The demands of football

Football is the world's most popular sport ⁽¹⁾ and like other team sports, scoring more points than your opponent within the allotted time determines victory. Senior games are played over ninety minutes that is split into two forty five minute halves, each separated by a half-time period. Extra time is played at the end of each half to account for stoppages and injuries within that period.

 

Movement Patterns

Scientific research has demonstrated that top level outfield players cover distances of approximately 10-12 km per game, with analysis of elite players from the Spanish and Champions league finding that the average distance covered exceeded 11 km ⁽²⁾. Midfielders cover the greatest distances (approx. 12 km), whereas defenders cover the least distance compared to all other outfield positions. Most distance covered in a match is by walking and low intensity running, however, sprints that are approximately 4 s in duration occur once every 90 s ⁽³⁾. The mean distance of sprints in football are bout 25 - 30 m ⁽³⁾ with periods of between 40 and 60 s separating high intensity efforts ⁽³⁾. As a match progresses, this exercise intensity is reduced in the second half with reductions in distances covered ⁽²⁾, the number of skilled involvements ⁽⁴⁾ and overall movement speed ⁽²⁾.

Physiological Demands

A lot of information exists regarding the body's responses to football. The main ones are listed below.

Heart Rate: Average values between 65% and 85% of maximum heart rates (where maximum heart rate equals 220 - Age in years) are regularly observed in match-play ^(1,5).

Energy Use: The energy expenditure associated with competition is estimated at about 5700 kJ for a 75 kg male who has a maximal oxygen uptake value (VO₂ max) of 60 ml/kg/min ⁽⁶⁾. Note that it has been previously suggested that a max greater than 60 ml/kg/min is necessary for participation in elite football ⁽⁶⁾. VO₂ max can be measured using techniques listed in our fitness testing section.

• AEROBIC: Soccer match activity is estimated to be 90% aerobically fuelled (1), with most activity concerned with movement off the ball such as creating space for team mates or by tracking runs of opposition players ⁽⁶⁾. Aerobic fitness has been proposed to determine success in football with fitter players better able to maintain performances throughout the full duration of a match ⁽⁷⁾. Information about fitness testing and training programmes for footballers are available in the training and recovery section of scientific-football.com.
• ANAEROBIC: High intensity involvements with the ball will be fuelled anaerobically, no matter how brief their duration; so anaerobic actions contribute directly to the outcomes of a game. Blood lactate can determine the proportion of energy derived anaerobically ⁽⁶⁾, and is indicative of the amount of anaerobic work being completed during a soccer match ⁽¹⁾. The blood lactate samples collected at the end of the first half tend to be greater than those collected at the end of the second half due to a gradual change in the fuel used by the body. For more information about measuring anaerobic measures of performance see the fitness testing section.

Sweat Loss: During any exercise, heat produced via the muscles causes elevations in body temperature. As a result, the body causes certain responses (most noticeably sweating) to prevent any further rises in temperature which have been found to negatively affect sports performance and in some circumstances health. During a game played in moderate temperatures, players have been reported to lose up to 3 litres of fluid and as much as 4-5 litres when played in a hot and humid environment ⁽⁶⁾. For more information on hydration strategies see the hydration and nutrition section.

Skilled Demands

Over 1,000 actions occur during a soccer match; including a change in the type or level of activity once every 6 seconds ⁽⁸⁾; alternating between 10-20 sprints, 20 tackles, 15 headings, 50 involvements with the ball and 30 passes ^(3,4,8). Similar to information about the movement demands of football, it appears that the performance of skilled actions can become reduced in the latter stages of a football match ⁽⁴⁾; consequently fitness testing, training and nutritional interventions that reduce the decrement in performance in the second half can be of benefit to the performance of skills as well as sprinting and high intensity running at the end of a match. Please see the the relevant sections of scientific-football.com for advice on fitness testing, resistance and fitness training programmes and performance enhancing supplementation protocols that we can offer.

Additional Reading

1. Bangsbo, J., L. Norregaard and F. Thorso (1991). "Activity profile of competition soccer." Can J Sport Sci 16(2): 110-6.

2. Di Salvo, V., R. Baron, H. Tschan, F. J. Montero, N. Bachl and F. Pigozzi (2007). "Performance characteristics according to playing position in elite soccer." International Journal of Sports Medicine 28(3): 222-227.

3. Withers, R. T., Z. Maricie, S. Wasilewski and L. Kelly (1982). "Match analyses of Australian professional soccer players." Journal of Human Movement Studies 8: 159-176.

4. Bloomfield, J., R. Polman and P. O'Donoghue (2007). "Physical demands of different positions in FA Premier League soccer." Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 6: 63-70.

5. Mohr, M., P. Krustrup and J. Bangsbo (2003). "Match performance of high-standard soccer players with special reference to development of fatigue." Journal of Sports Sciences 21(7): 519-528.

6. Reilly, T. (1997). "Energetics of high-intensity exercise (soccer) with particular reference to fatigue." J Sports Sci 15(3): 257-63.

7. Helgerud, J., L. C. Engen, U. Wisloff and J. Hoff (2001). "Aerobic endurance training improves soccer performance." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33: 1925-1931.

8. Reilly, T. and V. Thomas (1976). "A motion analysis of work rate in different positional roles in professional football match play." Journal of Human Movement Studies 2: 87-97.