| KNOW THE BEST IN SPORT Global Edition |
| February 9-15, 2021 |
History will be made: Tigres vs Bayern
The year is young but there have been quite a few upsets in Association Football. Could it be a pattern that will be repeated this year? More importantly for this week: Does Tigres (MEX) have a shot against Bayern München (DEU) at the Club World Cup Finals?
The obvious answer is that in Association Football, as in sport in general, as long as the ball is rolling every team has a shot. The other obvious answer is that the odds of Tigres upsetting Bayern in the biggest tournament of the year are extremely slim. Tigres are a good team with good payers but Bayern are a better team with better players.
Gignac (FRA) is a great player but Lewandowski (POL) is the best in the World. Rodríguez (MEX) is good but is not Müller (DEU). Guzmán (ARG) is also good but Neuer (ARG) is the best goalkeeper in the world. Tigres and “Tuca” Ferreira, the Manager, know this. So did Holstein Kiel, a 2. Bundesliga team that eliminated Bayern from the German Cup last month.
That defeat by Bayern was not the only one to happen so far. In Spain’s Copa del Rey, LaLiga leader, Atlético de Madrid, was eliminated by Cornellà, a third tier team. Real Madrid by third-tier Alcoyano…These upset wins can happen and do happen. But their rarity is exactly the reason why they are so remarkable.
Indeed Tigres already upset Palmeiras (BRA) but this last Copa Libertadores saw probably the lowest level of Association Football that we have seen in a while at the tournament and Tigres had already eliminated Brazilian teams at Copa Libertadores. Indeed the Liga MX and the Brasileirao are not so far apart in competitive level and some would even place the Mexican league above the Brazilian one.
Both results at the Final will be historic: If we see Tigres beat Bayern then we might have seen possibly the greatest upset in history of Association Football (not in terms of the mismatch but in terms of the stage), but if Bayern wins we will have seen the consolidation of one of the greatest Association Football seasons of all time: The first team in history that has won every single UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Club matches en route to the title. Both will be historic.
| Five things to know from last week |
- Perfect Dominicana. The Dominican Republic is not the first team to win the Caribbean World Series (Baseball) unbeaten, but they are the first to do so with a 7-0 record, by beating Puerto Rico in the Final. In another bat and ball sport, the Sydney Sixers beat the Perth Scorchers to take their second Cricket Big Bash League title in a row (Watch – cricket.com.au)
- Three year comeback and double wins. Danielle Scott (AUS) made an impressive comeback by taking the FIS Aerials Ski World Cup in Deer Valley, three years after her last competition! Also, several skiers won two World Cup golds during the weekend: Halvor Egner Granerud (NOR) and Sara Takanashi (JPN) in Ski Jumping, Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) in Freestyle Skiing, Vinzenz Geiger (DEU) in Nordic Combined and Dmitry Loginov (RUS) in Alpine Snowboard. (Watch Scott’s gold run – FIS)
- Russia wins the ATP Cup. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) is unstoppable. He has three tournaments and fourteen consecutive games triumphing, after winning the ATP Cup with the Russian team (Andrey Rublev, Evgeny Donskoy and Aslan Karatsev), by defeating Italy. Watch the Final Highlights – Tennis TV)
- Intercontinental Champions. Hereda San Pablo Burgos (ESP) defeated Quimsa (AGR) 73-82 to win the FIBA Intercontinental Cup of Basketball. They were dominant throughout the game.(Watch the highlights – FIBA)
- Roczen again. Ken Roczen (DEU) achieved his third consecutive victory in the AMA / World Supercross Championship this year, all three in Indianapolis. (Watch the Round 6 highlights – AMA Supercross)
| GLOBAL PODIUM OF THE WEEK |
 Gold: Tampa Bay Buccaneers(American Football, United States of America) The Buccaneers demolished the Champions, Kansas City Chiefs, by 31-9 at the Super Bowl. Tom Brady (USA) made history by becoming the winningest American Football player of all time, with 7 NFL Championships, more than any other team or player. Watch the game highlights (NFL) |
 Silver: Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schüller(Germany, Bobsleigh) Francesco Friedrich established a new record for most Bobsleigh World Championships won, with 10. By taking his seventh 2-Man Bob World title he also established a new record, and he extended his record of most 2-Man Bob World Titles in a row, with seven. He did this with Alexander Schüller, who is now a 2-Man and 4-Man Bob World Champion. Watch the highlights of their 2-Man competition (IBSF) |
 Bronze: Natalie Geisenberger(Germany, Luge) While she did not have a very remarkable position at the final FIL Luge World Cup race, she scored enough points to win her 8th Luge World Cup title, which is more than any other woman. It is even more impressive that she did it four months after coming back to competition for giving birth. Watch the World Cup highlights (FIL) |
