{"id":1724,"date":"2023-05-16T15:47:15","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T14:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mlsfootball.com\/?p=1724"},"modified":"2023-05-16T15:47:15","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T14:47:15","slug":"soccer-players-are-getting-heavier-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mlsfootball.com\/analysis\/soccer-players-are-getting-heavier-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Players Are Getting Heavier: Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Soccer players are finely tuned athletes, with bodies that have been crafted through hard work, training, and the perfect diet. To make it in MLS, or indeed any major national soccer league takes a lot of hard work. Even if our domestic game is still catching up<\/a>\u00a0around with others around the world, it still demands a level of fitness like never before.<\/p>\n You see players such as Christian Pulisic or Lionel Messi remove their shirts after scoring, and they look like they\u2019ve been sculpted by Michelangelo; such is their physique.<\/p>\n However, not all soccer players are the same, and players\u2019 weights are on the increase. A study showed the\u00a0average weight of players<\/a>\u00a0at the 2018 World Cup, which did not feature the USMNT, was heavier than at any competition previous this century. Why is this? Are some players just overweight? Are others able to blame science and progression for their weight?<\/p>\n We examine some of the key issues around players\u2019 weight here.<\/p>\n Over the years, there have been some players who simply always look overweight, and in the past, they probably were. These players are often described as burly or well-built, and despite the fitness regime, training, and diet, their physique never really changed. They\u2019re few and far between these days, but players such as Jan Molby, Matt Le Tissier, and Neil Ruddock were once commonplace \u2013 robust players who could perform at the highest level but never seemed at peak physical fitness.<\/p>\n One thing many of these so-called fat players had in common was the era in which they played \u2013 the late eighties and early nineties. There\u2019s no doubt there was a drinking culture back in those days, especially around Europe, and some players simply were overweight. It was only around 1995 that major European leagues started paying close attention to weight and diets.<\/p>\n Much of that has changed thanks to sports science, but that doesn\u2019t account for today\u2019s heavier players. Of modern players, nine out of ten\u00a0soccer players have a BMI<\/a>\u00a0that falls within the normal range. However, some players are still naturally bigger than others. Panama star Roman Torres, at the time playing in MLS for Seattle, was the heaviest player at the 2018 World Cup, but he didn\u2019t\u00a0look<\/em>\u00a0heavy.<\/p>\nThe Past<\/h2>\n
Changing Set Point Weights<\/h2>\n