Objective. To assess the difference in physical fitness of players in successful versus less-successful professional soccer teams in South Africa. Design. Professional soccer players (N = 140) underwent a battery of tests assessing important physiological components during the early part of their competitive season. Players were then separated into two groups on the basis of their teams' final log position in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa. Players in successful (N = 70) and less-successful (N = 70) teams were in the top four or bottom six positions on the log respectively. Descriptive statistics (mean ± standard deviation (SD)) were calculated for each group, and independent t-tests were used to compare the means of the groups for each of the physical tests. Main outcome measures. Body composition, flexibility, muscle strength-endurance, power, speed, agility, aerobic endurance, and repeat sprint distance. Results. There were no significant differences between groups for all measures of body composition, flexibility, repeat sprint distance, and agility. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for sit-ups, aerobic endurance, and speed, but these were generally small, not meaningful differences in performance. Players in successful squads were significantly (p < 0.01) older than those in less-successful teams. Conclusions. The results demonstrate that in South Africa level of physical fitness is not higher in more-successful compared with less-successful teams in the PSL. Factors other than physical fitness may be more important in determining successful league performance and discrimi-nate better between players in teams with different levels of success. Improving professional soccer performance may require coaches and trainers to focus more attention on technical and tactical skill development in sport-specific training once an acceptable standard of fitness has been attained.. South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 19 (2) 2007: pp. 40-45

Objective. To determine the effect of short-term creatine supplementation plus a protein-carbohydrate formula on high-intensity exercise performance and recovery.Design. A repeated-measures, experimental study, employing a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, group comparison design was used.Interventions. Thirty active but not sprint-trained male subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: creatine plus protein-carbohydrate formula (CRF); creatine only (CRE); and control (CON). All groups were exposed to the same high-intensity sprint exercise programme, 3 times per week for 30 days.Main outcome measures. Dependant variables included total repeat sprint distance, fatigue index, perceived muscle pain, and blood lactate, urea, creatine kinase, and cortisol concentrations.Results. All groups significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased total sprint distance and decreased blood urea concentrations. There were no significant changes in blood lactate or cortisol concentrations in any group. CRF showed significant decreases (p ≤ 0.05) in fatigue index, muscle pain, and creatine kinase concentration. However, no significant differences were found between groups.Conclusion. Short-term creatine supplementation with or without protein-carbohydrate supplementation does not appear to enhance performance or recovery significantly over high-intensity exercise training alone in non-sprinttrained individuals. A longer trial period may be required to evaluate effect on recovery more conclusively. In addition, the prime importance of physical conditioning, and in particular task-specific exercise training, in stimulating performance and recovery adaptations is highlighted.