Accumulative weekly load in a professional football team: with special reference to match playing time and game position

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare weekly accumulative load during the in-season competitive period by professional soccer players according to the amount of time played in official matches (90-min, >60-min, 19.8 km·h-1), sprint meters (SPR; >25.2 km·h-1), high metabolic load distance (HMLD; >25.5 W·kg-1), number of accelerations (ACC; >3 m·s-2) and decelerations (DEC; 60-min vs. <60-min and 0-min), HSR (90-min vs. <60-min and 0-min) and SPR (90-min vs. <60-min and 0-min). In addition, less positional variation was observed in relation to the competition requirements. This information would allow coaches to refine the required load with the objective of optimizing performance to soccer players.

Keywords

• football
• gps
• periodization
• training load
• positional role