say that if the Heat win...

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Bearing in mind that England won this in 2004 and South Africa won it in 2008, I dont see how anyone can say that the ABs at the moment arent just as good as those teams.

England won in 2004? After both NZ and Australia destroyed them?

Well this year is 2014 GE, so you can probably assume that the 2004 win was for 2003...you think?

Dunno really, perhaps you meant England had won in the basis of 2004, like in the future folks might say that NZ won it in 2013.

Not sure about the South American games outside the Confederations Cup though Tman.

Bayern Munich will win and probably deservedly so.

As mystiroakey says the Bryan brothers have done well but they are facing the players not good enough for singles. I doubt they would have quite as much luck if the likes of Federer,Murray,Djokovic,Nadal etc took part in the doubles.

ABs would be runners up in my opinion.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Bearing in mind that England won this in 2004 and South Africa won it in 2008, I dont see how anyone can say that the ABs at the moment arent just as good as those teams.

Yeah, NZ had a excellent, ground-breaking year. As others have said, the only thing holding them back is that England and SA had won the World Cup in their period. Rightly or wrongly, that's the thing that might sway it for non-rugby fans as it's the only time the sport gets on their radar.

It might well go to Bayern Munich for sheer weight of numbers but NZ are in with a good shout.

It's good that rugby is represented on the list. Would be shocked if we won but if we did, at least it would make sense to me rather than when Dan Carter won IRB player of the year in 2012 or Richie McCaw in 2009 I think or Dusatoir in 2011.

rainbow-warrior wrote:Munchen's I'd say, CL maybe European but that makes it the hardest competition in the Football world.  Bundesliga a very difficult domestic league to win.  German cup not so much, it is not generally competed but the top clubs but Munchen obviously thought a treble was a worthy thing to aim for.  Ahhh the days when Man Utd withdrew from the FA Cup!!!

bundes difficult to win lol..

take out Bayern and palace could win it... Well now that dortmound have given up everyone of there decent players to Bayern..

schalke and bayer teams 3 and 4 got beat,6-0 and 9-2 to,pl competition in two,legs...

seriously winning bundes these days is a walk in the park. I wouldn't be surprised,if munchen wernt unbeaten in it next year. But that lack,of competition will eventually take its toll. And they wont be contenders on the CL.

So what makes B Munichs CL win last year different from any other CL win? In other words, why doesnt the CL winner win this every year? They lost a pool match so it can't be an unbeaten thing? And how is the CL the toughest competition in the world- is the World cup easier? Or are we splitting hairs...club vs national? there are different grades of toughest in the world in this sport?