If Barry Sanders was born in Europe he'd at worst be a 20+ goal poacher. The quickest accleration I ever saw. Plus with his feet he could probably easily outdribble anyone with just a little bit of expereince. Imagine a player who was 2-3 steps quicker than Owen in his prime and yet has way too much size (he's only 5'8" but he's 225lbs) and strength in his legs that no one could push him around. I've never seen an athlete like him
Another player who would be great, Bo Jackson.
I know it's fun to do these "what ifs", but Sanders was lightning quick FOR AN AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER.
He did not have incredible acceleration by the standards of a world class 100m runner, for example. That might sound pedantic, but there will be 25 sprinters in the UK alone quicker than him. Clearly, speed alone isn't enough.
Assuming that somebody who is light on their feet will be able to dribble doesn't hold either - being light on your feet is more a case of upper body position and balance. It's not really a question of moving your feet quickly, it's a case of moving your heavy upper body quickly enough to keep up with them.
I've said this before, but the thing about US sports is that they require specialists. Lineman couldn't run a sprint, but that's fine. Kickers can't tackle, thats fine. Not got the stamina for an entire game? That's ok, we have backups to swap in and out for you, plus you don't play defence anyway.
UK sports require all rounders. You have to be able to run, pass, tackle to some extent, you have to be able to do it for an entire game with only one break, and you need the brains to know which to do when. Sure, you can be stronger in certain areas, but you need all round talent as a starting point.
Plus, the best attribute a footballer can have is a great brain. Was Maradona a great athlete? Zidane? Messi? Not saying they were bad athletes, but that's just it - they were just athletic enough for their skills to allow them to dominate.
You can add an good athlete onto a great brain to get an Henry etc, but it doesn't work the other way - all those sprinters in the world, 99% of them could make more money as an average journeyman footballer. The majority would have played football growing up, but didn't make it.
So just because somebody looks supreme in their sport, doesn't mean he could be a superstar at soccer.
