Analysis of the Most Intense Periods During Elite Soccer Matches: Effect of Game Location and Playing Position

This study aimed to quantify the game-speed demand of elite soccer players using time windows from 5 seconds to 10 minutes and to examine the effect of match location and playing position on game-speed outputs.

Twenty-four Serie A (Italy) male professional soccer players (27.5 [4.1] y old) participated in this study across an entire season. The players' activity profiles during matches were analyzed using a semiautomatic video tracking system (Stats Perform), which provided 2-dimensional coordinates of the players, and from these data, total distance (TD) covered, high-speed running distance (HSRD), and sprint distance (SD) were calculated. The most intense periods of match play were calculated using a moving-average method within 15 time windows (ie, 5-10-15-30-60-90 s and from 2 to 10 min) and analyzed using a linear mixed model.

A slightly higher SD (estimate values = 3.98, P = .0192) was performed when playing a home match. Midfielders run the highest values for TD (P = .0001), center backs produced the lowest HSRD (P = .0011), and no significant differences between roles were found in terms of SD.

A univariate approach based on velocity can aid in designing training for the most intense periods of a match, considering positional differences for TD and HSRD. On the other hand, the consistency in SD across different roles suggests a team behavior during the most intense periods of the game such as attacking and defensive transition phases.