Abstract:

The aim of the present study were describe the stature pattern of World Cup elite football players and compare the means of stature in accordance to the position in the field. Method: The stature and the position of the football players were obtained from the official list of players available in the FIFA's site. The sample of the present study was composed by 96 (13.04%) goalkeepers, 230 (31.25%) defenders, 249 (33.83%), midfielders and 161 (21.88%) strikers. After the normality of the data the means were compared by the ANOVA one way. The level of significance were p<0.05. Results: The results are expressed as means and standard deviation. The mean high of the 736 football players was 182.42 ± 6.02cm. The goalkeepers have higher mean of stature in comparison to all positions (187.67 ± 5.19cm; p<0.05). The body height of defenders was 183.05 ± 6.16cm and was higher than midfielders and strikers (p<0.05). Midfielders and forwards have mean body high of 178.73 ± 6.27cm and 180.22 ± 6.47cm, respectively, with no significant differences between them (p>0.05). Conclusion: The mean of body height in football players called to play the World Cup vary in accordance to the player position and seem to be related with the specific functions performed in the field. Biological, technical, tactical and behaviors seemed the most important factors that may explain and justify the differences founded in the present study and need to be more investigated.

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