Taller, faster, older: How top footballers' bodies have changed over 50 years

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Taller, faster, older: How top footballers' bodies have changed over 50 years16 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleFernando DuarteBBC World ServiceGetty ImagesPortuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, is an example of athleticism - and longevity - in modern footballTwo historic goals in the Fifa Men's World Cup tell the story of a radical transformation in both football and the bodies of its elite players. Over a tense and spectacular 30 seconds in 1970, Brazil worked the ball through eight players before a thunderous strike by right-back Carlos Alberto. The team's fourth goal against Italy in the World Cup final is often hailed as one of the greatest moments in the tournament's history.

But fast forward five decades, and a similar seven-pass manoeuvre by Argentina against France in the 2022 final - finished by winger Angel Di Maria – took just 12 seconds. That 1970 goal "wouldn't have taken place in this day and age", says Dr Orlando Laitano, a University of Florida professor and leading expert on exercise physiology. If that Brazilian team could travel in time, their move would likely be stifled by modern opponents.

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And, says Dr Laitano, "the biggest gap wouldn't be talent - it would be physiology". ReutersThe legendary Brazil 1970 World Cup squad took a little over 30 seconds to score their much-celebrated team goal... but 52 years later Argentina executed a similar collective effort in 12 seconds, showing how the pace of the game has changed'A battle for every inch'Dr Laitano, who worked with the Brazilian national team in the 2014 World Cup, says modern footballers have become biologically different players from their predecessors.

He says the evolution of exercise and medicine, and changes to the way the game is played, mean elite football has evolved into a battle for every inch of pitch space and "as a consequence, modern players have to become faster and stronger". Data from the past five decades shows top players have become both taller and leaner, according to researchers from Wolverhampton University in the UK. They have compared information about thousands of players in the English top football division from the 1970s to the 2020s - the First Division up to 1992, and then the Premiere League, in which elite players from around the world are now strongly represented.

The players' average height increased by more than 4cm between 1973 to 2013. The trend continued in the following decade for goalkeepers and defenders, though the average height for strikers and midfielders decreased a little. The researchers also concluded the top division players "are getting more angular and ectomorphic".

This means they increasingly tend towards tall, lean, light-framed, long-limbed body shapes - indicated by rising scores for a measure called Reciprocal Ponderal Index (RPI), which measures height relative to weight in a way that emphasises thinness.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.