Contextual variables affect peak running performance in elite soccer players: A brief report

Impact of Technical-Tactical and Physical Performance on the Match Outcome in Professional Soccer: A Case Study

Match outcomes and championship rankings are the consequence of the team's technical, tactical, and physical variables. This study aimed to compare physical and modern technical-tactical performance variables between matches with different outcomes for a professional soccer team. Total distance covered, distance covered between 20.0 and 25.0 km/h and at > 25.0 km/h, distance covered at ≥ 3 m/s2 and at ≤ -3 m·s-2 along with several modern technical-tactical variables (expected goals in favor (xG) and against (xGA), expected goals chain in favor (xGC) and against (xGCA) and passes per defensive action (PPDA)) were collected for 71 soccer matches during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons from a team competing in the French Ligue 2. These technical-tactical and running performance variables were obtained by a validated video tracking system (OPTA) and their values per match were compared depending on the match outcome which was categorized as "loss" (L), "draw" (D) or "win" (W). No significant differences were observed for the different running metrics depending on the match outcome. However, significant differences were observed for xGA (0.70 ± 0.39 vs. 1.24 ± 0.59; pbonferroni= 0.004) and xGCA (5.38 ± 2.78 vs. 10.92 ± 6.18; pbonferroni = 0.002) between wins and losses, respectively. Additionally, there was a weak, but significant correlation between xGCA and distance covered in acceleration (r = 0.255; p = 0.032) and deceleration (r = 0.237; p = 0.047). In conclusion, while our study found associations between technical-tactical variables and match outcomes, causality cannot be inferred. Improved technical-tactical performance may positively impact the match result, especially by the reduction of the opposing team's goal expectancy. On the contrary, running performance variables showed no associations with the match outcome.

Examining tactical sprint actions and distribution among playing positions attending to match status in soccer: Implications for specific training

The study aimed to analyze the tactical sprint actions performed by Spanish professional soccer players, considering their playing positions and the match status at the time of each action. Thirty-two Spanish male professional soccer players from a LaLiga Spanish Second Division (LaLiga SmarthBank) team participated in this study. Actions above 85% of the players' maximum velocity during 42 official matches were collected by an optical tracking system ChyronHego® and were synchronized using Mediacoach software (LaLiga, Madrid, Spain). Then, actios were analyzed trough an observation instrument designed to assess the type of tactical action performed by players. Central defenders (CD) and wide defenders (WD) were mainly involved in recovery runs. Central midfielders (CM) also frequently performed recovery runs and pressing actions. Wide midfielders (WM) were often engaged in runs in behind/penetrate actions, while forwards (F) had a diverse range of sprint actions, including pressing, runs in behind/penetrate, and breaking into the box. It was observed that F performed fewer chase actions than expected. On the other hand, CD, WD, and CM engaged in a greater number of recovery run actions than expected. CD also performed more close down/interception actions than expected, while CM, WM, and F performed fewer close down/interception actions than expected. When their team was losing, WM performed more recovery run actions than expected. CM made more runs with the ball when their team was winning CD showed a higher frequency of breaks into the box when their team was winning. These findings provide valuable information regarding the tactical aspects of sprinting in soccer, facilitating the design of specific training tasks that not only address the physical demands associated with each playing position but also considering the tactical context in which sprints occur.

The influence of match status on the conditional characteristics of tactical sprint actions in professional soccer players

This study aimed to analyse the influence of the match status on the conditional characteristics of tactical sprint actions among Spanish professional soccer players, considering playing positions. Thirty-two Spanish male professional soccer players from a LaLiga Spanish Second Division (LaLiga SmarthBank) team participated in this study. Actions above 85% of the players' maximum velocity were analysed based on their tactical purpose. These findings provide valuable information regarding the tactical aspects of sprinting in soccer, emphasizing the influence of playing positions and match status on the distribution of tactical sprint actions. No effects of match status were observed for any game phase. However, when tactical actions were individually studied, it was observed that the maximum velocity in Chase actions was higher when the team was winning, while in Press actions, the maximum velocity was higher when the team was losing and in in Run in behind/Penetrate, the maximum velocity was higher in drawing situations compared to losing situations. No effects of match status on the distance covered during sprinting were observed, and regarding duration, significant differences were only observed in Recovery run actions. In addition, the influence of match status is higher when playing positions are considered, although the within playing positions analysis revealed significant differences only in CM players. These findings provide valuable information for the design of specific training drills considering playing positions, suggesting the need to analyse the previous match in order to structure the training load of the microcycle in a comprehensive manner.