Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the competitive experience of football players and coaches in the Champions League on the results achieved in that competition. The analysis included all the coaches who led their teams in the group stage of this competition (34) and all the players who had at least one appearance (578), in the 2019/2020 season. The experience was assessed on the basis of length of service in the club, the number of appearances in previous seasons in the Champions League competition, namely: in the current and the previous club, in the role of a player who starts the match, comes off the bench or sits on the bench. The experience of the coach was assessed on the basis of career duration, length of service in the club, the number of matches in the competition with the current and previous clubs. The results showed that the playing experience in the Champions League is important for achieving results in this competition. The previous appearances in the starting lineup (p < 0.001) especially with the current club (p < 0.001) are the most valuable. When it comes to coaches, there is no significant difference between the coaches whose teams managed to qualify in the TOP16 and those who did not, in terms of previous competitive experience. However, what is evident is a slightly higher total number of matches in this competition that the coaches of TOP16 teams had with the previous teams. It can be concluded that previous competitive experience is very important, especially for players, and that it correlates with the number of minutes spent in active play. The findings of this research could be applied in the process of selecting football players for the competition.
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