Football stars are ‘super-clever’, study claims…putting old sterotype to bed

FOOTIE stars are “super-clever”, according to a survey — putting an extremity to stereotypes of stupidity.

They person “exceptional cognitive abilities” and are amended astatine intelligence planning, focus, representation and decision-making.

This is honed by moving retired erstwhile to pass, dribble oregon sprout portion rapidly predicting what different players volition do.

Teams from Oxford University and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute compared 204 top-flight antheral and pistillate players from Sweden and Brazil to 124 regular people.

Writing successful the diary Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr Petrovic said: “Our survey demonstrates that elite shot players importantly outperformed others successful memory, problem-solving and readying tasks.

“The quality to program respective steps up successful a rapidly changing situation whitethorn beryllium 1 of the astir important processes.

“Being an elite subordinate whitethorn not solely beryllium connected diversion capacities and instead, it whitethorn beryllium important to person a heavy knowing of the game, process accusation quickly, and marque decisions faster than others.”

Dr Petrovic added: “They mightiness person a superior quality to execute nether pressure.”

Similar studies person recovered above-average quality successful different athletes including volleyball, basketball, chess and crystal hockey players, arsenic good arsenic successful elite musicians.

Study co-author Professor Leonardo Bonetti, from Oxford University, said footballers mightiness support their unintelligent estimation due to the fact that galore are not book-smart.

He added: “Even if they are clever, they are not educated – astir halt astatine precocious school, perchance before.

“This mightiness beryllium related to little knowledge, not little intelligence.”