Abstract
Running performance (RP) and game performance indicators (GPI) are important determinants of success in soccer (football), but there is an evident lack of knowledge about the possible associations between RP and GPI. This study aimed to identify associations between RP and GPI in professional soccer players and to compare RP and GPI among soccer playing positions. One hundred one match performances were observed over the course of half of a season at the highest level of national competition in Croatia. Players (mean ± SD, age: 23.85 ± 2.88 years; body height: 183.05 ± 8.88 cm; body mass: 78.69 ± 7.17 kg) were classified into five playing positions (central defenders (n = 26), full-backs (n = 24), central midfielders (n = 33), wide midfielders (n = 10), and forwards (n = 8). RP, as measured by global positioning system, included the total distance covered, distance covered in five speed categories (walking, jogging, running, high-speed running, and maximal sprinting), total number of accelerations, number of high-intensity accelerations, total number of decelerations, and number of high-intensity decelerations. The GPI were collected by the position-specific performance statistics index (InStat index). The average total distance was 10,298.4 ± 928.7 m, with central defenders having the shortest and central midfielders having the greatest covered distances. The running (r = 0.419, p = 0.03) and high-intensity accelerations (r = 0.493, p = 0.01) were correlated with the InStat index for central defenders. The number of decelerations of full-backs (r = −0.43, p = 0.04) and the distance covered during sprinting of forwards (r = 0.80, p = 0.02) were associated with their GPI obtained by InStat index. The specific correlations between RP and GPI should be considered during the conditioning process in soccer. The soccer training should follow the specific requirements of the playing positions established herein, which will allow players to meet the game demands and to perform successfully.
Highlights
Soccer is a highly complex team sport with changing dynamics and multistructural movements played by two teams
Significant analysis of variance (ANOVA) differences were found among playing positions (p < 0.05) in all running performances, with large ES for differences in: (i) total distance covered (η2 = 0.59); (ii) distance covered while jogging (η2 = 0.41); (iii) running (η2 = 0.62); (iv) high-speed running (η2 = 0.53); (v) sprinting (η2 = 0.39); (vi) number of performed accelerations (η2 = 0.27); (vii) number of decelerations (η2 = 0.45); (viii) number of high-intensity accelerations (η2 > 0.30); and (ix) number of high-intensity decelerations (η2 = 0.41)
central midfielders (CM) covered the longest total distance, the longest distance in jogging, and the longest distance while running
Summary
Soccer is a highly complex team sport with changing dynamics and multistructural movements played by two teams. Each team consists of outfield players and a goalkeeper and the final game achievement depends directly on the performance of all players [1,2]. Performance analysis is crucial in the evaluation of players’ achievement [3]. The global popularity of soccer has led to the implementation of scientific and technological knowledge in everyday use, and this is evident within the field of performance analysis. One of the important aspects of performance analysis is termed “running performance”, which is nowadays mostly evidenced by global positioning software systems (GPS) [4]. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 4032; doi:10.3390/ijerph16204032 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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