In order to have some fun, I have recently decided to create two teams – one comprised of very tall players and the other one containing very short footballers. It will be very interesting to see a football match featuring these teams and I am really curious who will win if this game becomes a reality? Will speed and technical skills triumph over height and physical strength? Or will it be just the opposite? It is quite difficult to answer!

 

While selecting my teams, I was trying to maintain a balance between the physical attributes and the football qualities of the players. So, I was not just taking the shortest and tallest players on the particular positions but trying to pick up players who play for strong clubs and have good reputation. Below you can see the results of my research:

 

 

Team of the tall players

 

Position	Player	Height	Birthday	Country	Club
GK	Kristof Van Hout	2.08	09.02.1987	Belgium	KRC Genk
LB	Žarko Marković	2.04	28.01.1987	Serbia	Gaz Metan Mediaş
CB	Naldo	1.98	10.09.1982	Brazil	VfL Wolfsburg
CB	Per Mertesacker	1.98	29.09.1984	Germany	Arsenal
RB	Ivan Lovrić	1.96	11.07.1985	Croatia	Budapest Honvéd
DM	Orlando Engelaar	1.99	24.08.1979	Netherlands	PSV Eindhoven
CM	Marouane Fellaini	1.94	22.11.1987	Belgium	Everton
AM	Alexander Meier	1.96	17.01.1983	Germany	Eintracht Frankfurt
FW	Lacina Traoré	2.03	20.08.1990	Ivory Coast	Anji Makhachkala
FW	Nikola Žigić	2.02	25.09.1980	Serbia	Birmingham City
FW	Peter Crouch	2.01	30.01.1981	England	Stoke City
Substitutions
CB	Adrian Rolko	2.02	14.09.1978	Czech Republic	Mladá Boleslav
DM	Milan Čulum	2.00	28.10.1984	Serbia	FK Hajduk Kula
FW	Paul Millar	2.08	12.04.1988	Scotland	Elgin City

 

 

Kristof Van Hout (2.08), together with Scottish striker Paul Millar, is considered to be the world’s tallest professional football player. The Belgian goalkeeper is a regular starter for KRC Genk and has conceded 20 goals in 15 league games so far this season.

 

Žarko Marković (2.04) mainly plays as a centre back but can also be used as a left back. He is the tallest player in the Romanian top fight and has featured in 12 league games for Gaz Metan Mediaş in the current campaign.

 

Naldo (1.98) is a former Brazilian international centre back and a free kick specialist. He has played in all 17 Bundesliga games for VfL Wolfsburg this season and has even scored 2 goals.

 

Per Mertesacker (1.98) formed one of the tallest centre back duos in world football together with Naldo at Werder Bremen. Now, the German player, who has 85 international caps with 2 goals, is an important part of Arsenal’s defensive block. He has played in 15 Premier League games this season and has scored 1 goal.

 

Ivan Lovrić (1.96) is relatively unknown on the international stage but is an established name in the Hungarian top flight. This season, the Croatian right back has started 14 league matches for Budapest Honvéd which are currently fifth in the standings.

 

Orlando Engelaar (1.99) is a very strong and tough defensive midfielder who has recorded 14 international caps for Netherlands in the past. In the current campaign, the PSV Eindhoven midfielder has been used in only 2 league games but has played 5 times in the UEFA Europa League.

 

Alexander Meier (1.96) has been in sensational form this season. The Eintracht Frankfurt attacking midfielder is second in the Bundesliga goalscoring charts with 11 goals in 17 matches. He has also created 2 Bundesliga goals.

 

Marouane Fellaini (1.94) is the leader of Everton and one of the best midfielders in the English Premier League. The Belgian international of Moroccan descent has scored 8 goals and made 4 assists in 15 league games. So, it is not surprising that Chelsea see him as the perfect long-term replacement for Frank Lampard.

 

Lacina Traoré (2.03) is only 22-years-old but is probably the best super-tall striker in the world nowadays. The Ivorian is a big star in the Russian top flight and has scored 9 goals in 16 league games for Anji Makhachkala this season. He may become Didier Drogba’s successor in the national team of Ivory Coast.

 

Nikola Žigić (2.02) is a Serbian international with 20 goals in 57 matches. This season, he has scored 2 goals and made 4 assists in 12 games for Birmingham City in the English Championship.

 

Peter Crouch (2.01) is probably the most famous super-tall footballer in the world and has a very good goal ratio (0.52) for the national team of England. In the past, he found the net 22 times in 42 matches for the Three Lions. He has recorded 4 goals and 3 assists in 16 English Premier League matches for Stoke City in the current 2012/13 season.

 

Substitutions:

 

Adrian Rolko (2.02) is one of the tallest top flight defenders in the world and one of the leaders of the strong Czech team Mladá Boleslav. Due to a serious knee injury, however, he has only played in 1 league game and 2 UEFA Europa League matches this season. In the previous two seasons, the Czech veteran missed only 3 league games for Mladá Boleslav.

 

Milan Čulum (2.00) is not a famous player but he is one of the tallest top flight midfielders in the world. He has been a regular starter for Hajduk Kula and has registered 13 games with 1 goal in the Serbian top flight in the 2012/13 season.

