Effort intensity between different tactical positions during official professional soccer matches

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the match load within a soccer match among different players positions in male professional soccer. Methods: Twenty-four male elite soccer players (age: 24.1 ± 3.3 years; height: 172.1 ± 5.2 cm; body mass: 73.1 ± 4.4 kg; body fat: 12.3 ± 3.2%) from a club of the Brazilian first-division soccer league participated in this study. All soccer players included in the study participated in ten official matches for 91.4 ± 2.8 min. During ten official matches, the external load of all soccer players was monitored and quantified by means of portable global position system (GPS) devices operating at a sampling frequency of 10 Hz and incorporating a 100 Hz triaxial accelerometer. Results: The two-way ANOVA yielded main effects for group in total distance (F 2,21 = 17.68, p = 0.0001), player load (F 2,21 = 31.19, p = 0.0001) and maximal speed (F 2,21 = 4.36, p = 0.02). In addition, Bonferroni post hoc (p < 0.05) showed significant differences in the total distance (p<0.001) and player load (p<0.001) among midfielders vs. forward and defenders. The results of this investigation confirm that midfielders soccer player shows greater total distance and player load in 60% of investigated matches. Conclusion: These results of this study provide information to coaches and physical trainers about specific variables during matches that should be observed during recovery to optimize resistance and power output.