Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri lifts the Premier League Trophy on May 7 in Leicester, England. Photo: CFP

This year, like any other, has been one of great victories and great defeats. Here we take a look back at the reasons that we think 2016 will be forever remembered.

Dilly ding, dilly dong



"Dilly ding, dilly dong" was Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri's rallying cry in a season where he took the team from being the unexpected survivors of relegation at the end of their first season back in the Premier League - they became only the third team to stay up after being bottom at Christmas - to the most unlikely champions of England ever. After taking over from Nigel Pearson in the summer of 2015, the Italian got the best out of the squad that had survived the drop and, in a reversal of fortunes, they were top of the tree at Christmas. The remarkable year continued into 2016, ensuring qualification for the Champions League for the first time and then securing the title, also for the first time. Ranieri was named Coach of the Year at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Awards, with the Foxes named as Team of the Year, and while they have struggled to replicate their league form, they are flying in the Champions League. Don't rule out the bookmakers having their fingers burned by the Foxes next May in Cardiff.

Great demise

There are athletes who transcend their sport to come to be part of the public consciousness and popular culture. Muhammad Ali, Johan Cruyff and Arnold Palmer, who all died during the year, are three such sports stars. Each broke down boundaries, changed the way people viewed their sport, and exuded a cool that went way past the clubhouse. Sadly, the most keenly felt loss of the year was more recent and involved the deaths of athletes who had not yet left their mark. The plane crash, which killed most of the Chapecoense players and backroom staff as they made their way to play in the Copa Sudamericana in Colombia, shocked the world. The club, which had been compared to Brazil's version of Leicester City after its rise from regional league to challenging for a continental title, is still rebuilding but they were declared champions of the Copa Sudamericana.

Walking away



In Formula One, Nico Rosberg went up against his Mercedes teammate and great rival Lewis Hamilton for the drivers' championship. It went right down to the wire and the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Rosberg came out on top to win his first-ever F1 title but walked away from the sport within a week. In the NBA, Kobe Bryant ended 20 years with the LA Lakers and his farewell season ended in style with another All-Star appearance and 60 points in his final appearance. Not all retirements were as stylish but they will be remembered nonetheless: Sam Allardyce's one-game reign of the England national team will go down as the shortest in history.

No.1



The sight of a British No.1 in men's tennis was a long time coming but Andy Murray's remarkable 2016 ended the drought. It included victories at Wimbledon and the Olympics in Rio before defeating Novak Djokovic at the ATP World Tour Finals to ensure that Murray would be No.1 on January 1. The Serb will have a say whether he stays there but Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are out of the mix and the end of the Big Four.

An end to curses



The Chicago Cubs put paid to the curse of the Billy Goat and their 108-year drought for a World Series when they beat the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland had better luck when the Cavaliers beat out the favorites and reigning champs Golden State Warriors for the NBA Championship, which ended the city's wait since 1964 for a major US sports title. Meanwhile, Hibernian won the Scottish Cup Final and ended their curse after 114 years.



The year of the underdog…



There are many examples from this year - and across almost every sport - but Danny Willett winning the Masters sums it up. The Englishman took his first major at the age of 28 and while he has seen a steady rise up the Order of Merit, he was not expected to challenge for the green jacket.

…But also the big dogs

But some sports went as the world expected, nay demanded, with athletes at the very top of their games winning in some style. Usain Bolt's remarkable Olympic haul continued in Rio. The Jamaican won three more golds on the track, Michael Phelps and teammate Katie Ledecky dominated in the pool and Simone Biles led the way in gymnastics. Elsewhere, Real Madrid won a record 11th Champions League title, with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning penalty in the shootout.



Not all good



From the behavior of some of the fans at Euro 2016 to the state-sponsored drug scandal that has enveloped Russian athletics, it's not all been great. The issue of doping was also brought to the fore by hacking group Fancy Bears, who revealed many athletes who had therapeutic use exemptions for otherwise banned substances. There was no allegation they had done anything wrong but it exposed the lack of transparency and problems blighting the anti-doping bodies. Throw in the allegations of fixing in the Olympic boxing and it's been a year many will like to forget.