A professional athlete runs between 9 and 11 kilometers during the 90 minutes of a football match. These numbers, published in scientific studies by physiologist Turíbio Leite de Barros, from Unifesp and São Paulo Futebol Clube, match the distances covered by players from the great European clubs, which, in Champions League matches, have mileage measured in time real. This allows fans to measure who wears out the sole of the boot and who slacks off. And it was precisely to crown the “marathon runners” that in March 2008 the English league organized a charity round in which each kilometer covered by the players was worth the equivalent of 60 reais, donated to a charity institution. French midfielder Mathieu Flamini, from Arsenal, was the one who donated the most, running around 13 kilometers and generating, alone, 800 reais for the campaign. In general, midfielders are even the greatest runners. Full-backs and wingers are the ones who run the most with the ball at their feet and forwards run the shortest distances, but they can make 50 sprints of up to 15 meters at very high speed – striker Wayne Rooney, for example, reaches almost 35 km/h. But the most curious thing is that in many matches the referee runs the most: in the Italian championship, their movement was measured and up to 14 kilometers were reached in a match.
AT THE TIP OF THE HOOVES
See how far each Milan player ran in the 2007 Champions League final*
DIDA
Position: Goalkeeper
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 4109 m
PAOLO MALDINI
Position: Defender
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 9244 m
ALESSANDRO NESTA
Position: Defender
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 9168 m
MAREK JANKULOVSKI
Position: Left-back
Time in field: 80 min
Distance traveled: 8782 m
MASSIMO ODDO
Position: Right-back
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 9859 m
KAKHA KALADZE
Position: Left-back (reserve)
Time on field: 10 min
Distance traveled: 1516 m
GIUSEPPE FAVALLI
Position: Defender (reserve)
Time on field: 1 min
Distance traveled: 152 m
GENNARO GATTUSO
Position: Midfielder
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 11,276 m
CLARENCE SEEDORF
Position: Midfielder
Time on the field: 89 min
Distance traveled: 9944 m
ANDREA PIRLO
Position: Midfielder
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 10,694 m
MASSIMO AMBROSINI
Position: Midfielder
Time in field: 90 min
Distance covered: 10,584 m
KAKA
Position: Attacking midfielder
Time in field: 90 min
Distance traveled: 10,219 m
FILIPPO INZAGHI
Position: Striker
Time on the field: 88 min
Distance covered: 10,181 m
ALBERTO GILARDINO
Position: Striker (Reserve)
Time on field: 2 min
Distance traveled: 650 m
* MILAN 2 X 1 LIVERPOOL – 23/5/2007, AT THE OLYMPIC STADIUM IN ATHENS
SOURCE: UEFA (UNION OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS)