Which other Atlanta athletes would make great soccer players?

2024-03-21 - By Doug Roberson doug.roberson@ajc.com Editor’s note: In a new weekly feature, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Doug Roberson will take a question from readers asking him to rank whatever they want, using his experience from 10 years covering the franc

Today’s question: Which other Atlanta athletes would make great soccer players?

Goalkeeper

■ Dwight Howard. The Atlanta native, soccer aficionado and former Hawks player is 6 feet 10, with a wingspan of a B-52. Try getting a shot past him. If you’re curious, the tallest goalkeeper in soccer history is Dane Simon Bloch Jorgensen, who is 6-11.

Honorable mentions:

■ Dikembe Mutombo.

Would be awesome if the former Hawks player wagged his finger every time he made a save.

■ Daniel Bouchard and Johan Hedberg.

The former Flames and Thrashers goalkeepers already know how to stop shots.

Centerback

■ Jessie Tuggle. The man made more than 1,800 tackles for the Falcons. He can play defense.

■ Calvin Johnson. He became a legend as a wide receiver at Georgia Tech and for the Lions, but in this role, he would be tasked with winning every aerial battle.

Seems pretty straightforward.

■ Brian Jordan. The former Brave and Falcon would be more than athletic enough to step in to throw some muscle around.

Honorable mention: Dominique Wilkins. Who better to win those aerial duals?

Midfielder

■ Bobby Jones. Think of Jones, one of the greatest golfers in history, as the precision passer, able to put just the right amount of touch on every pass.

■ Harrison Butker. Think of Butker, former standout kicker at Georgia Tech now with the Chiefs, hitting long passes into spaces behind the defenses.

■ Walt Frazier. While Jones and Butker are pinging passes, Frazier, who was born in Atlanta, is locking down the other team’s best midfielder, just as he used to do with the Knicks.

Honorable mentions: Morten Andersen, Wil Lutz, Kevin Butler and

Mick Luckhurst, all fantastic NFL kickers who can put the ball where they want.

Wingback

■ Julio Jones. The former Falcons wide receiver is so big, so fast and so strong, he’d be like Alphonso Davies-plus.

■ Deion Sanders.

The former Falcons cornerback and Braves outfielder is so big, so fast and so strong, he’d be like Alphonso Davies plus Julio Jones. Imagine he and Jones running behind lines to catch up to passes from Butker.

Honorable mentions: The late, great Demaryius Thomas and the still-living Lindsay Scott (you can hear Mike Conti screaming “Run Lindsay” after ever goal), and

Andre Rison, for some of the same reasons as above, as well as former Braves outfielders Marquis Grissom and Kenny Lofton, and U.S. track standouts Gwen Torrence and Ralph Boston. Also, former Braves shortstop Rafael Belliard and outfielder Otis Nixon because they covered a lot of ground.

Striker

■ Ilya Kovalchuk. He scored 328 goals for the Thrashers. I think he could score a few more as a soccer player.

Honorable mention: Ronald Acuña Jr. because it seems like he could do pretty much anything he decides he wants to be good at.

?? ?? Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored 328 goals when he played for the Thrashers, could be converted into a striker. — Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored 328 goals when he played for the Thrashers, could be converted into a striker.

?? FILE PHOTOS BY AJC AND AP ?? Former Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones would be like Alphonso Davies-plus at wingback. — FILE PHOTOS BY AJC AND AP Former Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones would be like Alphonso Davies-plus at wingback.

?? ?? Soccer aficionado and former Hawks center Dwight Howard, at 6 feet 10 with a wingspan of a B-52, would be a top pick for goaltender. — Soccer aficionado and former Hawks center Dwight Howard, at 6 feet 10 with a wingspan of a B-52, would be a top pick for goaltender.