Football is now ruled by statistics, with new records being recorded regularly. Now, you’re keen to know some of these records, too. So before they can be broken, we bring you some existing world records in football.
Kristof van Hout - World's Tallest Footballer
The world’s tallest footballer, Kristof van Hout, plays for Lommel SK in Belgium. And at 6 feet 10 inches, he chose to play as a goalkeeper. Because with that height, getting the better of him from crosses would be so challenging. Good luck loading crosses into this guy’s box from set pieces because he’d probably gobble them up all day.
Élton José Xavier Gomes - World's Shortest Footballer
At the other end of the spectrum, 37-year-old Élton José Xavier Gomes holds the record for the shortest footballer ever with a height of 5 feet 1 inch. Of course, he’s retired now, and as you would expect, with that height, he was not a goalkeeper. That’s because at 5’1″, he couldn’t have had the needed aerial presence or physical threat.
William Foulke - Heaviest Footballer Ever
But here’s someone who was a physical threat in his playing days – William Foulke. He played as a goalkeeper, and with a weight of 152 kg, he holds the record for the heaviest footballer ever. Well, it must have been difficult to challenge for balls with that guy. So, if you wished to score against him, you’d need powerful strikes to have a chance against him, just like the one by Robby Henderson in 2006. Yes, that’s right.
Robby Henderson - Fastest Shot Ever
In 2006, while playing for Sporting CP, Robby created a record from a free kick by striking the ball at 210km/hr speed, making it the fastest shot ever. Pretty wild, right? Well, that ball was also on target. And as you would expect, it was a goal. Because surely, no goalkeeper is keeping that one out.
Tom King - Farthest Distance Goalkeeper
But here’s a man who has scored from inside his box. Yes, you heard right. His box. And well, he is Tom King, a goalkeeper, and with the goal he scored in 2021 from a distance of 96.01 meters, he now holds the record for the goal scored from the farthest distance, beating the record previously held by fellow goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Jone Samuelsen - A Powerful Header
Now, if that’s cool, wait till you hear about the goal scored from the farthest distance with a header. Yes, a title. And this one is held by Jone Samuelsen. And what makes this even more remarkable is that he scored it from his half. He has a powerful header in him, so avoiding a clash of heads with that guy is one way to prevent a concussion. And if you were a player, avoiding such injuries could help you have a long career.
Ezzeldin Bahader - Oldest Player Ever
Who knows? You could even play in a football game at an old age, just like this guy, Ezzeldin Bahader. Yep, that’s right. Ezzeldin Bahader is the man who holds the record for the oldest player ever to play a professional football game. He set a description in October 2020 at the age of 74 years and 348 days. Unfortunately, that was in the Egyptian third division and not a UEFA Champions League game, so he doesn’t hold the record for the oldest player in the Champions League.
Paolo Maldini - Oldest Champions League Player
But here’s the man who holds the record for the oldest player to captain a Champions League team. Paolo Maldini. That record was set in a game against Arsenal in 2008 at the age of 39 years and 239 days.
And now we’re about to reveal the record for the fastest hat trick ever
Tommy Ross - Hat Tricks
Although you are hearing the name for the first time, that’s because the record for the most closed hat trick belongs to Tommy Ross, and it came as far back as 1964. Tommy scored his 3 goals in 90 SECONDS! And let’s be honest, it’ll probably be impossible to break that record, knowing how difficult it is even to score hat tricks now. Not even Tommy could score another hat trick in the next game.
Masashi Nakayama - Oldest Player as Captain
But there is a guy who scored hat tricks in FOUR consecutive games. Yes, that’s right. And that guy is Masashi Nakayama, who set that record in 1998.
Longest Penalty Shootout
Now, let’s talk about the longest penalty shootout in history. This record was set 2022 in a game between non-league English teams Washington and Bedlington. That shootout ended 25-24, and there were 54 penalties.
Highest Goals In A Game
Now, for the highest number of goals scored in a single game, it’s 149. Yes, you heard correctly, 149 goals, and believe it or not, they were all goals. Now, it may sound like it could be more apparent, but here’s what happened. It was a game in Madagascar between AS Adema and SO l’Emyrne. And well, the latter felt they were victims of poor officiating in their previous game, and it ended their chances of being champions.
So, in protest, they kept passing back into their own goal after every kick-off. Yep, that’s right. Of course, they didn’t go unpunished for that, as their coach was banned for 3 years, with other players banned for the season. Indeed, that’s also the record for the highest number of goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a game. ‘
Sao Paulo legend Rogerio Ceni - Most Goals Scorer
So, in protest, they kept passing back into their own goal after every kick-off. Yep, that’s right. Of course, they didn’t go unpunished for that, as their coach was banned for 3 years, with other players banned for the season. Indeed, that’s also the record for the highest number of goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a game. ‘
So, in protest, they kept passing back into their own goal after every kick-off. Yep, that’s right. Of course, they didn’t go unpunished for that, as their coach was banned for 3 years, with other players banned for the season. Indeed, that’s also the record for the highest number of goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a game. ‘
Highest Red Cards
In a game in 2011 between Argentine teams Claypole and Arenas, both teams got into a brawl. And well, in response, the referee, Damian Rubino, sent off all members of both squads and even some technical staff, issuing a total of 36 red cards that day.
Highest Football Juggles
Now, enough with the brawls. Let’s talk about some skills, like the record for the highest number of keepie-uppies held by Tang Jinfan, a 10-year-old Chinese youngster who juggled the ball non-stop for 1 hour, completing over 8,000 juggles. Indeed, that took a lot of work to pull off.
Consecutive Nutmegs
Another difficult skill to pull off is consecutive nutmegs. But believe it or not, there is someone so good at it that he completed 10 nutmegs in 30 seconds, setting a new record for the most nutmegs in 30 seconds. His name is Mohammed Shaleel, a student from Mangaluru. And by doing this, he beat the previous record held by Dele Alli.
Speaking of Dele Alli. He was highly rated at a young age and even got nominated for the Balon d’Or at 21. But he is not the youngest player to ever be selected. You can guess who that one belongs to.
Youngest Ballon d'Or Nominee
Yes, it’s Kylian Mbappe. In 2017, at 18, Mbappe became history’s youngest Ballon d’Or nominee. And in doing so, he beat the record previously held by Michael Owen.And who knows? Someone else could break that record, and maybe it’ll even be someone from Real Madrid’s reserves team.
Smallest Stadium In the World
Speaking of Real Madrid’s reserve team, they play their home matches at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium. And you know what else? Regarding capacity, that stadium is the smallest in the world, with a total of 6,000. And well, you could agree that they’d probably have trouble accommodating large crowds in that stadium. But that wouldn’t be a problem at other stadiums, like the Maracana Stadium in Brazil.
Highest Stadium Attendance
Would you believe that the Maracana Stadium holds the record for the highest attendance at a football game? Yep, that’s right. During the 1950 World Cup game between Brazil and Uruguay held at that stadium, 199,854 fans were in attendance. Although the fans were way more than the stadium’s actual capacity, the attendance that day shows it is no longer a small stadium.
Most Enormous Football Stadium
But believe it or not, although the Maracana has held the highest number of fans for a game, it is not the biggest stadium in the world. Yep, that’s right. The most enormous football Stadium in the world is the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, which isn’t even in Europe. Yes, that’s right. It’s in North Korea, with a capacity of about 114,000 seats.
