2014 FIFA World Cup: Netherlands’ Arjen Robben is world’s fastest footballer

Arjen Robben 2014 World Cup
Arjen Robben 2014 World Cup
Arjen Robben in action with his club FC Bayern Muenchen

Enroute to inspiring Netherlands in the 5-1 drubbing of title holders Spain last Friday, forward Arjen Robben recorded the fastest speed ever clocked by a footballer – an astounding 37km/h. The 30-year old showed that age isn’t a barrier to greatness, as he broke the previous record of 35.7km/h set by England’s Theo Walcott.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is Robben’s sixth major tournament for Netherlands, where the left-footed right winger scored two against Spain.

Robben’s record-breaking feat was outstanding in several aspects. Firstly, he did this with the ball under control. Next, this was after 80 minutes of play! If he were to run a 100m dash, he would have clocked 10.28 seconds. Plenty fast, although not quite as fast as the de facto fastest man in the world – Usain Bolt.

Bolt holds the title of the quickest speed ever recorded by a human – at an astonishing 44.72km/h! That’s faster than some people drive in Malaysia, on the right lane.

After Robben, the list of the world’s fastest is as follows:

  • Theo Walcott, 35.7 km/h
  • Antonio Valencia, 35.1 km/h
  • Gareth Bale, 34.7 km/h
  • Aaron Lennon, 33.8 km/h
  • Cristiano Ronaldo, 33.6 km/h
  • Lionel Messi, 32.5 km/h
  • Wayne Rooney, 31.2 km/h
  • Franck Ribery, 30.7 km/h
  • Sergio Ramos, 30.6 km/h

Header image credit: utag.us

Vernon
Vernon is the founder and chief editor of Vernonchan.com. A graphic designer by profession, he has a deep love for technology, cars, gadgets, food, and travel. He tweets too much and is also known as a caffeine bacterium ("life's too short for bad coffee"). Bleeds Blue (go Chelsea FC!) and considers BMW, Porsche, Alfa Romeo cars to have in the garage--hallmarks of a true petrolhead.