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Having an elite soccer team requires talented players, one of the most important talents is elite running speed.

To have elite running speed you need to have a higher torso/leg ratio, basically long legs and a high center of gravity.

There are regional differences around the world with torso/leg ratios. China is on the lower end, much of Africa is on the high end.



Messi is on the lower end then, as was Maradonna...

A low center of gravity is actually a good trait in 'soccer' as everyone knows that knows a thing about the game.


ugh. explain Mexico then. Not a quality post here.


Yeah, this is not a good explanation at all, bordering on racist honestly. No data cited for claims, and plenty of counterexamples to disprove the point easily.


What, exactly, about the post is racist? The parent cited specific biological characteristics. Generalizations are not racist. Nobody claims it's racist to say that Kenyans tend to be good runners because of genes. In fact, The Atlantic made that claim [1]. The parent poster is making similar types of claims as The Atlantic article.

Poor post, ok. Racist, no.

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/04/wh...


> one of the most important talents is elite running speed

That would be on my shortlist for among the least important talents for team success.


Where is your data? Where is your evidence for this borderline racist claim? Africa doesn't have strong teams, clearly your explanation falls apart with the slightest analysis.


Africa has the fastest teams, that's for sure. There are other factors that go into a team's success other than region, I definitely said speed is an important factor among others right?


Where is your evidence they have the fastest teams? I'm asking for evidence, please, not repetition of claims without data.


It's not scientific, or even representative, but watch the recent Senegal vs Poland world cup match.

I think Poland was the #4 FIFA ranked team. Wow was the athleticism gap pronounced for Senegal.




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