Winners and losers in the world of sports in 2017

To be fair, there was no way to go but down for Germany's Angelique Kerber, who started the year as the world's No.1 women's tennis player. However, she had hoped to make the top ranking last a little longer than it did. The 2017 season was one to forget for Kerber, who went on a steady slide down the rankings, ending the year in 21st place.

Germany's biggest hope on the men's side spent 2017 traveling in the opposite direction. Just weeks after the Hamburg native turned 20, in May he won the Italian Open to enter the top 10 for the first time. The younger of the Zverev brothers even managed to get to No. 3 in mid-November, before slipping back to end the year in fourth.

How many players make their international debuts at the ripe old age of 28? That's what Lars Stindl did in Germany's friendly against Denmark in June. He earned a spot on Joachim Löw's Confed Cup side, which admittedly was far from the team that he will hope to take to the World Cup. Still, Stindl repaid the coach's faith in him, scoring three times, including the goal that gave Germany the title.

It was also a good year for Stefan Kuntz. The former Germany striker, who was part of the team that won Euro 96, had almost been forgotten about as he toiled for years as a coach and manager in the lower leagues. He returned to national prominence when he took charge of Germany's under-21 team after the Rio Games. Less than a year later, Kuntz led the U21s to the European title in Poland.

Prior to the 2016-17 season Bayern Munich brought in Carlo Ancelotti hoping he could do what his predecessor, Pep Guardiola, couldn't by winning the Champions League. However, the Italian failed too, losing in the quarterfinals to one of the teams he has won it with, Real Madrid. He was sacked less than 24 hours after a 3-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in a 2017-18 group-stage match in September.

In need of a new coach, Bayern Munich eventually turned to the last man to lead them to Champions League glory, Jupp Heynckes. The 72-year-old, who returned for a fourth stint as Bayern coach, promptly led his side to nine straight wins before finally losing to the team where he spent most of his career as a player, the Borussia from Mönchengladbach, which also happens to be his hometown.

Far from just intervening in cases of obviously wrong calls, as they were supposed to, a few games into the season, the video assistant referees began raising objections on borderline calls. This was due to a new directive that the DFB didn't inform the clubs about until several games later. The DFB subsequently reversed the directive but frustration among the fans, players and coaches remained.

Cologne had major ups and downs in 2017. The euphoria knew no bounds when they finished the 2016-17 season in fifth place to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years. Thousands of their fans traveled to London for their Europa League match at Arsenal. In the Bundesliga, though, Cologne just can't win. First sporting director Jörg Schmadtke quit, then coach Peter Stöger got the sack.

Can anyone remember the last time Italy wasn't at the World Cup? It was in 1958 but now it has happened again. As if failing to punch their tickets for Russia through their qualifying group wasn't bad enough, somehow they managed to lose 1-0 on aggregate in their playoff against Sweden. Coach Gian Piero Ventura was sacked a few days later, and Italian FA boss Carlo Tavecchio also quit.

The new kids on the block continued to rock the Bundesliga in 2017, finishing their first season in the top flight in second place, good enough for automatic qualification for the Champions League. In Europe's most prestigious club competition, though, the Red Bulls had their problems, finishing in third in their group. Can they make an impact in the Europa League in 2018?

The wheels have fallen off the wagon for the former perennial participants in the Euros and World Cup. After failing to qualify for Euro 2016, the Dutch also failed to qualify for Russia 2018. Dick Advocaat is out as coach of the "Oranje," but far from going down with his ship, he is now hoping to take over a team that did make it to the World Cup. Good luck with that!

Things couldn't have been any more different for the Dutch women in 2017. Sure, unlike the men, they didn't have the burden of qualifying to worry about, since they were the host nation for the Women's Euro. Still, the Leeuwinnen delivered when it counted, beating Denmark 4-2 in the final to win the European Women's Championship for the first time in their history.

Once dubbed "The German Gretzky," Leon Draisaitl had a breakout year in 2016-17, particularly in the Stanley Cup playoffs, when he scored 16 points in 13 games before the Edmonton Oilers were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of their second-round series. In the summer, the Oilers rewarded Draisaitl with an eight-year contract worth a total of $68 million (€57.4 million).

It was a long time coming, but the Houston Astros, who came into being as the Houston Colt .45s in 1962, finally won Major League Baseball's World Series in 2017. Veteran right fielder Josh Reddick holds the Commissioner's Trophy aloft after the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 7 to clinch the title.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the "take a knee" protests in 2016 by refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to NFL games. At the end of last season, he opted out of his contract with the 49ers to become a free agent. He has been unable to find a new team, and has filed a grievance against the NFL and its owners, accusing them of colluding not to hire him.