Liga MX’s Pachuca think they are sitting on a golden egg, and they just went through some FIFA-certified research in order to confirm it. One of their youngest talents, Jurgen Damm, is officially the second fastest dribbler in the world.
The study, carried out by Pachuca and endorsed by FIFA, looked at some of the top players in the world and ranked them in terms of their speed on the ball. Here are the results:
1. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid): 36.9 km/h
2. Jürgen Damm (Pachuca): 35.23 km/h
3. Antonio Valencia (Manchester United): 35.1 km/h
4. Aaron Lennon (Tottenham): 33.8 km/h
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid): 33.6 km/h
6. Theo Walcott (Arsenal): 32.7 km/h
7. Lionel Messi (Barcelona): 32.5 km/h
8. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United): 31.2 km/h
9. Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich): 30.7 km/h
10. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid): 30.6 km/h
Our many, many hours spent playing FIFA have us disagreeing with Theo Walcott being ranked below Antonio Valencia, but hey, we shouldn’t be concerned, should we? It’s not like the integrity of FIFA has been questioned at nearly every turn for the past year.
Regardless, Damm seems like a prospect worth getting excited about. The kid is 22 years old, and even though his name is about as German as it gets, he is a Mexican through and through. He could have gone over to the Premier League on two occasions, but trouble attaining a work permit and Pachuca’s desire to keep him prevented a move from happening. If he keeps scoring goals like these, however, that could change soon.