Abstract
Despite empirical observations suggesting that practitioners value the use of substitutions during soccer match-play, limited research has sought to substantiate such claims. This study used online surveys to assess the perceptions of practitioners within professional soccer about the use and practices of substitutes. Thirty-three practitioners completed one of two surveys (each requiring both open and closed questions to be answered), depending upon whether their primary role related mostly to tactical (‘tactical practitioners’; n = 7) or physical (‘physical practitioners’; n = 26) aspects of player/team management. Thematic content analysis of responses identified four higher-order themes: ‘impact of substitutions’, ‘planning and communication’, ‘player preparation and recovery’ and ‘regulations’. Eighty-five percent of practitioners believed that substitutes are important in determining success during soccer match-play, with the primary justification being the perceived ability of such players to provide a physical and/or tactical impact. However, contextual factors such as the match situation, timing of introduction, and players undergoing adequate pre-pitch-entry preparation, may be important for realising such aims. Although many practitioners believed that there was a need for substitutes to engage in bespoke non-match-day preparations and recovery strategies that differ from starting players, logistical considerations, such as scarcity of resources, often limit their scope. Notwithstanding, 96% of respondents indicated that substitutes frequently perform extra conditioning sessions to account for deficits in high-speed running loads compared with players exposed to a longer period of match-play. Substitutes’ pre-match warm-ups are typically led by team staff, however practitioners reported providing varying levels of input with regards to the practices adopted between kick-off and pitch-entry. Uncertainty exists as to the efficacy of current pre-pitch-entry practices, and 100% of practitioners highlighted ‘preparatory strategies’ as at least a ‘moderately important’ direction for future research. This study presents novel insights and highlights areas that are considered future research priorities amongst those working in the field.
Highlights
When asked to indicate the two most important reasons, ‘changing team tactics’ and ‘increasing the pace of play relative to other players’ were each selected by four practitioners (57%), whilst three respondents (43%) rated each of ‘replacing underperforming/tired players’ and ‘replacing injured players’ amongst their two most important uses for substitutions
Six tactical practitioners (86%) ‘agreed’ and only one (14%) ‘disagreed’ with the statement that “substitutes are an important factor in determining success in soccer match-play”
This study has presented novel insights from applied practitioners regarding current perceptions and practices in relation to substitutes in professional soccer
Summary
Given the scarcity of research presently available in relation to the practices of soccer substitutes, the aim of this study was to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the perceptions and approaches of applied practitioners regarding substitutes in professional soccer
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