Wetall offers you a ranking of the tallest footballers of all time ! Only footballers who have played professionally will be considered. You will also find at the end of the article a bonus relating to the late 2022 football World Cup!
The 12 tallest footballers of all time, in height.
One might think that tall famous players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic (1.95m), Peter Crouch (2.01m), Nikola Zigic (2.02m) or Jan Koller (2.02m) are part of the top ten but they are not! Let’s discover the ranking together:
12. Oyvind Hoas – (Height: 2.03m)
Oyvind Hoas, born 28 October 1983, is a Norwegian striker. He has been playing for Kristiansund BK since 2015. He measures 2.03m and weighs 95kg. Hoas also has the distinction of having played for the Norwegian under-21 team.
11. Even Iversen – (Height: 2.03m)
Even Iversen is also Norwegian and measures 2.03m. But unlike his previously mentioned compatriot, he is a defender. Even has been playing for Flisbyen BK since 2017. He was also born in 1983.
10. Kjell Petter Opheim – (Height: 2.03m)
Kjell Petter Opheim, born 9 April 1982 and measures 2.03m. He is a former football goalkeeper from Stryn. He had an active career in football from 1998 to 2009. He previously played for Oslo Øst / Manglerud Star, Lyn and Moss and finished his career at the club of Stryn.
9. Costel Pantilimon – (Height: 2.03m)
Costel Fane Pantilimon measures 2.03m and was born on 1 February 1987. He is a professional Romanian footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Denizlispor in the Turkish Super Lig and for the Romanian national team. He is known for having played for Nottingham Forest in the English championship. He also played at Manchester City between 2011 and 2014.
8. Lacina Traore – (Height: 2.03m)
Lacina Emeghara Traoré, 2.03m, was born on 20 May 1990. He is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Turkish club Bandırmaspor. He is nicknamed “”the big tree”” because of his large stature. The Ivorian footballer Lacina Traore has been playing for Bandirmaspor this year. He also played for the Premier League club Everton. Traoré is also nicknamed the “”Gentle Giant””.
7. Tor Hogne Aaroy – (Height: 2.04m)
Hogne Aarøy, born 20 March 1977, is a former Norwegian football striker and measures 2.04m. Tor Hogne Aaroy scored several impressive goals for the Norwegian top-flight club Aalesunds FK with which he won the Norwegian Cup. He also played one year in Japan. He was also asked to play for the national team but preferred to attend the birth of his second child.
4. Yang Changpeng – (Height: 2.05m)
Yang Changpeng, born 1 May 1989, measures 2.05m and played as a striker. On his arrival, he was nicknamed the “”Chinese Peter Crouch”” during his month-long trial in England. But as he failed to make a good impression, he returned to his country.
He then played for several Chinese clubs such as Chengdu Blades, Shenzhen Fengpeng, Meizhou Kejia and Yinchuan Helanshan.
He played until 2019 for Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League.
Changpeng showed promising signs in his youth and was only 17 when he came to England for trials with the Premier League club at the time, having already played for China at U20 level, but the transfer did not materialise and the striker encountered difficulties thereafter. He later found himself in the Chinese second division.
4. Daniel Muller – (Height: 2.05m)
Daniel Müller was born in Munich on 19 May 1992 and played as goalkeeper. He played for Bayern Munich but never made the senior team of the Bavarian giants.
4. Vanja Ivesa – (Height: 2.05m)
Vanja Ivesa, born 21 July 1977 in Pula, is a Croatian goalkeeper playing since 2018 for NK Opatija. He became the oldest player to participate in the Croatian top football league on 17 February 2018. Moreover, he also played for Elazigspor, the Turkish top-division club. After making his debut with NK Istra in 1995, Ivesa played for multiple clubs in Croatia and elsewhere, such as the Australian league team Sydney United FC, the Croatian football club NK Zminj, the Turkish club Eskisehirspor and his home club NK Opatija. He is undoubtedly one of the tallest football players of all time. It is interesting to note that he is also the tallest football player on FIFA 19.
The veteran goalkeeper Vanja Ivesa is 44 years old and has been in football for over two decades. He spent most of these 20 years in his native country, Croatia, although he did have some spells in Turkey and Australia.
3. Tonny Brogaard – (Height: 2.06m)
Tonny Brogaard, born 10 February 1984, formerly Tonny Nielsen, is a Danish football goalkeeper, who last played for Boldklubben Frem in the Danish top division in 2009. He had a brief spell in England with Doncaster Rovers but soon found himself back in Denmark. Brogaard was rarely a regular starter in the clubs where he played.
1. Paul Millar – (Height: 2.08m)
Paul Millar, or Paul Leech-Flannigan, is a Scottish footballer who played for Deveronvale. He is best remembered for his spell at Elgin City F.C. between 2010 and 2014.
