Antonio Gualtieri1,2, Maria Angonese3, Massimo Maddiotto3, Ermanno Rampinini 4,5, Duccio Ferrari Bravo1, Marco Beato2

  1. Sport Science and R&D Department, Juventus FC, Turin, Italy;
  2. School of Health and Sports Science, University of Suffolk, Ipswich, United Kingdom;
  3. SportAnalytics, Milan, Italy;
  4. Human Performace Laboratory, Mapei Sport Research Centre, Olgiate Olona, Italy;
  5. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Human Performance Research Centre, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia.

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.

Keywords: team sports, football, monitoring, worst-case scenario, peak locomotor demand

Int J Sports Physiol Perform. (Ahead of print) 2025 May 22

PMID: 40404133               DOI: 10.1123/ijspp.2024-0441