It’s the Olympics if you have not noticed that among Chelsea’s World Exclusive News. (I did not even bother to publish that piece of news on the CSFC-website).
For Americans the Olympics is only about Michael Phelps and his hunt for a bunch of swim-medals. In the chase to explain his phenomenal achievement as a swimmer all the experts seems to come up with the same answer. He is simply ideally built for swimming, with a pair of gigantic feet that works like a propeller as one detail.
Sports are not equal and unless you are put together in certain ways, just don`t bother. If you are 167 cm do not try out for basket or volleyball. If you are 184 cm, gymnastics will not be the sport you`ll excel in. If you look like a straw, shot put, discus or weight lifting will hardly be an arena to shine in. If your arms are short, boxing will be very painful. If you got an inner ear problem, ice skating will be a disappointment for you. If you weigh 125kg, your future is not as a steeple chase jockey.
Most sports, especially motor sports favours below average size practioners. Less weight, less space in the machine.
Football is a sport with much more variety when it comes to the physical. After all we have the Zigic`s, Koller`s and the exception of all physics, Crouch`s. We have the Robinho`s, the Zola`s. We have physical cluts and people with a balance problem as soon as they come close to opponents, Gerrard for one.
So one would think that football is the only equal sport there is. Which of course is one of the main reasons for its popularity.
Still, it is not really the truth.
Goalkeepers are getting bigger and bigger and without ever becoming Fatty Foulke`s of Chelsea fame, that is a development that will not stop. Still some shorties make it into good, Joe Hart right now in the PL is an example.
It is when we take a look on the best players in the world, we realise that there is one particular physicality that they all share. Not big noses.
They can never be models. And I do not mean that laughable thing about scousers being better looking than other supporters. That was just because so many of them covered their faces in fear of the police, that only ten could be counted.
All the best footballers ever have shorter than average legs in relation to their upper bodies!
Some of them have very long backs, like the diva-diver – the dachshound look as it is known as. That is actually more common among women than men. That they have longer backs than legs, which is the reason leg length (=high heels) is so precious for females. For footballers not so.
Maradona, had way below average length legs. Pelé was more “normal” but not with long legs. Ronaldinho, Messi have unsually short legs. Kaka, Lampard have short legs in comparison, though within the median norm. Robinho, short legs. Crouch, ouch – the anomaly of all footballers. Still his back is longer than the legs (I think). Rooney and diva-diver, very short legs. JT has short legs compared to his overall height.
So if your kid has short legs, he might be a footballer. If not, another sport might suit him/her better.
There is a very basic, simple explanation why it is this way.
The shorter your legs are the easier your body can be balanced. Shorter legs simply means lower gravity. Lower gravity equals better balance. No way around it. And balance is everything for a footballer. The Japanese call it “hara” and it is a very admired quality there. Sumo is built on hara. Hara also means a presence that emanates from that low gravity. Look at Deco, he seems to have hara.
Footballers do most things with their feet, so great balance is essential. Not for shooting or tripping your opponents but for handling the ball.
So if you want to be a great footballer, keep those legs short. The rest of us simply have to stumble on with less balance in life.
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