Top 10 Towering Figures in Global Football Currently Competing Professionally

Kristof Van Hout was born on February 9, 1987 in Lommel, Belgium. He is a professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Westerlo in the Proximus League. Standing at 2.08 meters tall, he is considered one of the tallest players in history. Van Hout joined Willem II in 2004 from KFC Verbroedering Geel at a young age. On August 6, 2009, Standard Liège signed the goalkeeper from KV Kortrijk on a three-year contract. On June 11, 2011, he returned to Kortrijk on a one-year contract.

Kristof Van Hout is the tallest professional goalkeeper in the world at the moment. In the past, this goalkeeper has played for famous Belgian clubs such as Genk and Standard Liege. He mainly served as a backup and had few opportunities to play. Currently, Van Hout is playing for the Belgian club Westerlo. Are you impressed by this player?

Žarko Marković was born on January 28, 1987, and is a Serbian footballer who currently plays for Radnički Niš. On December 20, 2013, Marković signed a three-year contract with Kairat, extending his contract with Kairat on October 26, 2016, until the end of 2018. On November 13, 2017, Kairat announced that Marković had left the club before the agreement.

Zarko Markovic plays as a defender and is currently playing for El Jaish in the Qatari national championship. Markovic is quite versatile, with intelligent gameplay and good heading ability. Previously, this 2.04m tall defender played for HSV Hamburg in Germany in 2014.

Height is a special advantage for football players, especially goalkeepers. And Vanja Ivesa is one of the many fortunate goalkeepers who possess an outstanding height of 2.05m. However, the 1977-born Croatian goalkeeper has not truly succeeded in his football career. He did not leave much of an impression during his time at Eskisehirsport club in the Turkish Super Lig.

Vanja Ivesa has had a period playing in the Turkish Super Lig for Eskisehirsport. Currently, the 44-year-old Croatian goalkeeper is playing domestically for Istra 1961. From 2015 to the present, Ivesa has made 18 appearances for Istra 1961.

Costel Fane Pantilimon was born on February 1, 1987, in Romania. He currently plays in the Football League Championship for Nottingham Forest as a goalkeeper. He stands tall at 2.03m. With this height, opponent's high balls are no longer an advantage, aren't they?

Costel Pantilimon spent 3 years as a backup to Joe Hart at Manchester City from 2012 to 2014. After leaving ManCity, Pantilimon moved to Sunderland for 2 years. Here, he had many outstanding performances keeping clean sheets and helped the 'Black Cats' successfully avoid relegation. At the beginning of this season, as he wasn't retained by Sunderland, the Romanian goalkeeper decided to move to Watford. He has played 4 matches so far.

Yang Changpeng stands tall at 2.04 meters, born in 1989 with Chinese nationality. He currently plays in the second tier of Chinese football. With 22 appearances, Yang has netted 6 goals since 2015. In the past, the striker had a brief trial at Bolton Wanderers but failed to impress. In March 2015, Yang moved to Yinchuan Helanshan in the China League Two. In February 2017, he transferred to Henan Jianye in the Super League. He made his debut for Henan on March 5, 2017, in a goalless draw against Hebei China Fortune, coming on as a substitute for Zhong Jinbao in the 62nd minute.

Yang Changpeng was recruited by Xiao Duyin, then a young coach of the Wuhan Optics Valley youth team, while coaching his team for the previous season in Hainan Province. At the age of 15, Yang Changpeng left his hometown Wuhan for 3 years to seek opportunities in Guangdong and then Hainan before finally returning home. In October 2006, standing at 2 meters tall, he was scouted by Bolton Wanderers and invited to a month-long trial in England, where he was dubbed the 'Peter Crouch of China' by the British media due to his towering stature. Upon his return from the UK, he eventually graduated from their youth team and made his debut for them in a tournament game on September 20, 2008, against CSCE Tianya.

Stefan Maierhofer, born on August 16, 1982, towering at 2.02m, is a professional footballer from Austria currently playing as a forward for Würzburger Kickers. From 2008 to 2011, he earned 19 caps for the Austrian national team, scoring a solitary goal. Maierhofer struggled at the German giants Bayern Munich, making only two appearances in the starting lineup. After stints with second-tier sides TuS Koblenz and Greuther Fürth, he returned home to Rapid Wien. He found his best goal-scoring form here, which earned him a move to the English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2009, where he made just ten appearances before returning to Austria.

Maierhofer's impressive performances during his first loan spell at Rapid Wien earned him his first call-up to the Austrian national team in April 2008, when he was named in the country's provisional squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals. However, he did not make the final cut. On August 20, 2008, he finally made his international debut, in a friendly match against Italy that ended in a 2-2 draw in Nice. He scored his first international goal by finding the net in the match against the Faroe Islands just a minute into the game on September 5, 2009.

