There are several opportunities for soccer players at the top levels to remove their shirts and display their enviable six pack abs. Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo sat for Annie Liebowitz on the cover of Vanity Fair to promote the 2010 World Cup, and the photo is still remembered today. When Brandi Chastain of the United States women's national team kicked the winning penalty kick in the 1999 Women's World Cup, she proudly exposed her black sports bra. After scoring a goal, players will even take the risk of receiving a yellow card by removing their shirts. Recreational soccer does not need you to be a flawless Adonis or Aphrodite in order to be successful; it is open to people of all shapes and sizes.
From the tiniest to the most powerful
At the beginning of a professional televised game, the camera pans down the row of players for each side as they prepare to take the field. For example, during a 2011 match between European powerhouses Barcelona and Manchester United, the camera panned down to the diminutive but relentless Barca forward Lionel Messi, who stands at 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and then back up to the lanky former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who stands at 6 feet, 5 inches tall and has a massive wing span. In terms of height and general stature, soccer players fall somewhere between Messi and van der Sar. For example, a tall, slender player like Englishman Peter Crouch, a journeyman who has appeared for more than ten different clubs, would be an exception. He is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs just 156 pounds, making him the smallest of the group.
Just a little under 6 feet tall
Professional soccer players' demographic and physical characteristics were gathered for a study of the European soccer labor market done by the International Centre for Sports Studies in Switzerland, and the results were released in 2009. Their average height was 5 feet and 11 1/2 inches tall, according to the data. Germany's professionals are on the taller end of the spectrum, with an average height of 6 feet, while Spain's are on the shorter end, with an average height of 5 feet, driving directions 10-3/4 inches. The average height of goalkeepers is 6 feet 2 inches, that of midfielders is 5 feet 10-3/4 inches, and that of attackers and defenders is 5 feet 11-1/2 inches.
Standouts from the norm in the United States
The United States does not gather as many data as other countries. Landon Donovan, a men's national team star and LA Galaxy player, is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 158 pounds, which is considered normal for his height and lean physique. As of February 2014, the United States women's national team consisted of players ranging in height from defender Crystal Dunn (5 feet, 1 inch) in midfield to forward Abby Wambach (5 feet, 11 inches).
The Optimal Construction
According to Richard Witzig in "The Global Art of Soccer," although a theoretical optimum balance for body height, speed, and center of gravity may exist in soccer, "in reality, this is not so clear." Great male players have stood between 5 feet, 6 inches and 6 feet, 2 inches tall, a height range that encompasses around 95 percent of the world's adult male population, according to some estimates. Soccer players, on the other hand, seldom weigh more than 200 pounds, "since the physical demands of the sport dictate that players cannot carry that weight and compete" for more than 90 minutes, argues the author. Witzig points out that professional basketball and American football players, on the other hand, demand levels of strength and height that eliminate all but 10 percent of the adult male population throughout the globe.
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