Abstract
This study aimed to assess the match perceived exertion (PE) declared by starter and non-starter junior elite soccer players, according to the level of the opponents, and by playing at home or away. Nineteen young soccer players who competed in the Spanish U19 League participated in this study. PE was registered during the entire regular season (30 official matches). Players were grouped by match playing time: starters (players who started the game and played at least 45 min) and non-starters (substitute players who participated for less than 45 min). Moreover, the matches were classified according to the opponent level (i.e., high, medium, or low) and the match location (i.e., home or away). Starters who competed against high-level opponents (8.7 ± 0.6) declared higher PE ratings than against medium (8.1 ± 0.7, p < 0.01) and low (8.4 ± 0.7, p < 0.01) level opponents. In addition, starters competing at home declared lower PE ratings than when playing away (8.2 ± 0.8 vs. 8.5 ± 0.6, p < 0.01). However, no significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed for non-starters. Coaches should consider not only tactical–strategic needs, but also these contextual factors when managing the match playing time of the starter players.
Highlights
The training process in soccer is considered to be an effective means for the soccer player to achieve a state of physical performance suitable for the development of the game model proposed by the coach [1]
The aim of this study was to assess the match perceived exertion (PE) declared by starter and non-starter junior elite soccer players according to the level of the opponents and playing at home or away
(PE = 8.4 ± 0.6) [23], starter Spanish junior elite players declared a similar match PE (8.6 ± 0.7). These values were higher than the differentiated match PE declared by young professional senior players after playing 90 min [13], and by professional soccer players belonging to Qatars Stars League that played more than 80 min (≈6.5) [16]
Summary
The training process in soccer is considered to be an effective means for the soccer player to achieve a state of physical performance suitable for the development of the game model proposed by the coach [1]. The challenge for physical trainers is to obtain an optimal performance level from players in official matches. Competition has high physical requirements; for example, during an official match, professional soccer players cover approximately 1000 m at high intensity (>18 km/h) and 250 m at a sprint (>21 km/h) [2]. Several investigations have analyzed the influence of contextual factors (e.g., match location, opponent level, and match status) on these external and internal load indicators in elite soccer players [5,6,7]. In youth soccer players, the acquisition of this type of technology is complicated, which makes it difficult to quantify physical and physiological demands during official matches
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