Just how good are soccer players at running?

basketball players are even more fit.

They tested a game with an heart rate monitor once

30% above 90% maximal heart rate.The game is in blocks so they can play more intensive then soccer playrs with only one break and a biger field so not every one needs to be running.I bet some can run under 12 for 2 miles without running practice.

Did you ever consider that maybe people with above average running ability make good soccer players. This is the reason they are good at soccer, because they can outrun others.

BTW, Pre didn't play soccer, either did Ryun.

No, because there's a lot more involved in becoming a good soccer player than just being able to run. Touch is extremely important along with the ability to "see" the field and knowing how to play the game.How about being able to kick the ball? Just because you can run doesn't mean you are athletic in the sense that you possess a certain skill set.Just because someone can jump high or is really tall doesn't equate to being a good basketball player.

on the other hand wrote:

Did you ever consider that maybe people with above average running ability make good soccer players. This is the reason they are good at soccer, because they can outrun others.

BTW, Pre didn't play soccer, either did Ryun.

About a year ago on letsrun.com, there was a thread on how many runners in the US could break 5 minutes for the mile (http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=593695&thread=592099). One poster claimed that any fit 20-35 year old could run a 5-minute mile, and that all of his football (soccer) playing "mates" could easily run one. Here was my response:

"I think you are dramatically underestimating the difficulty of running a 5-minute mile. Just for kicks, why don't you organize a mile time trial for your mates and watch what happens?

I work at a university that has a nationally ranked soccer team. A few weeks ago, I watched as the coach put the team through a mile time trial on the track. One guy broke five minutes; most ran in the 5:30 to 6:00 range, and it clearly wasn't easy for them."

walter wrote:

Just because someone ... is really tall doesn't equate to being a good basketball player.

Not sure what coach said it:

"you can't coach height."

Hey, I went from player football and soccer in hs. I played the first semster of college and ran a 2 mile run for soccer preseason. I ran a 1040 2 mile off just about 10 miles a week of running. The coach told me to try cross country. Ever since then I am still running. I am done with college running now. But I was 159 800 , 422 miler, 1522, and 3209. I guess I found out I was a better running then soccer player.

how many world class soccer players can run a 4:30 mile off of only the training which they are already doing for soccer? what percentage of all soccer players in the world can run this fast off of soccer training?

Martin Mondragon was an excellent soccer player later turned excellent marathoner and road racer. He ran 28:something as a masters runner.

With apologies to Jim Rome, dude was a WITCH!

collegiate runner... wrote:

how many world class soccer players can run a 4:30 mile off of only the training which they are already doing for soccer? what percentage of all soccer players in the world can run this fast off of soccer training?

There is no way, of course, to know this percentage without making all of the world class soccer players race a mile. But my guess is that the percentage would be very low--probably less than 1%.

Now, if you took all of the world class soccer players and then *trained* them--say, for 6 months--to race a mile, then I bet the percentage would be significantly higher, but still low...probably no higher than 10-20%. As someone else noted earlier in this thread, the skills to needed to excel at soccer really aren't that similar to the skills needed to excel at running.

top soccer players run 7-10 miles a game (90 minutes) and this includes lots of nearly all out sprints

where do you get those stats?

9 miles...riiiighht

everything i've read says soccer player can run up to 5 miles in a 90 min game....at tops 10k.

I've also heard the 5 mile number. Even then, the only players that would get that much would be midfielders most likely. Forwards on occasion. 9 miles definitely sounds well out of range.

I believe that if you took all of the professional midfielders and trained them to run that they could all perform well in the middle distances and possibly 5k. Other positions are more explosive and they would likely be best at 100-400 with some getting good at 800/mile.

Goalkeepers could possibly be good with discus hehe.

P.S.

By "perform well" I mean to say that they would be decent high schoolers with some being really good high schoolers.

Yeah,

Bekele definately played soccer. In the article below, there is only a brief statement, but I read an IAAF article (could not find) when Bekele first burst onto the xc scene saying he was serious on the soccer field and he carried that seriousness over to the track.

http://abc.net.au/olympics/2004/profiles/kenenisabekele.htm

i know that the Hauser twins started out playing soccer

but rather than superstars, the more important question is how fast is the average soccer player

while many soccer players on our team went for track and ran awesome 400s, even 800s, the coach made them run a timed 2mile at the start, saying if you dont break 12, you're not making the team. only 3 or so broke twelve, and most had trouble with 13

Same with my school. In order to "make the cut" you had to run two miles under 12 (I seem to remember them going for 5 miles under 35 also).

Of course, only 1 or 2 kids could make those standards.

i have seen many soccer players who switched over to running becoming very good at it, esp. in middle distance.

Most soccer players I've seen have been best at the 800.

Shawn McCullough was an All-American soccer player in HS & was a 1:56-1:55 guy his Soph-Sr yrs. He continued with both sports at Tulsa & was a member of their school record 4x8 team & was also a conference champ in the 800 (believe he finished 2nd to Berryhill his Soph & Jr yrs & won it after CSU left the conference).