The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the exercise capacity of professional soccer players

Abstract

Soccer has become a genuine industry, where science has been acquiring an ever more defined place. Specialists in the field are looking for solutions to a better detailed and more precise monitoring process for players. In the current research, we propose to use such a tool, namely the InStatgame report, to assess the possible physical effects produced by the forced break imposed by the Covid-19pandemic.We have analysed a Romanian first-league professional soccer team, in terms of the exercise capacity reflected in the InStat Fitness report for two moments: before the enforcement of the emergency state and after lifting the social restrictions, when the competitive season resumed. We wanted to assess to what extent and at what level modifications occurred in the players’ exercise capacity. In our analysis, we have taken into account the following aspects: the total distance covered during the game, the distance covered pacing(0-2 m/s), jogging(2-4 m/s), running(4-5.5m/s), the distance covered accelerating(5.5-7 m/s), the distance covered sprinting(>7 m/s), the number of accelerations, and the maximum speed reached. From among them, only the distance covered accelerating recorded statistically significant alterations, dropping from626.6±267.5 m, in the first game, la 390.4±290.1 m, during the game played after resuming the competitions. The main conclusion is related to the fact that a forced break caused by various reasons may lead to a decrease in the anaerobic lactacid capacity of the soccer players.

Keywords

• soccer
• effort
• capacitate
• covid-19
• instat