Football: Maradona/Cantona
Cricket: Shane Warne
Tennis: Johnny Mac/A.Murray
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Snooker: Stephen Hendry
Darts: Andy Fordham, Barney
Boxing: Mike Tyson
F1: Schumacher
Athletics: Haile Gebrselassie
Golf: Nick Faldo... hoping its rory one day.
Football:
Well starting with football.. Maradona is the player who represents everything thats great in the game and a beacon of excellence. Also alot of the way I play the game, or coach it is by trying to make kids play like him, not only just dribble and score goals but be creative and out of the box.
For me Cantona was a similar player would try things no one else would do. He also happened to be one of the very footballers I go to know as a little kid watching football and he happened to play for a team in red which was my favourite colour.. yep could easily have been a dipper.
I would love to say Rooney and Ronaldo (C) in the future, but in my opinion they've become effiecient footballers rather than magical and they're not in the same league in terms of entertainment as the players I've mentioned.
Cricket:
Having played cricket and being a leg spin bowler.. it was always going to be 'SHAANE'.
Tennis: Weird one for me because even though I've watched tennis for eon's I never felt attached to any player.. I found Sampras boring, Agassi abit aloof and then when the modern generation came in I took a dislike to Federer's mental frailties as soon as he came up against the likes of Nadal who for me is a true warrior.
Murray was the one who caught me eye, one because he is british but I can relate to his talented but very lazy approach and I'm a big fan of him.
I picked Macenroe because out of all the players through history, he's the one who like Maradona is a flawed genuis and a true character.
Basketball:
TBH I just picked him cause of Space Jam.
Snooker:
I've always been a massive Hendry fan and his uber attacking play.. going for every shot and making it, breathtaking player and it irked me that Ronnie is lauded for being a flair player and yet Hendry who is so attack-minded in his own right is made out to be this dour effecient player. He was much more than that and he's the Manchester United of snooker for me to Ronnie's Arsenal.
Darts:
Even though I greatly respect Phil Taylor, I've just never warmed to him as a person... just a vibe I don't like. Fordham I loved especially when he won his first and only world title, great character and a genuine nice guy.. such a shame he happened to be a one hit wonder due to weigt loss etc.
Barney, a real showman and really laid back.. and the only one who can scare Taylor.
Boxing:
Fast, furious... no gamesmanship, just old school 'I'll feck your brains out', Tyson... what a phenom he was. Love his story as well, bit like Gazza.
F1:
Always favoured him over Ice-cold Hakkinen.. with Schumacher, there was different layers to his genius and he was a flawed man in many respects but a man who loved to win as well as entertain. Just wish he'd do better in his comeback.. its looking embarassing.
Athletics:
Always smiling and a true sporting great.
Golf:
Never been too attached to any players, just like the sport itself.. but having watched Faldo's career through archives and also because he is british and reminds me abit of Harrison Ford, I'd guess its him.
and Del Piero and Nedved.
