Speed and acceleration are two of the most important facets in a footballing team that expects to win championships and trophies. Having a winger or a forward of considerable quickness can help stretch opposition defences and create scoring opportunities for teammates, while also giving the upper-hand in one-on-one situations during counter-attacks.
One only needs to take into account Leicester’s remarkable title-winning campaign last season to see how Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez’s fleetness and quickness helped take the Foxes over the line in innumerable games.
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So, it’ll be no surprise to know that these players can be usually found plying their trade for some of the top clubs on the planet.
Without further ado, let us take a peek into the list for top 5 fastest footballers on the planet.
#5 Mohamed Salah
Club: AS Roma
Position: Right Wing
Top Speed: 34.3 kmph
(Video credit: GuFreitas 7)
A quick, mobile, hard-working and tactical player, with good technique and an eye for goal, Salah is predominantly known for his speed, dribbling skills, and ball control. He uses his pace and flair on the ball in order to beat opponents and create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.
Salah is dubbed as ‘The Egyptian Messi’ – that’s how highly regarded the winger is with his fans. He initially made his name with Swiss side FC Basel and shot to fame after he tore through Chelsea’s defence with his blistering pace in their Europa League semi-final clash at Stamford Bridge.
Clearly having caught the London side’s eye, he then moved to Chelsea in January 2014, but was never given a fair opportunity in front of the likes of Eden Hazard and Willian. While his time in English shores was less than exemplary, a move to Italy with Fiorentina and then Roma saw him recapture the form that saw him touted as one of the best wingers on the planet.
Salah has consistently terrorised Serie A defences and won the Player of the Season award in his first season at the Stadio Olimpico having scored 15 goals and registered 6 assists.
#4 Jamie Vardy
Club: Leicester City
Position: Striker
Top Speed: 34.44 kmph
(Video credit: LCFC)
The striker who helped power Leicester City to a historic league title last season, Jamie Vardy plundered 24 goals and was voted the Premier League’s Player of the Season.
Vardy’s rags to riches story is an inspiring one, with the forward moving up the leagues from conference side Halifax Town to Fleetwood Town to eventually Leicester City in the English Championship and the Premier League. The Englishman’s pace was used to devastating effect by Claudio Ranieri; with the forward playing a vital role in Leicester’s counter-attacking style of play.
Initially wasted out on the wings under predecessor Nigel Pearson, the role Ranieri carved out for him seemed to play to all his strengths, making him one of the most formidable marksmen in the top-flight. His speed, complimented with finding the back of the net on a consistent basis meant that the Foxes were never found wanting in front of goal.
While he seems to have gone off the boil a bit this season, Leicester still use his pace as an out while defending deep against some of the league’s more decorated teams.
#3 Gareth Bale
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Winger/Forward
Top speed: 34.70 kmph
(Video credit: rom7ooo)
Having started out his career as a left-back, it was Harry Redknapp’s decision to push him further forward on the wing and utilise his devastating pace that saw Gareth Bale transformed into one of the best wingers on the planet.
An incredible 2012/13 season saw him score 26 goals for Tottenham, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year, Welsh Footballer of the Year and earning a then world record move to Real Madrid.
He continued where he left off, helping the Spanish giants to their coveted La Decima in his first season with the club and clocking 34.7kmph during his famous run against Barcelona in the Copa del Ray final that left Marc Bartra for dead. He has become one of the key members of Zinedine Zidane’s squad and was pivotal in Los Blancos’ Champions League victory last season.
A fast and dynamic player, Bale is tough to stop when in full tilt. The fact that opposing managers usually employ two players to stop him when he receives the ball shows how dangerous he can be.
#2 Hector Bellerin
Club: Arsenal
Position: Right-back
Top Speed: 34.77 kmph
(Video credit: FC Cunha)
Bellerin broke into the Arsenal first team after an injury to Mathieu Debuchy and established himself as first-choice right-back after putting in consistently excellent performances.
One of the most coveted aspects about Bellerin is his lightning-fast agility and quickness, with the Spaniard having broken Theo Walcott’s 40 meter Arsenal sprint record by 1/100th of a second – clocking in at 4.41 seconds.
Bellerin is one of the first names on the team sheet when he is fit and he offers a constant threat on the flanks, while also offering a reliable outlet during counter-attacks. He managed to win the FA Cup in his first season as a regular and has already earned 3 caps for the Spanish national team.
A graduate of the famed La Masia academy, Barcelona have been predictably batting their eyelashes in his direction in recent times, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Bellerin return to Spanish shores.
#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Winger/Forward
Top speed: 34.98 kmph
Video credit: CREMAX 7
Aubameyang was schooled at AC Milan’s academy, but left without making a single appearance for the first team. He eventually made his name with Saint-Etienne in the French top flight.
Brought to Borussia Dortmund in 2013/14 by Jürgen Klopp to inject more pace and dynamism to a side that had narrowly lost out the Champions League final to arch-rivals Bayern Munich the season before. He scored a hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut and quickly became a mainstay in a side that was looking to go shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.
Aubameyang’s rapidness and speed saw him easily transition into a center-forward role from his initial role on the wings, scoring an incredible 39 goals last season, with 25 in the Bundesliga – second only to Robert Lewandowski. He was subsequently voted as the Bundesliga Player of the Year and begun the current season in a similar vein of form.
Unsurprisingly, his form has attracted attention from the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see him land in La Liga or the Premier League in the near future.
