How much does height matter in soccer?
In Wednesday’s semifinal, Spain was considerably smaller than the German team (average height on Spain’s 23-man squad: 180.91 cm; average German height: 184.48 cm), and Puyol‘s header was perhaps most impressive because of his unimpressive height.
Still, there would seem to be clear advantages to height (and we know that bigger players are more desirable among youth-league coaches).
The question is open to further analysis. But here’s a simpler conclusion that seems solid: the appearance of height apparently matters quite a bit.
A reader in Norway named Christian Sørensen examined the height statistics for all players in the 2010 World Cup and found an interesting anomaly: there seemed to be unnaturally few players listed at 169, 179, and 189 centimeters and an apparent surplus of players who were 170, 180, and 190 centimeters tall (roughly 5-foot-7 inches, 5-foot-11 inches, and 6-foot-3 inches, respectively). Here are the data:
It’s hard to imagine that players and teams wouldn’t exaggerate their height (it sure happens in basketball), whether for the purpose of intimidation or merely self-esteem. Christian’s discovery may not be earth-shattering, or even remotely important, but it does remind me of the nifty analysis by Joseph Grundfest and Nadya Malenko that identified companies who massage their earnings via their aversion to the number 4.
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I think Raymond is on to something here, but it maybe more because of culture.
Some countries (US, probably England and others) normally measure height in inches. 5’10″ is 178 cm (177.8 exactly). 5’11″ is 180cm (180.34). I think this may also explain the dip between 175cm and 178cm as 5’9″ is 175 cm (175.26). So rather than re-measure every player someone just took their stated height and converted it to centimeters.
Just a thought
I’ve heard that Kevin Garnett is actually 7′ tall, but is listed as 6′ 11″ because it makes him sound more agile. I believe he used to joke that he was 6′ 12″.
In regards to your earlier post about coaches having bias towards older players, the same thing happens within an athelete’s mind. They are better than their “peers” so they enjoy the game and keep practicing. By the time they are 15,16 and the advantage evens out they have already logged thousands of more hours of practice.
Maybe the next study should be page 3 girl’s measurements. The best always seems to be 36, 38, 40, 42 … where are all the 37s, 39s and 41s ?
Average world cup heights:
Goalkeepers: 187,1 cm
Defenders: 182,3 cm
Midfielders: 178,9 cm
Forwards: 181,0 cm
All players: 181,5 cm
All outfield players: 180,7 cm
Strength is proportional to the square of height, but weight is proportional to the cube of height. That’s why a flea can jump a hundred times more body lengths than a man.
Taller people are less efficient, using relatively smaller muscles to move greater body weight. They are more likely to suffer sprains, breaks and pains more than smaller people in activities where you need to mostly move your own body.
The chief among those sports is gymnastics, though sex would count too.
After spending the last month watching world cup soccer/football, I am desperate to know the following: is there any correlation between how much W.C. teams sing their national anthem and how much they win? I.e. if one country’s team has all their players belting out their national anthem, while the opposing team stands silently during their anthem, who is statistically more likely to win the game? I’m dying to know….
I live in Canada, but only know my height in inches. When I convert from 5′ 11″ to cm, I get 180 cm. But I’m just shy of 5′ 11″, but far away from 5′ 10″. So really, I’m probably 179 cm, but the conversion kills it.
Similarly, 5′ 10″ is 178 cm, and 5′ 9″ is 175 cm, which are the two bumps before it.