High-intensity Actions in Elite Soccer: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Over the years, soccer has become more physically demanding; the number and frequency of high-intensity actions have increased, and these activities are decisive in determining the match outcome. Importantly, the reductionist approach commonly used to analyze high-intensity actions does not contemplate a more contextualized perspective on soccer performance. Traditionally, most investigations have only provided quantitative data regarding sprints (i. e. time, distances, frequency) without examining “how” (e. g. type of trajectory or starting position) and “why” (e. g. tactical role) soccer players sprint. In fact, other high-intensity actions, apart from running, are not even mentioned (i. e. curve sprints, change of direction, and specific-jump tasks). This has led to the use of tests and interventions that do not accurately reflect real game actions. Given the true technical-tactical-physical demands of each playing position, this narrative review collected a wide-spectrum of current soccer-related articles and provided a discussion regarding high-intensity actions, with a positional-based approach. In this narrative review, practitioners are encouraged to contemplate and consider the different elements that characterize high-intensity actions in soccer, in order to assess and train soccer players under a more sport-specific and integrative perspective.

Investigating Acceleration and Deceleration Patterns in Elite Youth Football: The Interplay of Ball Possession and Tactical Behavior

“…These HIA predominantly occur during critical moments of match play, such as goal scoring [4]. Nowadays, football has witnessed an increase in action density and speed, facilitated by game systems that create free peripheral spaces and enable HIAs [5].…”

“…Among these HIAs, accelerations (Ac) and decelerations (Dec) are crucial in determining match outcomes, allowing players to adapt to tactical demands, win duels, and create or defend goal attempts [4,6,7]. Ac/Dec are physically and metabolically demanding actions, even when not performed at high speed [5][6][7][8], contributing 5-16% of a player's total load per match and requiring high rates of force development [9,10]. Increases in the number and duration of acceleration movements are associated with delayed increases in peak heart rate, higher lactate levels, greater perceived fatigue, and an increased risk of muscle damage from heightened concentric and eccentric contractions [11,12], making them indicators of a player's match-related fatigue state [9,12].…”

“…The common practice of evaluating professional football performance using the high-speed running threshold (19.8-25.1 km•h −1 ) overlooks the energy expenditure associated with Ac/Dec, thus underestimating a player's workload [15]. Consequently, Ac/Dec could currently serve as more sensitive and predictive of fatigue and consistent physical performance during matches [5,[10][11][12][13][14]. Understanding the importance of Ac/Dec in football offers insights for coaches and sports scientists to tailor training to address these high-intensity actions.…”

“…Understanding the importance of Ac/Dec in football offers insights for coaches and sports scientists to tailor training to address these high-intensity actions. Acknowledging their significance in workload assessment can improve fatigue monitoring, prevent injuries, and optimize on-field performance [5,[10][11][12][13][14].…”

“…Due to football's dynamic nature, players in different positions have varying technicaltactical roles, resulting in distinct physical demands [5] and moments of heightened demand during matches [1]. As such, the match context, including the initial formation, tactical strategies regarding the distribution of spaces, and ball possession, must also be considered [4,31].…”