It\u2019s a Darwinian jungle out there in sportsland. Players with the right stuff are selected, and those without it end up on the sidelines. If you haven\u2019t got what it takes, they won\u2019t take what you\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This certainly applies to skill, grit, stamina and strength, but also to body size and shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What researchers call the \u201cLaw of Morphological Optimisation\u201d tells us that athletes who have the right bodies for their sport are the ones who succeed. We\u2019ve recently seen that in the NBA finals in the towering figure of San Antonio Spurs player Victor Wembanyana (224cm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what about soccer players? Is there an optimal height for an elite footballer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Cup players seem to come in all sizes: from XS (Argentina\u2019s Diego Maradona, 165cm) and S (Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi, who as a child suffered growth hormone deficiency, is 170cm) to M (Brazil\u2019s Pel\u00e9, 173cm), L (France\u2019s Zinedine Zidane, 185cm) and even XL (Norway\u2019s Erling Braut Haaland is 195cm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The winners of the FIFA Ballon d\u2019Or award for the best player in the world have been a whole range of heights. Messi, as mentioned, is just 170cm, while Spain\u2019s Rodrigo Hern\u00e1ndez Cascante (better known as Rodri) is 190cm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also no straight-line correlation between average team height and team performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Cup winners Argentina, Spain and Brazil have been among the shorter teams over the years. So parents of aspiring Socceroos needn\u2019t worry too much about their height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n