Analysis of the most intense periods during elite soccer matches: effect of game location and playing position

Gualtieri, Antonio, Angonese, Maria, Maddiotto, Massimo, Rampinini, Ermanno, Ferrari Bravo, Duccio and Beato, Marco (2025) Analysis of the most intense periods during elite soccer matches: effect of game location and playing position. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 20 (7). pp. 986-992. ISSN 1555-0273

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to quantify the game-speed demand of elite soccer players using time windows from 5 seconds to 10 minutes and to examine the effect of match location and playing position on game-speed outputs. Methods: Twenty-four Serie A (Italy) male professional soccer players (27.5 [4.1] y old) participated in this study across an entire season. The players’ activity profiles during matches were analyzed using a semiautomatic video tracking system (Stats Perform), which provided 2-dimensional coordinates of the players, and from these data, total distance (TD) covered, high-speed running distance (HSRD), and sprint distance (SD) were calculated. The most intense periods of match play were calculated using a moving-average method within 15 time windows (ie, 5–10–15–30–60–90 s and from 2 to 10 min) and analyzed using a linear mixed model. Results: A slightly higher SD (estimate values = 3.98, P = .0192) was performed when playing a home match. Midfielders run the highest values for TD (P = .0001), center backs produced the lowest HSRD (P = .0011), and no significant differences between roles were found in terms of SD. Conclusions: A univariate approach based on velocity can aid in designing training for the most intense periods of a match, considering positional differences for TD and HSRD. On the other hand, the consistency in SD across different roles suggests a team behavior during the most intense periods of the game such as attacking and defensive transition phases.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: physiology, soccer, game-speed demand, elite soccer players
Subjects: Q Science > QP Physiology
Divisions: Faculty of Health & Science > School of Allied Health Sciences
SWORD Depositor: Pub Router
Depositing User: Pub Router
Date Deposited: 03 Jul 2025 09:14
Last Modified: 03 Jul 2025 09:14
URI: https://oars.uos.ac.uk/id/eprint/4956

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item