Association of Physical and Technical Activities With Partial Match Status in a Soccer Professional Team

Abstract

Moalla, W, Fessi, MS, Makni, E, Dellal, A, Filetti, C, Di Salvo, V, and Chamari, K. Association of physical and technical activities with partial match status in a soccer professional team. J Strength Cond Res 32(6): 1708-1714, 2018-The purpose of this study was to examine the association between physical and technical activities and partial match status (winning, drawing, or losing) in a professional soccer team over 2 seasons. Physical and technical activities of 52 official matches were collected and analyzed at each 15-minute interval, for each half (45 minutes), and full match (90 minutes) using a multiple-camera computerized tracking system. The results indicated that according to full match outcome: winning status was characterized by players covering more total distance (p ≤ 0.05) and low-intensity running (<14.4 km·h) (p ≤ 0.05), whereas, losing status induced more sprinting (≥25.2 km·h) (p < 0.01) and high-intensity running (≥19.8 km·h) (p ≤ 0.05). However, according to partial match status (i.e., 15 minutes and half time), players covered more distance for all running intensities while winning (p < 0.01). Technical match performance scores were not influenced by match status. In conclusion, the present study showed that the physical activities including high-intensity running and total distance covered were related to the match status, whereas technical activities were not. The overall outcome shows that higher physical activity was associated with winning partial match periods. This approach highlights the importance of physical fitness in soccer and may help coaches to better modulate players' roles and team tactical organization throughout the match.

The Impact of Match Location and Players’ Physical and Technical Activities on Winning in the German Bundesliga

“…During a soccer match, players are engaged in a number of multidirectional physical and technical activities ( Krustrup et al, 2005 ; Wallace and Norton, 2014 ); however, relevant research on soccer shows that players’ technical activities can be better predictors of success than their physical activities ( Castellano et al, 2012 ; Carling, 2013 ; Di Salvo et al, 2013 ; Hoppe et al, 2015 ; Moalla et al, 2017 ). Among the many technical variables used in soccer match analysis, the most important are considered to be shots, passes, and one-on-one plays ( Lago-Penas and Lago-Ballesteros, 2011 ; Castellano et al, 2012 ; Liu et al, 2015 , 2016 ; Szwarc et al, 2017 ).…”

Evolution of technical activity in various playing positions, in relation to match outcomes in professional soccer

“…It is in this context that we find a large number of papers detailing the physical [16], or technical nature [17] of players’ activities, with other publications also investigating players’ activity in relation to various playing positions [18]. However, in the match context, technical activity is defined as more important than physical activity [5, 19, 20, 21, 22]. Lago-Penas et al [23], Castellano et al [22] and Liu et al [11] all state that the technical activities that are linked most readily with match outcome are either the number of shots taken or numbers of shots on target.…”

The use of technology in tracking soccer players’ health performance: a scoping review

“…Soccer coaches are interested in technical and health-related performance metrics [ 5 ] as both are essential when it comes to quantifying the overall performance of the players [ 6 , 7 ]. Technical performance metrics include players’ activities during the match, such as the number of successful passes, duration of ball possession, number of passes among players, and number of shots the player attempts to score a goal [ 1 , 8 ]. The health-related performance metrics include the total distance covered by players in moderate, high, and very high speeds [ 5 ].…”