Which Body Type Is The Best For Soccer Players

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What body types are professional soccer clubs looking for? Soccer clubs are looking for many different body types, but prefer one body type. In this article, we show which body type is the best for soccer players. This does not mean that if you don’t fit this body type, the situation is hopeless. One of the most amazing aspects of soccer is its diversity. Currently, the best 2 soccer players (Messi & Ronaldo) display a huge difference in body type. Let’s find out which body types exist and how you can recognize them.

Physical Built

From a sub-scientific perspective, there are different body types. These body types are named somatotypes and can be classified into 3 general categories. These are:

Ectomorph. An ectomorph is slender and thin and lengthy. Ectomorphs tend to be tall. Ectomorph types are good for endurance and have a good weight to power ratio.

Mesomorph. A mesomorph is naturally athletic with good proportions. Mesomorphs types are made for speed and strength.

Endomorph. Endomorphs are built stocky and husky. They are usually very strong and can exert a lot of force.

Soccer And Body Types

Most people think that the athletic body type (mesomorph) is the best overall body type for athleticism. Soccer is unique by the fact that almost everybody type can be successful in soccer.

Cruyff, for example, is very thin and lean. See the picture of Cruyff below, this picture was taken after his last game. Cruyff would be classified as an ectomorph.

Although Ronaldo is a mixture of a mesomorph and ectomorph, he currently looks like a mesomorph. Looking at older pictures, you can see he looked more like an ectomorph. After a lot of work his body resembles a mesomorph.

An endomorph is stocky and husky. when endomorphs are tall, they make great goalies. A good example would be Peter Schmeichel and as a field player Rooney.

What Body Types Do Soccer Players Have?

Compared to young fitness participants and sedentary kids, young soccer players have a high mesomorph percentage. Let’s have a look at what kind of body types of professional soccer players have.

• A study from Brazil amongst competitive soccer players found that body types depend on position. While goalies, defenders, and attackers were found to fit the mesomorph tendencies, midfield payers were more found to have both mesomorph and ectomorph.
• A review from England found differences between young Elite and Sub-Elite Soccer players. The Mesomorph was most frequent in both groups, but there was not a big difference between sub-elite and elite mesomorph. See the graph below, from here.

• A study from Korea found that Korean youth soccer player displays a higher rate of ectomorphs, followed by mesomorphs.
• A review from Spain found the following among young soccer players. “Dominant somatotype of the players was, according to their playing position, meso-endomorphic in goalkeepers, central for external defenders, balanced ectomorph in central defenders, balanced mesomorph in the case of midfielders, and meso-ectomorph in forwards/extremes.” 
• Scientist from Turkey found that soccer players were mostly mesomorph, except for goalies, which were ectomorph and endomorph.
• Macedonia studied elite young soccer players and found that the mesomorph-ectomorph predominates, followed by mesomorph and than an ectomorph.

Reasons Why Professional Soccer Players Are Looking For Mesomorphs

• One reason why soccer clubs prefer mesomorphs is the fact that mesomorphs tend to suffer less from injuries. One study from Nigeria found that

“The study concluded that soccer players whose somatotypes range between meso-ectomorphic to the mesomorphic builds are less prone to injuries than their more fragile linear counterparts. It recommended that soccer players should be preselected on the basis of somatotypes and in most cases, mesomorphic and meso-ectomorphic types should be finally considered.”

• Another reason why soccer clubs prefer mesomorph or meso-ectomorphs is their trainability. A study with 41 north Africans found that both mesomorphs and meso-ectomorphs showed the best improvements with aerobic training (endurance). The scientist noted;

There were significant differences among groups post-training: the Meso-ecto and the Meso groups showed the greatest improvements in aerobic capacity.

Can You Change Your Body Type

Within your own body type, there is room for improvement. Just as Ronaldo changed his ecto-mesomorph body into meso-ectomorph, you can improve your body. The trick is to build your body by improving your coordination against resistance. For tips on how to train for improving coordination against resistance look here.