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*This post summarizes one chapter from a book that I am working on with Dr. William McGuire, who is a “longtime student of pigeon toes, bow legs, and other advantageous abnormalities,” tentatively titled “Never Sleep on the Toes of a Pigeon.”

The Webster-Merriam dictionary defines pigeon toes as, “Having the toes and forefoot turned inward.”

Pigeontoedus minoricus

Although a vague definition, this describes many of the best soccer players in the world. Is this a coincidence? Soccer players come in all forms, but maybe pigeon toes provide a natural advantage.

Consider a few examples. Zidane played with feet turned slightly inwards. His feet acted like blades that protected the ball from all angles. Viera, Zidane’s counterpart in the France midfield, has feet with an even more pronounced inward turn.

Two of the best current players in the world, Messi and Ronaldinho, wield feet-shape that make them appear more comfortable running with the ball, pushing it along with the outside of their feet, than without it.

Pigeon-toed players just have more character

I came across some possibly scientific theories online of why pigeon toes might provide athletic advantages. Most of these focus on the superior speed that pigeon-toes can provide, given their inherent “stiffness.”

Mike Young, who I can only assume is a doctor, wrote a blog entry on elitetrack.com suggesting that when pigeon-toed athletes “contact the ground their foot and ankle joint tends to be stiffer with less ‘give.’ It is this lack of medial or inward foot roll that causes people who are pigeon-toed to also appear flat-footed. It’s also what may give them their advantage. The stiffer the foot is at ground contact the less energy is absorbed and dissipated. This is an important point considering that the impact forces experienced during running are on the order of 3-6x an athlete’s bodyweight and an athlete’s capacity to handle this impact and quickly accelerate their body in the opposite direction is the key to running speed.”

I’m not sure about overall speed, but my intuition has always told me that pigeon-toes can provide a lethal first few steps. I liken pushing off with pigeon toes to pushing off a natural starting block.

Some nations produce a much higher proportion of pigeon-toed talent. Off the top of my head, Brazil and Nigeria seem the most fruitful. Besides Ronaldinho, recent Brazilian stars with acute feet include Cafu, Roberto Carlos, and Adriano. Nigeria has Kanu and Okocha, two of the most underrated playmakers in world football.

Okocha’s highlight package ranks up there with the world-class studs of the game.

Besides their pace, all of these players were born with the natural ability to cradle the ball, using their foot-shape to cup and swerve the ball away from defenders.

The effectiveness of pigeon-toed players is not a recent phenomenon. Eduardo Galeano, author of the allegory-packed soccer history, “Soccer in Sun and Shadow,” highlights the effectiveness of odd foot shapes over the years:

“The Columbian Carlos Valderrama has warped feet, and the curvature helps him hide the ball. It’s the same story with Garrincha’s twisted feet. Where is the ball? In his ear? Inside his shoe? Where did it go? The Uruguayan ‘Cococho’ Alvarez, who walked with a lip, had one foot pointing toward the other, and he was one of the few defenders who could stop Pele without punching or kicking him.”

I could watch videos of legendary Brazilians all day. But this one of Garrincha suggests that his feet were more crooked than pigeon-toed. Same with Valderrama.

A limit probably exists to the degree of inward angle that a footballer’s feet can take. Because the sport requires a lot of running, it doesn’t favor inefficient strides. Most of the above players have mild, and not extreme, pigeon toes or bow legs.

More extreme cases exist in other sports, like professional baseball and basketball. Vladimir Guerrerro, Moises Alou, and Rajon Rondo make Zidane’s feet look parallel.

The bowed legs and flat feet often associated with pigeon-toes don’t help a soccer player’s endurance.

Drmirken.com suggests, “People with these traits often incur ankle, knee and hip injuries both during their playing days and later in life due to the fact that their feet are acting like a very tightly wound spring rather than a cushy crash-pad.”

Do pigeon-toed players get injured more? Is this the price they pay for their evolutionary advantage? Is there an ideal degree of pigeontoedness?

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