Lacina Traoré was born on May 20, 1990, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Standing tall at 2.03m, he is an Ivorian professional footballer playing as a forward for AS Monaco in Ligue 1. Traoré had a brief spell in the Premier League with Everton in 2014 on loan but struggled to adapt to the English football environment, prompting his return to France. He has appeared in 25 matches and scored 4 goals for the Principality Club. Currently, he is on loan at CSKA Moscow, competing in the Russian Premier League.

Traoré began his career at Jean-Marc Guillou's ASEC Mimosas football school before joining Stade d'Abidjan in 2006. He played in Abidjan until 2008, when he joined CFR Cluj. Lacina Traoré made his European debut with Cluj, scoring a stunning goal in their first UEFA Europa League 2009-2010 match against FC Copenhagen. In 2012, he was called up to the Ivory Coast national football team but did not make any appearances.

Nikola Žigić was born on September 25, 1980, and is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a forward. He stands at 2.02 meters tall. Žigić began his football career at AIK Bačka Topola, scoring 68 goals in 76 appearances for the third-tier club in Yugoslavia. He moved to Red Star Belgrade in January 2003. Despite his height advantage, Žigić concluded the 2004-2005 season of the First League of Serbia and Montenegro with notable achievements: top scorer, domestic player of the year, national champion, and scoring in the cup final.

In 2006, Žigić joined Racing Santander in Spain, where his goals and partnership with Pedro Munitis helped the team secure safety in La Liga. He later moved to Valencia but struggled to compete for a place in the starting lineup. In the second half of the 2008-2009 La Liga season, he returned to Racing on loan, scoring 13 goals in 19 matches. Žigić joined Birmingham City in England in 2010 and scored the winning goal to help them win the League Cup. Despite the team's relegation to the Championship, he remained at Birmingham until the end of his contract. Žigić made his debut for the national football team of Serbia and Montenegro in 2004, and after the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, he played for the Serbia national team until 2011. He earned 57 international caps and scored 20 goals. He participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, serving as captain in 2011.

Paolo Domenico Acerbis was born on May 5, 1981, and is an Italian footballer, standing at 2.02 meters tall. He currently plays as a goalkeeper for Serie C club Giana Erminio. Acerbis has also played for professional clubs Livorno in Serie A, as well as AlbinoLeffe, Triestina, Catania, and Vicenza. He was suspended from 2012 to 2014. Since January 2015, Acerbis has played for several entirely non-professional clubs in Serie D and Eccellenza Lombardy.

After playing at AlbinoLeffe from 2000 to 2005, he moved to Livorno on loan, later swapped with Paolo Ginestra, in Serie A, before returning to AlbinoLeffe at the end of the 2005-2006 Serie A season. He was the first-choice goalkeeper since 2002. In January 2008, he left AlbinoLeffe for Triestina, to replace Generoso Rossi, who went to Catania in Serie A on loan as the third-choice goalkeeper. In mid-2008, Acerbis joined Serie B side Grosseto, from Triestina. In Tuscany, Acerbis was the starting goalkeeper initially the following year before moving to Catania in January 2009.

Peter James Crouch was born on January 30, 1981, and is a retired English professional footballer who played as a forward. Standing at 2.01 meters tall, he earned 42 caps for the England national team from 2005 to 2010, scoring 22 goals and participating in two World Cups. Crouch is one of 28 players with over 100 goals in the Premier League, holding the record for the most headed goals in Premier League history. Crouch began his career at Tottenham Hotspur but struggled to secure a regular spot, leading to loan spells at Dulwich Hamlet and IFK Hässleholm (Sweden) before joining Queens Park Rangers. He moved to Aston Villa in March 2002 for £5 million.

However, he struggled at Villa and was loaned to Norwich City before transferring to Southampton, where he regained form, paving the way for his move to Liverpool in the summer of 2005. At Liverpool, he won the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield in 2006, as well as finishing as runners-up in the UEFA Champions League. After scoring 42 goals in three seasons at Anfield, Portsmouth re-signed Crouch for £11 million. He spent only one season at Portsmouth before joining Tottenham Hotspur. He scored seven goals in European competitions for Spurs in the 2010-2011 season but failed to replicate that form in the Premier League. He joined Stoke City in August 2011. Crouch played seven and a half years for Stoke, scoring 62 goals before joining Burnley in January 2019. On July 12, 2019, Crouch announced his retirement.