Accumulative weekly load in a professional football team: with special reference to match playing time and game position.

The aim of this study was to compare weekly accumulative load during the in-season competitive period by professional soccer players according to the amount of time played in official matches (90-min, >60-min, <60-min, and 0-min) regarding the players' position. Twenty-four professional outfield football players were monitored by GPS devices during training sessions and official matches and the accumulative weekly load were calculated for the following external load variables: total distance (TD; m), high speed running (HSR; >19.8 km·h-1), sprint meters (SPR; >25.2 km·h-1), high metabolic load distance (HMLD; >25.5 W·kg-1), number of accelerations (ACC; >3 m·s-2) and decelerations (DEC; <-3 m·s-2). This study revealed that players (as a whole o per demarcation) with more match playing time had a higher accumulative weekly load for most of the variables, but particularly at TD and HMLD (90-min and >60-min vs. <60-min and 0-min), HSR (90-min vs. <60-min and 0-min) and SPR (90-min vs. <60-min and 0-min). In addition, less positional variation was observed in relation to the competition requirements. This information would allow coaches to refine the required load with the objective of optimizing performance to soccer players.

The most demanding passages of play in football competition: a comparison between halves.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the differences between halves in the most demanding passages of play in football players according to playing position and duration-specific activity. Global positioning system data were collected from twenty-three football players from a reserve squad of the Spanish La Liga. A total of 265 individual match half data were analysed across the competitive season. Players were categorised based on positional groups: full-back (FB), central defender (CD), midfielder (MF), offensive midfielder (OMF) and forwards (FW). The most demanding passage of match play was analysed using a rolling average method, where maximal values were calculated for five different time durations (1, 3, 5, 10 min and half completed) using distance (m·min-1), high metabolic load distance (HMLD; m·min-1) and average metabolic power (AMP; W·kg-1) as variables of interest. The differences between the first and second half increased as the rolling duration increased, reaching the greatest difference between halves in the complete half (45 min) in all the variables studied (ES = 0.54 ± 0.15, 0.75 ± 0.15 and 0.76 ± 0.15 in distance, HMLD and AMP). The CDs were the players that presented the greatest differences, and it was in the AMP variable where the greatest differences between the first and second half were found. Large decreases in AMP were found for CD (ES = -1.30 ± 0.36) and moderate decreases were found in AMP for FB (ES = -0.84 ± 0.30) and OMF (ES = -0.78 ± 0.37). These results provide insight into the most demanding passages of play to inform training practices for specific football playing positions.

Positional demands for various-sided games with goalkeepers according to the most demanding passages of match play in football.

The main aim was to determine the differences between four training games and competitive matches (CM) according to position and compared to the most demanding passages (MDP) of competitive match play. Global Positioning System data were obtained from 21 football players belonging to the reserve squad of a Spanish La Liga club during the 2015/16 season. The training games were small-sided games (SSGs) with 5 and 6 and large-sided games with 9 and 10 outfield players per team. The players were categorized based on positional groups: full back (FB), central defender (CD), midfielder (MF), offensive midfielder (OMF), and forward (FW). The variables recorded were the distance covered (DIS), DIS at high speed (HSR; >19.8 km·h-1), DIS at sprint (SPR; >25.2 km·h-1), high metabolic load distance (HMLD; >25.5 W·kg-1) all in m·min-1, average metabolic power (AMP; W·kg-1) and number of high-intensity accelerations (ACC; >3 m·s-2) and decelerations (DEC; <-3 m·s-2), both in n·min-1. The MDP was analysed using a rolling average method for AMP as a criterion variable, where maximal values were calculated for time windows of 5 and 10 minutes of CM and after that compared with the training game formats. As the SSG format increases, all the rest of the variables increase and the number of cases with significant interposition differences also increases (effect size [ES]: DIS: 0.7-2.2; HSR: 0.7-2.1; SPR: 0.8-1.4; HMLD: 0.9-2.0; AMP: 0.8-1.9; ACC: 0.8-1.7; DEC: 0.5-1.7). The large-sided game 10v10 + 2 goalkeepers over-stimulates sprint values relative to MDP (all: 121.0% of MDP, ES=0.5-1.8). This study provides useful information for coaching staff on the heightened impact of different training game formats on physical load, considering positional differences in relation to the MDP of competitive match play.

Positional Differences in the Most Demanding Passages of Play in Football Competition.

The aim of this investigation was to determine the position and duration specific activity of the most demanding passages of play in football players. Global positioning system data were collected from twenty-three football players across a competitive season. A total of 605 individual match files were analysed. Players were categorised based on positional groups; full-back (FB), central defender (CD), midfielder (MF), wide midfielders (WMF) and forwards (FW). The most demanding passage of a match play was analysed using a rolling average method, where maximal values were calculated for four different time durations (1', 3', 5' and 10') using distance (m·min-1), high metabolic load distance (HMLD) and average metabolic power (AMP) as variables of interest. Using distance as the criterion variable, MF and WMF positions covered greater distance, and fewer sprinting meters (>7.0 m·s-1, m·min-1). With HMLD as the criterion variable, the values for WMF and MF positions were higher than the CD and FW positions. The MF and WMF positions performed more high-intensity accelerations and decelerations when the criterion variable was AMP. These results provide an understanding of the most demanding passages of play to inform training practices for specific football playing positions.

The effect of playing formation on high-intensity running and technical profiles in English FA Premier League soccer matches.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of playing formation on high-intensity running and technical performance during elite soccer matches. Twenty English FA Premier League games were analysed using a multiple-camera computerized tracking system (n = 153 players). Overall ball possession did not differ (P < 0.05) between 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 formations (50%, s = 7 vs. 49%, s = 8 vs. 44%, s = 6). No differences were observed in high-intensity running between 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 formations. Compared with 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations, players in a 4-5-1 formation performed less very high-intensity running when their team was in possession (312 m, s = 196 vs. 433 m, s = 261 vs. 410 m, s = 270; P 5 0.05) but more when their team was not in possession (547 m, s = 217 vs. 461 m, s = 156 vs. 459 m, s = 169; P < 0.05). Attackers in a 4-3-3 performed ~30% more (P < 0.05) high-intensity running than attackers in 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 formations. However, the fraction of successful passes was highest in a 4-4-2 (P < 0.05) compared with 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 formations. The results suggest that playing formation does not influence the overall activity profiles of players, except for attackers, but impacts on very high-intensity running activity with and without ball possession and some technical elements of performance.