The Elgin City FC staff had to raise the entrance because of his height. Millar later played for Formartine United during the 2014-15 season. In addition to being a footballer, he is also a full-time firefighter who works at RAF Kinloss base in Moray, in the Highlands region of Scotland.
Kirkcaldy YM inducted him into its hall of fame at the annual awards ceremony. Millar is the world’s tallest field player. Millar never went through an academy but was selected to play on a Royal Air Force team and impressed enough to be invited to play for Scottish club Elgin City, where he signed in 2010 and has remained since.
Starting his career late, Millar scored 15 goals in 66 matches before suffering a nasty injury that ended his career in 2016. He still works at RAF Kinloss base where he holds the position of firefighter.
1. Kristof van Hout – (2.08m)
Kristof Van Hout, born 9 February 1987 in Lommel, is a Belgian footballer, who has been playing since 2015 as a goalkeeper for Westerlo in the Proximus League.
He started his career in the Netherlands, at Willem II, the former club of Jaap Stam, before moving to PSV. Later, he played for the Belgian team K.V. Kortrijk. He then joined Standard Liège on 6 August 2009 on a three-year contract.
He also played as a goalkeeper for the Indian Super League club Delhi Dynamos FC during the 2014-15 season. Since 2015, Kristof has been part of the Pro League Belgian club Westerlo. Because of his height, he doesn’t even need to jump to catch corners that come his way. The biggest club for which Hout has played is Standard Liège, and he currently plays for KVC Westerloo, a Belgian Pro League club. Hout won the Belgian Cup with Genk in 2013, which was his only trophy as a player to date.
TOP 12 of the tallest footballers of all time in height:
1. Kristof van Hout – (2.08m)
1. Paul Millar – (Height: 2.08m)
3. Tonny Brogaard – (Height: 2.06m)
4. Vanja Ivesa – (Height: 2.05m)
4. Daniel Muller– (Height: 2.05m)
4. Yang Changpeng – (Height: 2.05m)
7. Tor Hogne Aaroy – (Height: 2.04m)
8. Lacina Traore – (Height: 2.03m)
8. Oyvind Hoas – (Height: 2.03m)
8. Costel Pantilimon – (Height: 2.03m)
8. Kjell Petter Opheim – (Height: 2.03m)
8. Even Iversen – (Height: 2.03m)
What are the tallest countries and players at the Qatar football World Cup?
The average height of football World Cup players is 181.7cm. This is an average slightly lower than that of the 31 European first-division championships. The only European nation to field a European team averaging less than 1.80m in height. On the other hand, the six nations with the tallest players are UEFA members. It is nevertheless important to clarify that there is no correlation between height and success.
The average heights of the teams fielded are also very unequal. At one extreme, Serbia fielded players with an average height of 185.6cm. At the other, Saudi Arabia’s team players measured only 176.2cm.
The differences between the different confederations are also significant: 183.2cm for UEFA-qualified nations versus 179.6cm for those of CONMEBOL.
Difference in image:
Discover also other numerical information:
From tall #Netherlands 🇳🇱 to short #Argentina 🇦🇷 #FIFAWorldCup quarter finalists ranked according to average height of line-ups fielded 🤓 Congratulations to all for their qualification 👏 pic.twitter.com/DObsQpNEte
— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) December 7, 2022
Tallest squads for clubs in 3⃣1⃣ European top divisions 🗼 @fckoeln ahead of two other 🇩🇪 @Bundesliga_DE teams: @1FSVMainz05 & @VfB 😮 On-the-pitch data in the exclusive @CIES_Football ⚽️ Demographic Atlas 🗺️ with @AGFFodbold 🔝 👉 https://t.co/JSbemUajxD pic.twitter.com/3XKNqIalGf — CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) November 13, 2022
Average height per position, players in 3⃣1⃣ European top divisions 🤓 Goalkeepers (almost 1⃣9⃣0⃣cm) 🔝 Attacking midfielders & full backs (<1⃣8⃣0⃣cm) ⤵️ Data per team in the exclusive @CIES_Football ⚽️ Demographic Atlas 🗺️ 👉 https://t.co/JSbemTSI93 pic.twitter.com/WpqXbD0ToC
— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) November 12, 2022
For comparison, here is what it was like at the 2018 World Cup:
Nice infographics by @AFPSport from data processed by @CIES_Football in the 30th edition of the Monthly Report: https://t.co/CZLBQpuVnb 😃 pic.twitter.com/85FBkWWpwE — CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) May 17, 2018
That’s all for this ranking of the tallest footballers of all time. Feel free to rediscover these articles that should interest you:
- What are the best sports for tall people?
- Who are the tallest tennis players of all time? In height
- How tall are the players on the French Basketball, Volleyball and Handball teams?
And to finish well, find a selection of large-size football shoes!”