So today I was scrolling through old sports forums when this crazy thread caught my eye – folks arguing about the tallest pro soccer player ever. Obviously had to fact-check this myself. Grabbed my laptop around noon, coffee already cold, and dove straight into Google hell.
The Deep Dive Begins
Typed “world’s tallest footballer stats” first. Mostly got useless listicles full of retired players. Cross-referenced five sites – everybody named different guys. Kristof Van Hout? Simon Bloch Jørgensen? Some dude named Lacina Traore? Heights all over the place too. One site claimed 6’8″, another said 6’10”. Total mess.
Pulled up official league databases next. UEFA archives took forever loading. Found Simon’s Danish club info – official records showed 210cm. But Kristof’s Belgian team stats said 208cm. Couldn’t even trust primary sources! Almost threw my mouse when another site listed some Icelandic keeper at 211cm with zero documentation.
Breaking Through the Noise
Decided to hit academic journals around 2pm. Weirdly specific research papers exist about athlete anthropometry. Finally landed a legit study from Oslo tracking player heights across decades. Scrolled through boring methodology sections until BAM – there he was:
- Paul Millar (ex-Gillingham)
- Former semi-pro in England
- Verified 207cm (6’9.5″) at medical check
- Actual game footage showing him dwarfing opponents
Sent screenshots to three soccer-mad friends for confirmation. Took 45 minutes of group texting before consensus.
Why This Sticks in My Brain
Wasted half my Tuesday on this? Hell yes. Wife complained about dinner being late. Kid asked why I kept shouting “Gotcha!” at the screen. Worth it though – you ever see that photo of Millar standing next to Messi? Looks like dad playing with kindergarteners.
Funny part? Our “fact-check” crew ended up researching everything from his shoe size to apartment ceiling heights. Went down such a rabbit hole that Joe got inspired to actually build a height-comparison app. Now that failed startup’s haunting LinkedIn like a ghost. Still paying off those AWS bills.