 

Paul Millar (2.08), as it was already mentioned, he and Kristof Van Hout are considered to be the tallest professional football players in the world. Millar is an important member of the fourth division Scottish club Elgin City.

 

 

Team of the short players

 

Position	Player	Height	Birthday	Country	Club
GK	Óscar Pérez Rojas	1.72	01.02.1973	Mexico	San Luis
LB	Arthur Boka	1.66	02.04.1983	Ivory Coast	VfB Stuttgart
CB	Javier Mascherano	1.74	08.06.1984	Argentina	Barcelona
CB	Luis Robles	1.69	22.09.1986	Mexico	Atlas Guadalajara
RB	Laure	1.66	22.03.1985	Spain	La Coruña
LM	Pablo Piatti	1.63	31.03.1989	Argentina	Valencia
DM	Quentin Othon	1.62	27.03.1988	France	ESTAC Troyes
AM	Maximiliano Moralez	1.60	27.02.1987	Argentina	Atalanta
RM	Christian Bermúdez	1.59	26.04.1987	Mexco	Club América
FW	Sebastian Giovinco	1.64	26.01.1987	Italy	Juventus
FW	Daniel Villalva	1.55	06.07.1992	Argentina	River Plate
Substitutions
CB	Luis Fuentes	1.71	14.09.1986	Mexico	UNAM Pumas
CM	Diego Buonanotte	1.61	19.04.1988	Argentina	Málaga
FW	Lorenzo Insigne	1.63	04.06.1991	Italy	Napoli

 

 

Óscar Pérez Rojas (1.72) is a Mexican goalkeeper, who played 56 times for the national team of his country in the past. The 39-year-old veteran is currently the first choice goalkeeper of the top flight club San Luis and has conceded 17 goals in 15 matches of the Mexican 2012 Torneo Apertura.

 

Arthur Boka (1.66) has scored 1 goal in 67 matches for the national team of Ivory Coast. He has been playing for VfB Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga since 2006. In the current campaign, the left back has participated in 12 league matches and created one goal for Die Schwaben.

 

Javier Mascherano (1.74) is playing as a defensive midfielder for the national team of Argentina and mainly as a centre back for Barcelona. The 28-year-old star, who has 86 international caps with 2 goals, has appeared in 11 league matches for Barcelona in the 2012/13 season.

 

Luis Robles (1.69) is one of the very few top flight centre backs who are shorter than 1.70. He is a regular starter for Atlas Guadalajara in the Mexican top flight and has featured in 12 Torneo Apertura matches in 2012.

 

Laureano Sanabria Ruiz “Laure” (1.66) emerged from the youth formations of Real Madrid and is currently Deportivo de La Coruña’s first choice right back. He has made 1 assist in 10 Spanish Primera División matches this season.

 

Pablo Piatti (1.63) made his debut for the national team of Argentina in 2011. The skilful attacker is currently playing for Valencia but is struggling to establish himself into the first team. He was injured and has only recorded 3 Spanish Primera División games with 1 assist in the current season.

 

Quentin Othon (1.62) is a French defensive midfielder who plays for ESTAC Troyes. He has appeared in 12 Ligue 1 matches this season.

 

Maximiliano Moralez (1.60) has 1 international cap for Argentina and is the shortest player in the Italian Serie A. In the current campaign, the attacking midfielder has started 17 league games for Atalanta and has registered 1 goal and 1 assists.

 

Christian Bermúdez (1.59) is a quick attacking midfielder who has represented Mexico 4 times. Nicknamed "El Hobbit", he plays for Mexican top flight side Club América and has featured as a substitution in 14 Torneo Apertura matches in 2012. In these games, he has created 1 and scored 2 goals.

 

Sebastian Giovinco (1.64) is an Italian international with 13 caps. He has scored 5 goals and made 4 assists in 15 Serie A appearances for Juventus this season. Moreover, he found the net 2 times in 6 UEFA Champions League matches.

 

Daniel Villalva (1.55) is one of the shortest professional football players in the world. The 20-year-old youngster has been mainly used as a substitution at River Plate and managed to score 1 goal in 10 Torneo Inicial appearances in 2012.

 

Substitutions:

 

Luis Fuentes (1.71) is a centre back who can also play as a left back. He is a first team regular at Mexican top flight club UNAM Pumas and has recorded 1 goal and 1 assist in 14 Torneo Apertura matches in 2012.

 

Diego Buonanotte (1.61) is another talented young Argentine attacking midfielder. Similarly to Piatti, he has not been able to establish himself in his Spanish top flight club Málaga. Anyway, he has made 3 assists in 6 Primera División games and recorded 1 goal and 1 assist in 2 UEFA Champions League matches this season.

 

Lorenzo Insigne (1.63) has managed to replace successfully such a player as Ezequiel Lavezzi at Napoli. This season, the 21-year-old forward has hit 3 goals and made 3 assists in 17 Serie A matches.

 

Summarizing, we have two teams with Marouane Fellaini (1.94) being the shortest player in the first one and Javier Mascherano (1.74) being the tallest in the second one. Which of these teams will win if they meet on the pitch? Please, share with us your opinion!