Soccer players have big aerobic engines often running 10k during matches. With some dedicated training I would say 1:55
What those stats omit is that most distance covered by soccer players is actually walking, not running. Look up the stats, there was a study done tracking Messi with a microchip in his shoe.
In 90 minutes +injury time+half time+breaks he covered 8km and walked 75% of that. No chance he's running an 800 anywhere remotely close to even a good high school kid.
If you remember that All Stars Fitness Competition featuring competitors from all sports. Carl Lewis ran 2:25 or so for the 800, but Kyle Rote, Jr., a soccer player, could run about 1:58.
Messi is known for his acceleration. He is crazy fast over 30 to 40 meters but he would probably struggle to compete competitively at longer distances. There was a documentary about his acceleration and why it makes him so lethal on the pitch. Usain Bolt, a soccer player himself, was interviewed about Messi's acceleration. He said he thought that Messi could beat him over 30 to 40 meters. Of course, we know that Usain Bolt's speed is not reached out of the block but rather after about that distance into a sprint race. While I think that Messi would be decent over middle distances, discussing such misses the mark which is his wicked ability to accelerate over short distances on the pitch.
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There are many high school soccer players that could run 1:55 off 1 season of 800m training if they tried track. But you guys don't think Messi goes under 2:10? 2:20?! hahaha show some respect for the goat.
Heard somewhere that soccer players make nasty mid d runners.
Haven´t this been discussed before?
Some soccer players are quite good middle distance runners but I don´t think Messi is one of them.
Messi is possible best when running 50m or less.
I would think players like Ryan Giggs, Rummenigge, Ronaldo and de Bruyne could be good 800m runners. I think they all have the speed and endurance necessary to be a good 800m runner.
I was myself a fast running veteran soccer player when I converted to running in my early fifties. Within half a year of training I improved from 2:18.5 to 2:07.5 (and became number 7 in the final in the European Championships in the 50-54 age group; setting PB both in the semi final and in the final).
Denis Wise ran 2:07 or something when he was around 37 and retired. He lost narrowly to Duane Ladejeo whinwas the reigning Commonwealth Games 400m champion.
He was also known for his wild antics and heavy drinking.
This doesn't fully answer the question, but it does explain a key difference between an elite 800 man and Lionel Messi. Soccer players tends to have wider hips and shorter legs than distance runners. Long, slender legs offer a structural advantage with straight-line speed and efficiency--admittedly, this is less true with the first 50m of a 100m. However, from 200m on up, long legs and narrow hips are an unmistakable advantage for both speed and efficiency. This holds true all the way to the marathon.
In soccer, you have frequent changes of direction. Wider hips and shorter legs are actually an advantage in this scenario. You can pivot and accelerate in another direction more quickly with this body geometry. But this becomes a disadvantage when you have to run in a straight line for a long time.
Because good straight line speed/endurance is needed in soccer, most elite athletes come from about the middle of the bell curve on leg length and hip breadth--as opposed to running, where you draw from the extreme end. Messi is among the more squat of soccer players, with great explosive speed over 10-20 meters. I think, even in peak fitness, he would struggle to run 2:05. A long-legged midfielder could do much, much better.
Watch an 800m or 1500m and a World Cup game, and you'll see this pattern start to emerge. From the waist down, it is possible to tell the difference between the average pro soccer player and the average pro track star.
Soccer players have big aerobic engines often running 10k during matches. With some dedicated training I would say 1:55
Messi stands out among footballers for how *little* he runs. One of his amazing features is that he walks around the pitch. He has an amazing initial burst but neither great speed nor any evident long distance talent.
There are footballers that can probably run a 1:50 800, but Messi ain't one of them.
There are many high school soccer players that could run 1:55 off 1 season of 800m training if they tried track. But you guys don't think Messi goes under 2:10? 2:20?! hahaha show some respect for the goat.
None of those guys are remotely good at football so they are irrelevant
Soccer players have big aerobic engines often running 10k during matches. With some dedicated training I would say 1:55
What those stats omit is that most distance covered by soccer players is actually walking, not running. Look up the stats, there was a study done tracking Messi with a microchip in his shoe.
In 90 minutes +injury time+half time+breaks he covered 8km and walked 75% of that. No chance he's running an 800 anywhere remotely close to even a good high school kid.
.most pro footballers are not walking father jogging. Messi gets away with it because he is Messi. No manager let's anyone else get away with it.
If you remember that All Stars Fitness Competition featuring competitors from all sports. Carl Lewis ran 2:25 or so for the 800, but Kyle Rote, Jr., a soccer player, could run about 1:58.
Carl Lewis ran 2:10 in the qualifying rounds for Superstars.
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