The Shortest XI In World Football

Dan Fitch picks a team of footballers for whom size isn't everything.

In the modern game of football you can go a long way with a team made up of six-footers who will cause chaos at every set-piece.

It's not exactly the beautiful game though, is it? They say the best things come in small packages and if it's guile and skill you're after, then it's very often the little players who have it in spades.

We've picked a side that we think is the smallest team of players currently playing professionally (let us know if you know different). Here is the shortest XI in world football.

Goalkeeper: Oscar Perez Rojas - 5ft 7 ½"

Being a short goalkeeper is only an advantage if you're between the sticks in a five-a-side, making the achievements of Oscar Perez Rojas all the more astonishing.

The world's shortest shot-stopper, who plays for Necaxa, won 54 caps for Mexico between 1995 and 2010 and appeared in both the 2002 and the 2010 World Cups.

Right Back: Clemente Rodriguez - 5ft 5 ½"

The Boca Juniors full back Clemente Rodriguez can play on either side of the defence and has won 13 caps for Argentina.

Rodriguez's international career reached a peak when he was named in the Argentina squad for the 2010 World Cup, although it's possible that he was only called up so Diego Maradona had someone in South Africa that was the same height as him.

Left Back: Joaozinho - 5ft 4"

The smallest member of our back four is the Brazilian Joaozinho, who plays for the Russian Premier League side FC Krasnodar.

Having started his career with Portuguesa in Brazil, Joaozinho then moved to Bulgaria with Levski Sofia, before signing with Krasnodar in the January transfer window.

Centre Back: Luis Fernando Fuentes - 5ft 7"

We're not sure how our 5ft 7" centre-half would deal with Peter Crouch. The 24-year old defender from Mexico plays for the Primera Division side Pumas de la UNAM.

Being so small must be a disadvantage for a central defender, but on the other hand have you ever seen the likes of David Wheater or Brede Hangeland do this after scoring a goal?

Centre Back: Gialuca Grava - 5ft 7 ½"

As the tallest member of our defence (or least short), the responsibility for marking those big centre forwards will fall to Napoli's 33-year old Gialuca Grava. Though he most often plays at right back for Napoli, Grava has plenty of experience as a centre back.

Having spent his youth playing in the lower divisions of Italian football, Grava signed for Napoli when they were demoted to Serie C and has remained with the club as they have risen through the divisions, making his Serie A debut aged 30.

Central Midfield: Cristian Battocchio - 5ft 3"

The 19-year old Argentine midfielder Cristian Battocchio may be short on experience, but at just 5ft 3" tall, he is exactly the sort of little terrier that we want in midfield.

Battocchio has made one appearance for his club Udinese to date, making his debut as a substitute in a 7-0 win over Palermo.

Central Midfield: Dave Huymans - 5ft 4"

One of only two European players in team of short-arses, Dave Huymans is a 24-year old Dutch central midfielder.

Huymans has played for a number of second-tier clubs in Holland, starting his career with Harlem and eventually ending up at his current club FC Dordrecht.

Right Wing: Maximiliano Moralez - 5ft 3"

Maximiliano Moralez is nicknamed 'frasquito' in his native Argentina, meaning 'little flask'. That doesn't make much sense to us, other than the possibility that it may refer to the fact that he's pint-sized.

Moralez began his career with Racing and after an ill-fated spell in Russia with FC Moscow, returned to the Argentine league to play for Velez Sarsfield.

Left Wing: Elton Jose Xavier Gomes - 5ft ½"

The shortest player and therefore the captain of our team is the 24-year old Brazilian Elton Jose Xavier Gomes, who is barely taller than Kylie Minogue, despite the help of quite a big head of hair.

'Elton' came through the younth ranks at Corinthians and spent time at Steaua Bucharest, before moving to the Middle East to play for Al Nasr and then Dubai Club.

Attacking Midfield: Diego Buonanotte - 5ft 3"

Diego Buonanotte is the latest in the long line of playmakers who have been labelled the 'next Maradona', or more recently 'the next Messi', but at just 5ft 3" he's even smaller than the Argentinean legends.

The 22-year old started out with River Plate and may have achieved more in his young career if not for a near fatal car accident that kept him out of the game for over a year. Buonanotte signed for Malaga during the January transfer window and loaned back to River Plate for the rest of the season.

Striker: Carlinhos Bala - 5ft 4"

Our lone striker is so short that the opposing centre-half could literally put him in his pocket. Carlinhos Bala - meaning 'Little Carlos Bullet' - is a 31-year old Brazilian striker who once had a spell with Cruzeiro.

These days he plays for Sport in Brasileiro Serie B. We'll be instructing our wingers and full-backs to refrain from putting too many high balls into the box.

Published: 4 Mar 2011