"He is a world class player." "Her performance today was world class." "They have been world class all year." This term gets thrown around sport a lot, especially football. This last week, or so, it has been brought into question a bit more. Someone asked on BBC Five Live's football talk show if Tottenham midfielder, Dele Ali, was 'world class'. Another BBC podcast had Andrew Flintoff, Robbie Savage and Matthew Syed, former British number one in table tennis, discussing the definition of 'world class' (unless you're from Britain, you'll have no idea who those people are). From all the articles that have been written and discussions had, it appears that no one person has the same definition, which can me several athletes could be classed or not in this category. What do I think? How kind of you for asking.
For me, a 'world class' performer has to be at the top of their game for a long time, be able to influence a result and people around them by their performances and be considered one of the best in their field, be that position or sport. They have to also be able to perform on the biggest stage their sport has to offer. So Dele Alli, going by my definition, is not 'world class'. He would probably fall into the category below that called 'potential world class' or 'has had a few world class-esc performances'. The former is probably a more catchy title. If he were to continue to keep these performances up for the next few seasons, he gets a promotion into the other category. I'll break it down via British performers. In football, David Beckham and Steve Gerrard were both 'world class' when they played. Not only high performances players, but they had the ability to turn a game or team around on their own. For Gerrard, he didn't need the rest of the team to be at their best to perform well. He almost single handedly got Liverpool back into 2005 Champions League Final. Rugby. Johnny Wilkinson. World class. George North. World class. Brian O'Driscoll. World class. Many may think this might be controversial, but I don't believe this current England team has any world class players in it. Together, they are a world class team. But as individuals, they are all just very good players, with a few in that potential category. Whereas Scotland, in Stuart Hogg, have a world class player. Player of the tournament at the last two 6 Nations Championships, he is not only performing consistently well, but in some games is carrying Scotland over the line. If he plays well, Scotland plays well.
In terms of individual sports, Andy Murray would be in that world class camp, compared to a Tim Henman. Despite Tim Henman being in the world's top 10 for much of his career, he could never perform at his best when it truly mattered. Andy Murray, on the other hand, has proven that when he needs to, he can perform on the world stage. Wimbledon. Olympics. He's also shown that he can carry not only a team, but a nation, when it can to winning the Davies Cup with Great Britain.
I think people can also dive in and out of being world class. Wayne Rooney, for example, a few years ago, was a world beater. Could change the nature of a game with just a couple of moves. Could lead a team to victory. Was performing consistently at the highest level. Nowadays, he is far from the player he once was. But, in history, he will go down as a world class player if his generation.
Tiger Woods probably fall into the same category. Woods was, and probably ever will be, the best golfer I have witnessed. His variety of shots he was capable of was outstanding. He controlled the field he was up against. The modern day Tiger struggles to even be fit for tournaments. And when he is, he struggles to make the cut, a fraction of the player he once was. I fully believe that we could one day see Tiger win a major again, and relive some of those past memories. But we're a long way from it.
I believe all athletes are capable of putting on world class performances. A League Two striker could be world class for a day, scoring every chance he has, it's the consistency over years and performing in the biggest events which changes everything. This is a debate that will continue for as long as professional sport is around. Everyone will have their own definition. We will have our own players in this category based on these different definitions. What do you think? What classes a person as 'world class'?