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Graduate students working in the Auburn University Biomechanical Engineering Lab recently decided to analyze — even if only vicariously — a masterpiece of anatomical misdirection engineered by the most valuable leg in the world.

"With the upcoming friendly match between Argentina and Iceland that'll be held here in Auburn leading up to the World Cup this summer, we thought a fun research project would be studying the biomechanics of Lionel Messi's signature body feint," said lab director Michael Zabala, Auburn Alumni Engineering Council associate professor of mechanical engineering.

Messi — arguably the greatest soccer player in history, whose left foot is reportedly insured for nearly a billion dollars — will report to Jordan-Hare Stadium June 9 for his native Argentina.

"He'll be in town, but getting him into the lab seemed like a stretch," Zabala said. "So we went for the next best thing — Fizz Hutton."

No, maybe not a household name — not yet.

But what the senior kinesiology major and defensive midfielder for Auburn University's women's soccer team lacks in international recognition, she makes up for in backstory. Her favorite athlete? You guessed it. It’s on her official Auburn Soccer bio and everything. Her room back home in Texas? It's not a messy room, she says — she's a neat freak — but it's definitely a Messi room. Posters. Jerseys. iPad cases.

"He was my grandfather's favorite player as well," Hutton said. "I remember when I was getting into soccer, he told me, 'You're going to be just like him.' Ever since then, I've studied his moves. I always wore number 10 growing up. I was just obsessed with Messi, and I still am."

Hutton's participation in the project was scientifically serendipitous as well. For starters, Hutton and her 38-year-old idol are the exact same height — 5 feet, 7 inches. When it comes to the mechanics of faking out an opponent, Zabala says, that matters.

"Messi is shorter than the average professional soccer player, but that's a benefit to him because he's able to maintain extreme stability, and so is Fizz," Zabala said. "We spent a lot of time studying videos of Messi doing the body feint. When we brought in Fizz to do the same move, one of the things that struck me early was that she was able to match his mechanics almost perfectly."

Her opponents might say the same.

"Growing up, that move didn't take long to learn, but what took the most time was implementing it in a game against a player at high speeds — learning when and how to use it," Hutton said. "The move itself is pretty basic, but it's just, like, really effective. It works every time."

Footwork Fizz-ics

To find out why, the lab digitized Hutton's timely tribute via synchronized, high-tech hardware: traditional motion capture technology powered by 79 wearable reflectors; IMU sensors measuring the acceleration of each body segment; and a force plate embedded in the lab floor.

The results? A full-scale, behind-the-bones breakdown of some of the simplest, fanciest footwork ever seen on a pitch.

"The feint begins with a movement of the torso first, which is really where the deception comes in, followed by the lower body," Zabala said. "Essentially, what she does is plants her left foot and then cuts back to the right. During that planting process, we saw contact forces between her foot and the ground of over two times her body weight."

Make that, he barely saw it.

Auburn soccer player Fizz Hutton in the AUBE Lab.Soccer player Fizz Hutton performs body feint in the AUBE Lab.

"What was interesting was that the contact occurred over about 40 milliseconds," Zabala said. "The way she's able to achieve more than double her body weight in contact force is because it's a dynamic activity. More importantly, it's a rapid change in direction. That sudden change is what allows that force to spike up really high. It's incredibly transient, incredibly fast."

But while Zabala and Hutton agree that the end result can seem simple to casual observers — and even to the player performing it — the data tells a different story.

"It actually looks quite complicated when you map out the data, but that complication is exactly what makes it such a good move on the field," Zabala said. "Because it's complex, it's hard for a defender to predict which way Messi is going, or which way Fizz is going.

"I love studying elite athletes because it demonstrates the amazing capability of the human brain to control the human body. The math and physics associated with these movements are immensely complex. They're difficult to interpret, express, or solve in terms of equations. But it's incredibly cool to see an athlete like Fizz be able to execute these movements in such an extremely controlled manner, and seemingly, so easily."

Ditto, says Hutton.

"Especially with me being a kinesiology major, this whole experience was just really cool. Seeing the science behind the game I love — and kind of behind the player I love — was great," Hutton said. "I learned a lot, and I would love to be more involved in this area of research. Even if Messi can't be."