December 21 – The CIES Football Observatory has revealed the tallest and shortest teams in world football in its latest study, which ranks the clubs in 53 leagues around the world according to the average size of the line-ups fielded in the current or last completed season.
Amongst the findings in the study, it was found that almost 13cm (5 inches) separates the tallest and shortest teams around the world.
While Japanese clubs monopolise the bottom three places (Sagan Tosu, Albirex Niigata and Yokohama FC), three German clubs are in the top four positions: TSG Hoffenheim, FC Schalke 04 and FC Heidenheim.
TSG Hoffenheim claim the title of the tallest team in Europe’s big-5 leagues with an average height of 186.2cm (6’1”) across the team.
In fact, Hoffenheim sit second on the overall list, which encompasses the top 52 leagues from around the world, missing out to Hungarian side Kecskemeti TE who average just 1cm taller.
At the other end of the spectrum, La Liga’s Rayo Vallecano is the European big-5’s shortest team, standing at just 178.6cm (5’10”) as an average. As per the study’s findings, the Spanish side is also the only European big-5 league team with an average height on the pitch shorter than 180cm (178.61cm).
Notably, the ten shortest teams in the European big-5 leagues are all from the Spanish La Liga or French Ligue Un, emphasising their style of play which is less dependant on physicality. Meanwhile, the top ten tallest teams are all from the German Bundesliga or Italian Serie A, with the Premier League occupying the middle section of the table.
Newcastle United is the tallest Premier League squad (185cm), closely followed Manchester United (184) and Liverpool (184).
The world average is 181.46cm, with higher values in the UEFA association leagues (182.65cm) than in the other continents (179.54cm).
To see the full report, click here.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, moc.l1713953578labto1713953578ofdlr1713953578owedi1713953578sni@g1713953578niwe.1713953578yrrah1713953578