Match running performance in Brazilian professional soccer players: comparisons between successful and unsuccessful teams

Abstract

Background This study aimed to compare the match running performance between bottom- and top-ranked teams in professional soccer players over the 2020 season of the Brazilian National 2nd Division League. In addition, this study verified the independent and interactive effects of playing position and contextual factors on running outputs between these teams. Methods Forty-eight professional male outfield soccer players participated in this study (top-ranked team, n = 24; bottom-ranked team, n = 24). The distance- and accelerometry-based measures were recorded during 69 matches using a global positioning system (10 Hz) integrated with an accelerometer (400 Hz). Results The top-ranked team covered greater total distance [median (interquartile range); 10,330.0 m (1430.0)] and high-acceleration [97.0 m (32.0)] than the bottom-ranked team, in home and away matches [p < 0.05, effect size (ES) = small]. The midfielders of the top-ranked team covered higher total distance, high-speed running (> 18 km h−1), high acceleration (≥ 3 m s−2), high-deceleration (≤ −3 m s−2), and performed more sprints [(> 25 km h−1) compared to midfielders of the bottom-ranked team (p < 0.05, η2 = small-moderate]. The matches against top-level opponents required high values of high-acceleration and number of sprints only for the top-ranked team (p < 0.05, ES = small). Independent analysis showed that match outcome (loss vs. draw vs. win) was not influenced by running performance for both bottom- and top-ranked teams (p > 0.05; η2 = small). However, the top-ranked team covered greater total distance, high-acceleration/deceleration than bottom-ranked team in loss matches (p < 0.05, η2 = small). Conclusions These findings should be considered when the coaches and practitioners interpret the match running outputs and when evaluating the effects of training intervention on these performance indicators.

Match Running Performance of Brazilian Professional Soccer Players according to Tournament Types

“…Therefore, in NT, teams with better physical condition are more likely to participate, and their game strategies are characterized by imposing greater intensity. In this case, the top-ranked teams in the state championship are the ones that qualify for the national championship, and it has been found that a higher-ranked team runs greater distances in accelerations (>3m/s2) (Aquino et al, 2021).…”

“…Soccer is a sport of intermittent nature, which mixes technical and tactical skills, high intensity actions such as sprinting, jumping and changes in direction with short rest periods, with players getting to travel between 9 to 14 km per match, in different speed bands (Dolci et al, 2020;Turner & Stewart, 2014)., In the last decades, physical demands have been significantly increasing (Bradley et al, 2016;Bush et al, 2015), par-alleling the interest of researchers and practitioners towards match fitness performance outcomes. The latter has, indeed, grown tremendously, in particular, using distance-based measures (e.g., distance traveled at different velocities) to improve physical conditioning strategies (Aquino et al, 2021;Hands & Janse de Jonge, 2020).…”

“…A large amount of research has been conducted to identify the major determinants underlying conditional or physical demands during a soccer match. These include the location (local or visiting) (Oliva-lozano et al, 2021), match status and goal difference (Buchheit et al, 2018), tactical systems adopted (Aquino et al, 2020), category (age-group) (Papaevangelou et al, 2012), division (Gomez-Piqueras et al, 2019), and ranking (Aquino et al, 2021), among others.…”

Win, Draw, or Lose? Global Positioning System-Based Variables’ Effect on the Match Outcome: A Full-Season Study on an Iranian Professional Soccer Team

“…The concept of MPA later adopted as a metric utilized by WIMU and often integrated within EPTS, has been an equivocal topic regarding validity and reliability, and the overall accuracy of the information regarding energy expenditure provided by the GPS [ 17 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. As technological advancements grow with a greater capability to increase sampling frequencies, and more research validating the higher frequency GPS units [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], more practitioners and researchers can incorporate metrics that go beyond the one-dimensional metrics, such as distances covered and various speed zones.…”

Variability of External Intensity Comparisons between Official and Friendly Soccer Matches in Professional Male Players

“…Currently, tracking systems are used in professional clubs for better external intensity management [ 22 ]. The most used technologies are micro-sensors devices, usually known as global positioning systems (GPS) [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. They have shown to provide reliable and valid measures of the physical activity profile of team sports [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”