Valencia runs at a full speed of 35.1 km per hour

Arjen Robben, Dutch’s professional footballer in German’s Bundesliga FC Bayern Munich, ran at 37 kilometers per hour when he scored the fifth goal in the first match against Spain during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. The FIFA measured the speed which was broadcast on the TV. The personal best of Usain Bolt (aged 29, Jamaica), “the fastest man on earth”, is 9.58 for 100 meters. This translates into 37.6 km per hour which means that Arjen Robben is as fast as Usain Bolt.

British daily Metro has recently announced the 10 fastest soccer players, citing FIFA’s data.

Antonio Valencia (aged 30, Ecuador, photo) of the Manchester United in English Premier League ranked 1st with 35.1 kilometers per hour. He has maintained the top places in the survey that conducted over the past three years.

The second place was taken by Gareth Bale (aged 26, Wales) from Real Madrid in Spain’s Primera Liga with 34.7 kilometers per hour, followed by Aaron Lennon (aged 28, England) from EPL’s Everton. Cristiano Ronaldo (aged 30. Portugal) of Real Madrid came at 4th place with 33.6 kilometers per hour, defeating his rival Lionel Messi (aged 28, Argentina) who ranked 6th. Arjen Robben was at the 9th place with 30.4 kilometers per hour, much slower record compared to the one during the World Cup last year.

Of the top 10 players, five were from English Premier League, three from Primera Liga and two from Bundesliga. Running with a football is different from just running. What matters for a soccer player is high speed at 30 ~ 40 meters rather than running all the way of 100 meters at full speed.

Hector Bellerin (aged 20, Spain) from English Premier League’s Arsenal finishes 40 meters at 4.42, which is faster than Usain Bolt who finished 40 meters at 4.46 in his world record.

Unfortunately, none of Korean players was named on the list. The record for 100 meters revealed by Park Hang-seo, former soccer coach in 2002 FIFA World Cup of Korea and Japan, showed that Cha Du-ri (aged 35, Seoul) was the quickest one in the national team, followed by Lee Cheon-su (Incheon, 11.6) and Park Ji-seong (11.9).

At the quarterfinals with Uzbekistan during AFC Asian Cup last January, Cha Du-ri drew public attention when he ran 70 meters at amazing speed of some 8 seconds. This translates into some 30 kilometers per hour.