The Greatest Team Ever

[On the Left Wing]

BBC Radio Five Live is holding a poll for the greatest team ever (from many different sports).

The link is on the BBC home page http://www.bbc.co.uk

My top 5
1. Wales Rugby Team of the 1970s
2. Brazil World Cup Winning side of 1970
3. The Liverpool team that won 3 Europeam cups in 5 years
4. The West Indies cricket side of the 1980s
5. The England Ashes side of 2005


what's yours?

 

[Dave the OAP]

Brazil Team of the 70's
Russian Ice Hockey Team of the 70's
Real Madrid - Pushkas etc ( 1950's)
Redgrave, Pinsent, Cracknell and the other bloke - British Rowing 4
Ferrari - Schumacker and barrichello ( 1990's/2000's)

 

[enigma]

The Chicago Bulls of the 90s
The AC Milan team of the early 90s

 

[Barrel of Fun]

In no particular order.

AC Milan early 90s
Hungary 50s
Wales Rugby Union 70s
West Indies 80s
Australia Cricket 90s/early 00s

 

[CHAPPERS]

The A Team.

 

[Gwylan]

Strange list OLTW: it has two cricket teams, yet it doesn't include the two that are widely regarded as the best of all time, the 1948 Australians and the Australian team that won 16 test matches in a row in the early 2000s.

Nor does it mention the Real Madrid team of the 50s/60s.

It has the Welsh rugby team of the 70s but not the Australian 1984 team - the best I've ever seen - and the one generally regarded as the best ever to tour the UK.

Therefore my best:

1948 Australian cricket team
1950s Real Madrid
1970 Brazil team
1984 Australian rugby team
early 2000s Australian cricket team

 

[On the Left Wing]

Strange list OLTW: it has two cricket teams, yet it doesn't include the two that are widely regarded as the best of all time, the 1948 Australians and the Australian team that won 16 test matches in a row in the early 2000s.

Nor does it mention the Real Madrid team of the 50s/60s.

It has the Welsh rugby team of the 70s but not the Australian 1984 team - the best I've ever seen - and the one generally regarded as the best ever to tour the UK.

Therefore my best:

1948 Australian cricket team
1950s Real Madrid
1970 Brazil team
1984 Australian rugby team
early 2000s Australian cricket team

Good list G

I was torn on the Real Madrid team of the 50s and early 60s ... but as I never saw them play I opted for Liverpool instead

As for the rugby I chose the Welsh side of the 1970s for two reasons ... they dominated the sport for almost 10 years and they played with such verve and natural ability and in King Barry John, JPR Williams, Phil Bennet and Gareth Edwards had players that I never cease tiring watch even on video replays

As for the cricket ... I guess my choice is tainted by the fact that the Ashes triumph was such a short time ago

 

[SK1NT]

1)Brazil World Cup Winning side of 1970

 

[Gwylan]

Good list G


As for the rugby I chose the Welsh side of the 1970s for two reasons ... they dominated the sport for almost 10 years and they played with such verve and natural ability and in King Barry John, JPR Williams, Phil Bennet and Gareth Edwards had players that I never cease tiring watch even on video replays

Yeah, it was a great team and my sixth choice. Barry John was my boyhood hero so it was a hard choice to leave them out.

But that Aussie side was awesome and Mark Ella was even better than Barry..much as it hurts me to admit it.

I didn't see the Real Madrid side either but their record speaks for itself.

 

[Stinky Kat]

Much as it pains me to say it the Arsenal team that did not lose all season a few years back were, well, unbeatable really.

Best teams that I actually like are

Milan with Van Basten and Gullit
Brazil in 1970
The current England cricket team when Simon Jones and Ashley Giles are fit - perhaps not the greatest as Pakistan is proving but we will never know as Jones is injured

 

[On the Left Wing]

The current England cricket team when Simon Jones and Ashley Giles are fit - perhaps not the greatest as Pakistan is proving but we will never know as Jones is injured

They were my fifth choice .... just wish John Emburey was 15/20 years younger as I still think Giles is a bit of a weak link as a spinner

 

[GUNTER]

The team at KFC in Brighton. Wonderful food, wonderful times!

 

[driddles]

For perspective on how far apart the sporting scenes are in North America and England I give you Sports Illustrated top 5 (1999)


1 1957-1969 Boston Celtics
Your grandpop will tell you how fundamentally sound these guys were, but they were also a runnin', gunnin' bunch led by Mr. Defense (Bill Russell), Mr. Offense (Bob Cousy) and Mr. Offensive (Red Auerbach), whose victory cigars lent a distinctive air to the Shamrocks' 11 championships in 13 years.

2 1946-1949 Notre Dame Football
Only one team could match up with Notre Dame in the years after World War II: the Irish second string. In four seasons under coach Frank Leahy, Notre Dame went 36-0-2, won three national titles and had two Heisman Trophy winners (Johnny Lujack, in 1947, and Leon Hart, in '49).

3 1964-1975 UCLA Basketball
The Bruins won so effortlessly--their average margin in 10 championship games over 12 seasons was 13.4 points--that many forget coach John Wooden started at UCLA in 1948 and made only one Final Four appearance before his remarkable run began in '64.

4 1947-1962 New York Yankees
The Yankees won 10 championships in the sweetest 16-season run the game has ever known--and lost Game 7 in '55, '57 and '60. In this era Joe DiMaggio passed the crown to Mickey Mantle, his teammate in '51, and Yogi Berra became as much a World Series fixture as the decorative bunting.

5 1991-1998 Chicago Bulls
In six trips to the NBA Finals, these Monsters of the Midway faced five different opponents--the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Suns, SuperSonics and the Jazz (twice)--and each time series MVP Michael Jordan led them to the championship. Rarely can the essence of dominance be stated so simply: If Michael Jordan played a full season, Chicago won it all.

 

[Gwylan]

The team at KFC in Brighton. Wonderful food, wonderful times!

You surprise me Gunter. I thought you were going to say the Cheeky Girls.

 

[The Large One]

3. The Liverpool team that won 3 Europeam cups in 5 years

That was several teams, with probably only two or three players who played in all three finals.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Harlem Globetrotters - they never lose.

 

[driddles]

One interesting one on S.I. list at #11 - I never would of thought of this...


11 1968-1999 Kenyan Runners
It started with Naftali Temu, who won the 1968 Olympic 10,000 meters. Since then Kenyan men have won nine Olympic gold medals and 13 world titles and set 24 world records at distances from 3,000 meters to 10,000 meters. They've won 14 straight world cross-country team titles, the past nine Boston Marathons and every Olympic steeplechase they've entered since '68.

 

[Gwylan]

I know that it was recent and it was a great series but to call the Ashes-winning team one of the greatest ever is going a bit far: they're probably not even in the top 10 cricketing teams of all time.

I'll change my 1948 Australians to the 1969/70 South African team that thrashed Australia: Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Mike Proctor, Eddie Barlow etc...now that was a team.

 

[Hiney]

The A Team.

I ain't gettin' on no plane - FOOL!

 

[GUNTER]

You surprise me Gunter. I thought you were going to say the Cheeky Girls.

More of a duo than a team I suppose.......still delicious though!!