TY - JOUR
T1 - Playing position and match location affect the number of high-intensity efforts more than the quality of the opposition in elite football players
AU - Morgans, Ryland
AU - Kweon, Daeeun
AU - Ryan, Ben
AU - Ju, Wonwoo
AU - Zmijewski, Piotr
AU - Oliveira, Rafael
AU - Olthof, Sigrid
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Institute of Sport – National Research Institute.
PY - 2023/12/20
Y1 - 2023/12/20
N2 - This study aimed to examine the impact of playing position (PP), match location (ML), and opposition standard (OS) on team and individual acceleration (ACC) and deceleration (DEC) efforts. Fifty professional football players were monitored across 24 English Premier Development League matches during the 2020/21 season. High-intensity ACC and DEC thresholds were set at > +3 m · s−2 and < -3 m · s−2, respectively. Players were divided into five PPs: centre backs (CB; n = 68), full-backs (FB; n = 24), centre midfielders (CM; n = 54), wide midfielders (WM; n = 15), centre forwards (CF; n = 27). Opposition standard was categorised as Top (1st–4th), Middle (5th–9th), and Bottom (9th–13th) based on final league ranking of the study season. Each match location was classified as Home or Away. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a multivariate ANOVA analysed the independent effect of PP, ML and OS on ACC and DEC efforts, and the interaction of all contextual factors, respectively. Acceleration efforts were affected by PP and ML. FB performed 22% more ACC than WM. All players performed 6% more ACC actions during home matches compared to away fixtures. DEC efforts were only affected by PP, with FB and CM executing 26% and 32% greater DEC efforts than CB, respectively. When playing against top or middle teams at home, CB, CM, and CF tended to perform more high-intensity actions than when playing away. In contrast, when playing against top teams at home, FB and WM performed fewer high-intensity actions than when playing away. Playing position and ML affected ACC and DEC actions but not OS.
AB - This study aimed to examine the impact of playing position (PP), match location (ML), and opposition standard (OS) on team and individual acceleration (ACC) and deceleration (DEC) efforts. Fifty professional football players were monitored across 24 English Premier Development League matches during the 2020/21 season. High-intensity ACC and DEC thresholds were set at > +3 m · s−2 and < -3 m · s−2, respectively. Players were divided into five PPs: centre backs (CB; n = 68), full-backs (FB; n = 24), centre midfielders (CM; n = 54), wide midfielders (WM; n = 15), centre forwards (CF; n = 27). Opposition standard was categorised as Top (1st–4th), Middle (5th–9th), and Bottom (9th–13th) based on final league ranking of the study season. Each match location was classified as Home or Away. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a multivariate ANOVA analysed the independent effect of PP, ML and OS on ACC and DEC efforts, and the interaction of all contextual factors, respectively. Acceleration efforts were affected by PP and ML. FB performed 22% more ACC than WM. All players performed 6% more ACC actions during home matches compared to away fixtures. DEC efforts were only affected by PP, with FB and CM executing 26% and 32% greater DEC efforts than CB, respectively. When playing against top or middle teams at home, CB, CM, and CF tended to perform more high-intensity actions than when playing away. In contrast, when playing against top teams at home, FB and WM performed fewer high-intensity actions than when playing away. Playing position and ML affected ACC and DEC actions but not OS.
KW - Accelerometry-based variables
KW - Developing players
KW - High-intensity actions
KW - Position-specific demands
KW - Soccer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191351946&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5114/biolsport.2024.133669
DO - 10.5114/biolsport.2024.133669
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85191351946
SN - 0860-021X
VL - 41
SP - 29
EP - 37
JO - Biology of Sport
JF - Biology of Sport
IS - 3
ER -