Over 28 and out of the Cup
6 June 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com
Those who believe in the power of statistics combined with the value of youth can strike from their list of potential 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany? winners the following teams: Brazil, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, USA, Australia, Croatia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The reason? In none of the last ten FIFA World Cup competitions have the winners possessed a squad with an average age of more than 28 ? the 'weakness' of all those teams listed above.
You have to go all the way back to Brazil's champions of 44 years ago to find a winning squad with an average age of more than 28. At Chile 1962 the Sele??o weighed in at an average of 30 years and one month, a staggering 17 months older on average than the next oldest squad.
Since then the average age of the winning squads has been: England (27/01); Brazil (25/02); Germany (27/03); Argentina (26/03); Italy (27/04); Argentina (26/10); Germany (27/09); Brazil (27/11); France (27/04) and Brazil (26/09).
Interestingly the average age of those ten winners comes out at 26/11 which is exactly the average of the Germany squad ? and no other team - this time. It is also worth noting that the losing finalists are normally not too far away from the winners in terms of average ages. The last three defeated teams show: Germany (28/02); Brazil (27/11); Italy (28).
In this competition Ghana have the youngest squad at 25/02 while fellow newcomers Trinidad and Tobago are the 'old men' of the party. Their squad registers a creaky 29/05.
The youngest player is England rookie Theo Walcott who will be just 17 years and 85 days old when the tournament begins on 9 June. If he hits the back of the net the Arsenal striker will become the youngest-ever goalscorer at a FIFA World Cup.
The oldest participant is Tunisia goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel who was born three months before England lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 and stands fifth in the all-time list of oldest players to take part in a FIFA World Cup, following in the footsteps of such greats as Roger Milla (Cameroon), Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland), Peter Shilton (England) and Dino Zoff (Italy).
The overall average age of the players taking part in the Germany showpiece is 27/05. Remarkably that figure has scarcely changed over recent tournaments. Four years ago it was 27/06 as it was in 1998. In 1994 it was just one month less at 27/05.
The Japan squad this time feature the smallest gap between their youngest and oldest players ? just eight years and two months. England have the largest age gap (18 years and seven months), perhaps no surprise given the Walcott factor and the presence of David James who turns 36 on 1 August.
6 June 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com
Those who believe in the power of statistics combined with the value of youth can strike from their list of potential 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany? winners the following teams: Brazil, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, USA, Australia, Croatia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The reason? In none of the last ten FIFA World Cup competitions have the winners possessed a squad with an average age of more than 28 ? the 'weakness' of all those teams listed above.
You have to go all the way back to Brazil's champions of 44 years ago to find a winning squad with an average age of more than 28. At Chile 1962 the Sele??o weighed in at an average of 30 years and one month, a staggering 17 months older on average than the next oldest squad.
Since then the average age of the winning squads has been: England (27/01); Brazil (25/02); Germany (27/03); Argentina (26/03); Italy (27/04); Argentina (26/10); Germany (27/09); Brazil (27/11); France (27/04) and Brazil (26/09).
Interestingly the average age of those ten winners comes out at 26/11 which is exactly the average of the Germany squad ? and no other team - this time. It is also worth noting that the losing finalists are normally not too far away from the winners in terms of average ages. The last three defeated teams show: Germany (28/02); Brazil (27/11); Italy (28).
In this competition Ghana have the youngest squad at 25/02 while fellow newcomers Trinidad and Tobago are the 'old men' of the party. Their squad registers a creaky 29/05.
The youngest player is England rookie Theo Walcott who will be just 17 years and 85 days old when the tournament begins on 9 June. If he hits the back of the net the Arsenal striker will become the youngest-ever goalscorer at a FIFA World Cup.
The oldest participant is Tunisia goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel who was born three months before England lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 and stands fifth in the all-time list of oldest players to take part in a FIFA World Cup, following in the footsteps of such greats as Roger Milla (Cameroon), Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland), Peter Shilton (England) and Dino Zoff (Italy).
The overall average age of the players taking part in the Germany showpiece is 27/05. Remarkably that figure has scarcely changed over recent tournaments. Four years ago it was 27/06 as it was in 1998. In 1994 it was just one month less at 27/05.
The Japan squad this time feature the smallest gap between their youngest and oldest players ? just eight years and two months. England have the largest age gap (18 years and seven months), perhaps no surprise given the Walcott factor and the presence of David James who turns 36 on 1 August.
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