Who is the greatest sportsman of them all? (From Hereford Times)

Who is the greatest sportsman of them all?

9:40am Thursday 19th January 2012 in Paul Rogers Blog By Paul Rogers

IT'S a debate that always divides opnion.

Who is the greatest sportsman (or woman) of all time and what criteria do you need to be classed as being "great"?

In my opinion, I think you have that something special that gets people take notice and think, "wow, he's got talent."

I also think that you have to have have accomplished something and proven on the biggest stage that you are the best of the best, but also have a personality that makes you an icon among the viewing public.

Being 28, compiling a list of who I think are the best sportsmen is a difficult one as most were playing before I was born, but I have watched enough footage to known who is great and who is not.

So I have decided to compile a list of who I think has been the best sportsman in their chosen field and overall both in my lifetime and overall. Sadly, Hereford United flop O'Neil Thompson did not make the list.

So here we go...

Football

Close but no cigar: Diego Maradona, George Best, Johann Cruyff, Michel Platini, Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbauer, Jairzinho, Socrates, John Charles, Stanley Matthews, Duncan Edwards, Lionel Messi, Ryan Giggs.

Best in my lifetime: Zinedine Zidane

Messi may overtake him eventually, but Zidane had it all, plus he won the World Cup.

Best of all time: Pele.

His record speaks for itself - 1,282 goals in 1,363 games, plus a three time World Cup winner.

Cricket

Close but no cigar: Sir Ian Botham, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Garfield Sobers, Curtley Ambrose, Sir Jack Hobbs, Dennis Lillie, Sir Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Best in my lifetime: Shane Warne

Murali may have got more wickets, but Warney had the style to go with his genius-like talent.

Best of all time: Donald Bradman

When you have a batting average of 99.94, you deserve your place at the top of the list.

Rugby Union

Close but no cigar: Jonah Lomu, Serge Blanco, Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, Francois Pienaar, Gareth Edwards, Zinzan Brooke, Philippe Sella, Jason Leonard.

Best in my lifetime and overall: David Campese

The way he lit up the 1991 World Cup with his energetic displays tips it for me.

Golf

Close but no cigar: Nick Faldo, Jack Nicholas, Tom Watson, Ben Hogan, Seve Bellesteros, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Gene Sarazan

Best in my lifetime and all time: Tiger Woods

Forget his off-field shenanigans, on the golf course the guy is a genius.

Tennis

Close but no cigar: Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Rafa Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Rod Laver

Best in my lifetime and all time: Roger Federer

He has taken tennis to a new level and has been involved in some of the best Wimbledon finals of all time.

Boxing

Close but no cigar: Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Dempsey, Evander Holyfield

Best in my lifetime: Mike Tyson

Literally an animal. At his peak he could beat anyone.

Best of all time: Muhammad Ali

Took boxing to a new level and had the charisma to go with it.

Snooker

Close but no cigar: Ronnie O'Sullivan, Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Jimmy White, John Spencer, John Higgins

Best in my lifetime and all time: Stephen Hendry

When you look at his record there can only be one winner. Brilliant player.

Other sports

Close but no cigar: Sir Steve Redgrave, Michael Jordan, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt, Phil Taylor, Chris Hoy, Mark Cavendish, Eddy Merckz, Mark Spitz, Ian Thorpe, Michael Phelps, Daley Thompson, Carl Lewis, Haile Gebrselassie, Babe Ruth, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Valentino Rossi, AP McCoy, Lester Pigott

Best in my lifetime and all time: Lance Armstrong

Seven time Tour De France winner whilst battling against cancer - need I say more?

Best overall sportsman in my lifetime

A very tough choice, but I have to go for Lance Armstrong as for me the Tour de France is the toughest sporting event out there

Best overall sportsman of all time

Again a very tough choice, but I have to go for Muhammad Ali. Not just for his in-ring ability but his personality meant that he had an affiliation with the viewing public like no other.

• Do you agree with my selection? Let me know what you think by commenting here, emailing me at paul.rogers@herefordtimes.com, send me a tweet @podge1983 or message my via my Facebook page, "Paul Rogers Blog for the Hereford Times"