| GLOBAL SPORTS AGENDA Week Preview The FIFA Club World Cup will either see the huge upset by Tigres (MEX) or the consolidation of the best season ever for a Club if Bayern (DEU) wins. Francesco Friedrich could consolidate an almost perfect season at the Bobsleigh World Championships. NASCAR starts its season with its marqueé race, the Daytona 500. The Alpine Ski World Championships just started in Italy. Alpine Skiing: FIS World Championship (ITA) Archery: Indoor Archery World Series Online Association Football: Domestic Cups (FA Cup Fifth Round Proper, Coppa Italia Semi-finals) Domestic Leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, Liga MX, Brasileirão Assaí, Barclays FA Women’s Super League, etc.) FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 Final Athletics: World Athletics Indoor Tour – Gold (FRA, USA) Aussie Rules Football: AFL Women’s Regular Season Autosport: Asian Le Mans Series (Yas Marina Circuit, ARE x2) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Daytona, USA) NASCAR Cup (Daytona Road Exhibition, Daytona 500, USA) TC 2000 (Buenos Aires, ARG) USAC AMSOIL National Sprint (Bubba Raceway Park, USA x3) World Figure 8 Tour (Auburndale Speedway, USA) World of Outlaws Late Models (Volusia Speedway Park, USA x3) World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Woodstock, Eastaboga, USA) World Off-Road Championship Series SXS (Blythe, USA) Bandy: XXIX Championship of Russia. Super League – 2020-2021 Stage I Baseball: Serie Nacional de Béisbol de Cuba Playoffs Basketball: NBA Regular Season Basque Pelota: Campeonato Parejas Clasificación Liguilla Oriamendi Tournament Remonte Biathlon: IBU World Championship Bobsleigh: IBSFWorld Championships Boxing: World Boxing Council World Female Super Bantam Title – Yamileth Mercado (MEX) vs Julissa Alejandra Guzmán (MEX) Boxing: International Boxing Federation World Super Feather Title – Joseph Diaz (USA) vs Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (TJK) World Boxing Organisation World Super Welter Title – Patrick Teixeira (BRA) vs Brian Carlos Castaño (ARG) vacant World Boxing Organisation World Light Heavy Title – Joe Smith Jr (USA) vs Maxim Vlasov (RUS) Chess: Champions Chess Tour Cricket: 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship (Various) Women’s T20 International: South Africa vs Pakistan (x3) Cross-Country Skiing: FIS World Loppet (CZE, EST) Cylo-cross: X²0 badkamers Trofee – Brussels Universities Cyclocross Equestrian (Jumping): FEI CSI5* (USA) Esports: Arena of Valor – RoV Pro League 2021 Summer Arena of Valor – Arena of Glory Spring 2021 Call of Duty League 2021 – Stage 1 League of Legends Spring Seasons (LCK, LCS Spring, LEC, LPL) PUBG Mobile PUBG Global Invitational.S 2021 Quake Pro League Season 2: Stage 2 Starcraft Brood War – AfreecaTV StarCraft Team League Season 2 Freestyle Skiing: FIS World Championship Ski Cross (SWE) Golf: PGA Tour (USA) Handball: 2020–21 EHF Champions League group stage Horse Racing (Flat): Gran Premio Miguel Alfredo Martínez de Hoz (Argentina) C.F. Orr Stakes (Australia) Grande Premio Henrique Possolo, Grande Premio Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) El Derby (Chile) Horse Racing (Jump): Gran Corsa Siepi Nazionale, Criterium d’Inverno e Neni Da Zara Ice Hockey: Kontinental Hockey League Regular Season NHL Regular Season Indoor Soccer: MASL Regular Season Kambala: Vamanjur Thiruvailuguttu Kiteboarding: Red Bull King of the Air 2021 Luge: FIL World Championship Natural Track (Austria) World Cup Natural Track (ITA) Mixed Martial Arts: UFC Welterweight Championship – Kamaru Usman (USA) vs Gilbert Burns (BRA) Motorcycling: FIM Ice Speedway World Championship (Togliatti, RUS) World Off-Road Championship Series ATV (Blythe, USA x2) Para Athletics: Dubai 2021 World Para Athletics Grand Prix – Fazza International Athletics Championships Para Snowboard: WPSB World Cup (FIN) Polo: The $100,000 World Cup by Audi – 0-40 Goal starts (USA) Rugby Union: Premiership Rugby Top 14 Sailing: Prada Cup Shootboxing: SHOOTBOXING OSAKA 2021 ALPINISME Vol.1 Simracing: F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series Formula E: Accelerate iRacing Daytona 500 VCO ProSim SERIES Skeleton: IBSFWorld Championships Ski Jumping: FIS World Cup (POL) Snowboard: FIS World Championship Snowboard Cross (SWE) Natural Selection Tour Surfing: Red Bull Magnitude Tennis: ATP Australian Open (AUS) WTA Australian Open (AUS) Wheelchair Tennis: ITF Grand Slam (AUR) *This agenda is based on official information at time of publication. All events are subject to change and/or cancellation. |
Sport’s best values
| Recognition: Leon Spinks Leon Spinks (USA) passed away after a battle with cancer. Spinks was the protagonist in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, when he beat Muhammad Ali (USA) for the World Heavyweight Title in only his eight professional fight. Spinks reportedly said after the fight: “I’m the latest but he’s the greatest”. |
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We jointly agreed on a one-year deal. First of all, there is a substantial regulation change in 2022 and we also want to see how the world develops, and the company.”
Toto Wolff (DEU)
Mercedes AMG F1 team boss
On the 2021 contract renovation of Lewis Hamilton (ENG).
