I saw that Chongqing Tongliang Long signed Dimata (Landry Dimata, 185cm, Belgium, 1997), nicknamed the 'supercar', based on the fact that he recorded a top speed of 39.1 km/h in this season's Champions League group stage, ranking first on the Champions League top speed list. Using this example, let's discuss how top speed is actually calculated and why it cannot be directly used to explain a player's speed capability.
The so-called maximum speed refers to the calculation of the player's body center of mass speed within a single sampling window. UEFA's sampling window is 0.02 seconds, which means this speed is only the instantaneous gait speed within 0.02 seconds, and does not represent a repeatable, sustainable sprint process, nor can it be directly equated to the player's explosive strength or actual game speed capability.
Specifically for the scenario where Dimata reached 39.1 km/h: when Dimata was turning on the flank, he was pushed by a defending player during a confrontation. The change in posture combined with the external force caused an instantaneous displacement of the center of mass, which was captured and recorded as a peak speed within 0.02 seconds, resulting in an abnormal maximum speed.
If the sampling range is expanded, the maximum speed distribution interval in top-level men's football events (World Cup, Champions League, the Big Five leagues) is very stable, with the maximum speed peak concentrated around 36 km/h. Records exceeding 36 km/h too frequently usually need to be judged in the context of specific matches, to determine whether they are momentary anomalies caused by special postures or measurement errors. Discussing extreme values outside the context of the scene itself has no analytical significance.
Back to the player himself, you can actually confirm just by watching some clips that Dimata's role is more of a reliable target forward, with a certain level of physicality, capable of stretching the field or dropping back to link up play, and his understanding of the game and team coordination are decent. However, whether it is explosiveness, initial acceleration, or dribbling speed, Dimata does not have an obvious advantage in Greece. In vertical sprints, it is difficult for him to consistently create distance from defenders. In addition, his finishing has shortcomings: he requires too many adjustments in front of goal, and although his heading ability in terms of jumping and positioning is acceptable, his control over the direction of headers is insufficient, making it difficult to consistently convert chances into goals.
Considering the environment of this season's Chinese Super League, the relegation pressure faced by newly promoted Chongqing is lighter than in previous years due to half of the teams in the league being penalized with point deductions. However, looking at the squad, Chongqing shows a tendency to develop a five-defender system. This type of system offers limited attacking opportunities and places very specific demands on forwards, requiring both the ability to quickly create threats vertically and to finish in limited chances. Even if the team plans to design its attack around young domestic players and takes Dimata's pivot abilities into account, the abilities of foreign forwards will still directly determine the team's attacking ceiling.
Maximum speed cannot fully represent a player's speed capabilities, and this has long been widely acknowledged in the field of performance analysis. The real issue does not lie in the data itself, but in the path of using data to replace understanding of the game. When sports departments review insufficient match footage during the evaluation process and overly rely on a single metric, or overly depend on packaged information provided by agents, the judgment of 'extreme data = ability' emerges.
Of course, the league environment is different, and factors such as match pace, defensive intensity, and system positioning all affect player performance. In the context of the Chinese Super League, Dimata still has room to perform. Putting aside the 'supercar' label, we hope he can play to his value in the right role and system.