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The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of a half-time short re-warm-up (RW) strategy on the performance of young soccer players in tests of physical abilities and running performance during matches. Twenty-three players (under 17) participated in the study. Body temperature, 10 m sprint, 30 m sprint, the Illinois agility test, countermovement jump (CMJ), and squat jump (SJ) were measured, immediately post-warm-up. Then in one condition, the tests were repeated after a passive rest, and in the other condition, after a 12 min passive rest and 3 min RW. Furthermore, the RW was applied at half-time of two of the four matches where the running performance was measured in the first quarter of the two halves. The results showed that the two conditions differed significantly in the 10 m sprint and CMJ performances (p < 0.001 and p = 0.049, respectively). After the passive rest, a significant decrease in body temperature and performance in SJ was observed (p < 0.001 for both). No other differences were observed. In conclusion, the short RW program can limit the decrement in performance in power tests such as sprints and jumps.

The purpose of this study was to compare time period and patterns of goal scoring in four UEFA Champions League (UCL) tournaments (2013-2017). All matches (n=500) of the four Champions League tournaments were recorded using video and analyzed with the software Sportsscout. Chi-square methods were used for the data analysis and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. The time period and scoring pattern comparison between UCL tournaments did not present any significant difference (X2=84.500, p>0.05 for the time period, X2=25.350, p>0.05 for open play and X2=7.503, p>0.05 for set play). The 15-min analysis for each tournament did not show any significant difference if we exclude all extra time periods. However, in UCL 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 more goals were scored in the second half (X2=9.696, p<0.05 and X2=7.496, p<0.05, respectively). With open play more goals were scored than set play (75% and 25% average, respectively). The action that scored the most goals in open play was combination and crosses (21.6% and 22.4% respectively) and in set play was corners and penalties (33.9%, all). The results showed that no differences occurred between CLs regarding the scoring patterns and time periods of scoring. However, goal scoring might be time dependent because more goals were scored in the second half. An explanation for this could be the fatigue and the tactical strategy. About the patterns, coaches must focus on training crosses and passing combinations. Also, they should give a lot of attention to corners of set plays.

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The aim of this study was to investigate possible correlations between a) jumping ability (squat jump and countermovement jump performance) and c) anthropometric indexes with the distances covered at different intensities during soccer matches by Greek elite soccer players (n=11). Match running performance was analyzed using a global positioning system (GPS) within the second division professional league. Body weight and height were moderately correlated with the distance that was covered in the first half with the speed from 19.7 to 23.7 km/h (r=-0.605, p<0.05 and r=-0.616, p<0.05, respectively). No correlations were found between SJ and CMJ performance with match running performance in all the velocities. The players covered greater distances in the first half at all speed levels except for walking (6-11.9 km/h: 1,548 vs. 1,260 m, p<0.01; 12-15.7 km/h: 896 vs. 696 m, p<0.001; 15.8-19.6 km/h: 438 vs. 347 m, p<0.01; 19.7-23.7 km/h: 176 vs. 142 m, p<0.01; 23+ km/h: 71 vs. 52 m, p<0.001). The results demonstrated that match running performance depends on the tactical strategies of each team. Shorter players and who weight less may perform better in higher velocities. However, more studies with greater samples are needed to estimate the relations that were mentioned. Contribution/Originality:This study is one of very few studies which have investigated the relationship between match running performance with anthropometric and power indexes. The paper's primary contribution is finding that match running performance does not correlated with player's power and shorter players may perform better in higher velocities. INTRODUCTIONSoccer is an intermittent type of sport which incorporates actions with low and high intensity and duration.The global positioning systems (GPSs) that have been used for few decades to help coaches to quantify the physiological demands of soccer (Bangsbo et al., 1991). Elite soccer players during a match cover a distance around 9-14 km (Bradley et al., 2010) and perform a lot of activities like accelerations, decelerations, jumps, changes of direction and other (Mohr et al., 2005).Power actions seem to be critical for the outcome of the match (Castagna et al., 2003). Reilly et al. (2000) had mentioned that these actions can discriminate a successful and an unsuccessful performance. High intensity running