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Five Short Players Who Have Shined in World Football

Normally speaking, we know that to play football at a high level as a professional, a certain level of physical power is required.

However, there are many players in the soccer world who have not been blessed with a large physical presence but have been key players for their teams.

In this feature, I will introduce five of the most impressive of them.

Lionel Messi
Club: Barcelona
Height: 168cm (165cm at his debut)

The representative of all players who have shined in the football world despite the short stature is undoubtedly Messi.
Until now, he has attracted the supporters with his incredible talent that does not make you feel that his short stature handicap
Now his height is 168cm, but it was 165 cm at the time of his debut for one of the world's greatest clubs.

Nguyễn Công Phượng
Club: Sint-Truiden
Height: 168cm

Called also "the Vietnamese Messi" Công Phượng is writing the story of Vietnamese football.
During his J-League adventure, he was not able to show his talent.
However, he has since matured and he played a major role during the 2019 Asian Cup.
Recognized for his high technical ability, he became the first Vietnamese player in history to play in Belgium.
In Vietnam, there are also many players short in stature but with wonderful technic skills. Because of players like this, the future of Vietnamese football future is so bright.

Marco Verratti
Club: PSG
Height: 165cm

At the time of his debut, Verratti was touted as the successor to the great Andrea Pirlo's.
He began to show his potential under coach Zdenek Zeman.
At that time Verratti, as the key playmaker for his team, guided Pescara to Serie B victory and promotion to the Italian top flight.
After that Juventus tried to keep him in Italy, but Verratti chose to transfer to France's PSG.
He has also been a top player for the Italian national team since 2012.

Lorenzo Insigne
Club: Napoli
Height: 163cm

Insigne came through the ranks at Napoli and has already made over 200 appearances for the club since 2010.
In fact, also Insigne played in Pescara team under Zeman together with Veratti during his season on loan there.
After that experience, the "little genius" became Napoli key player. Every season he is showing his great potential regularly.
Many big clubs have invited him so far, but there is only Napoli in Insigne's head.

Chanathip Songkrasin
Club: Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Height: 158cm

For Asian football fans, Chanathip is a player who needs no introduction.
When the diminutive Thai attacker moved to Sapporo, his expectations for him were honestly not very high.
However, he has become Consadole's key player with his high-quality passes, great agility, and unbeatable spirit.
He was also selected as the club's MVP in the 2018 season and also became the first Southeast Asian player to be chosen in J.League best-eleven at the end of that season.