WHAT MAKES THE BEST FOOTBALLER?
Players with great skill, such as Lionel Messi (pictured) are more likely to win games than players with superior athletic ability
Skillful footballers are more likely to win matches than even the most athletic players, according to research from the University of Queensland.
A study found that balance and skill when controlling the ball can tip a game toward a win more than speed, strength, or fitness.
The researchers say their study could help football coaching academies focus their training on player attributes that are more likely to win games.
The Queensland team used analytical techniques developed in evolutionary biology to determine the impact of a player's skill, athletic ability, and balance on their success during a game.
They found that a player's skill that was the most important factor to their and their team's performance.
Players will higher skill were more likely to be more involved in games and have more successful contributions.
However, players with top athletic abilities like speed, strength and fitness were not associated with higher success rates in games.
'Higher skill allows players to have a greater impact on the game,'said lead researcher Dr Robbie Wilson, from the University of Queensland, Australia, told MailOnline.
'Accurate passing and greater ball control are more important for success than high speed, strength and fitness.
'It may be obvious to fans and coaches that players like Lionel Messi and Neymar are the best due to their skill.
'However, 90 per cent of research on soccer players is based on how to improve their speed, strength, and agility — not their skill.'
Read articles that feature this panel
Footballers who feign injury on the pitch are using the same technique employed by early humans to manipulate others before speech developed
Footballers who could convincingly simulate or exaggerate pain such as Neymar (pictured) may have had a survival advantage, according to...
Why rival football fans disagree: Watching the beautiful game activates a caveman-like reaction from the tribal region of our brains, MRI...
A University of York researcher has tackled an issue as old as sports itself and found that an ancient region of human brains is...
Footballers might NOT be lying when they argue about a tackle: Human brains are wired to think our own actions occur a 20th of a second...
Scientists at Arizona State University tested how pairs of participants ranked the speed of their respective reactions to shared events and...
Fans of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are 'not as loyal to their fellow supporters as those of less successful football clubs' as...
Fans of Crystal Palace, Hull, Norwich, Sunderland and West Brom - three of which are no longer in the Premier League - were found to be more...
Watching Euro 2020 could bring on a HEART ATTACK: Cases rise by more than 5% during big summer football matches, study warns
Hospital admissions for heart attacks in Germany during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil rose by more than five per cent, according to...
Forget the stereotypical hooligan! Passionate football fans are more likely to show KINDNESS towards rival team supporters, study finds
Researchers from the University of Kent have revealed that while passionate football fans are more likely to be hostile to rival supporters,...
Sorry, Arsenal! Wearing red does NOT give sportsmen a competitive edge, scientists say
Wearing red no longer gives competitors an advantage, report scientists at the University of Durham.
World's oldest pitch proves football was born in SCOTLAND - and not England, expert claims
An expert has uncovered compelling evidence that suggests the 'beautiful game' may have actually originated in Scotland some 200 years...
Most watched News videos
- New video shows Epstein laughing and chasing young women
- British Airways passengers turn flight into a church service
- Two schoolboys plummet out the window of a moving bus
- Skier dressed as Chewbacca brutally beaten in mass brawl
- Epstein describes himself as a 'tier one' sexual predator
- Police dog catches bag thief who pushed woman to the floor
- Melinda Gates says Bill Gates must answer questions about Epstein
- JD Vance turns up heat on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
- Buddhist monks in Thailand caught with a stash of porn
- China unveils 'Star Wars' warship that can deploy unmanned jets
- Trump slams Kaitlan Collins for lack of smiling over Epstein grilling
- 911 call on Nancy Guthrie's disappearance released
