Special topics

The aim was to analyze the locomtion and metabolic responses of professional players in the top three competitive standards of Spanish soccer during the four weeks before and after dismissal of the coach.

This study aimed to describe the worst-case scenarios (WCS) of professional soccer players by playing position in different durations and analyse WCS considering different contextual variables (match half, -location and outcome)

This study aimed to evaluate commonly used methods to assess BMS within a highly selected sample of youth soccer players.

The aim of this study was to investigate position-specific endurance performance of soccer players.

The aim was to determine whether prospectively measured components of valgus collapse during a deceleration cut can differentiate between female footballers who go on to non-contact ACL injury

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether a moving advertisement positioned behind the goal area would influence the visual attention of participants performing a soccer penalty kick, and, whether this would an effect on subsequent motor performance.

This study aimed to describe the worst-case scenarios of professional soccer players by playing position in different durations and analyse WCS considering different contextual variables (match half and location)

The aim of this study was to provide reference data of variation in external training loads for weekly periods within annual season.

The objective of this study was to determine whether there is a decrease in the physical performance of the players in the most demanding passages (MDP) during periods of competition congestion.

The study aimed at comparing the effects of two training approaches on prepubescent soccer players' sprint performance.

The aim was to investigate if making the skill aquisition phase more difficult or easier would enhance performance in soccer juggling and if this practice has a positive intertask transfer effect to ball reception performance.

The aims of this investigation were to report team average and positional changes to match play physical performance across an European Championsleague season while statistically controlling for situational and contextual variables.

This study aimed to analyse the effect of different starting stance widths and knee flexion angles on movement time, center of mass trajectory and velocity in goalkeepers' diving saves.

The aims were to analyse the physical response of professional soccer players during training considering the contextual factors of match location, season period and quality of opposition.

The purpose was to investigate long corner kicks within the English Premier League that entered the goal area (6-yard box) or the critical are (6-12 yards from the goal-line in the width of the goal area) with the defining outcome occurring after the first contact.

This study analyses the differential perceived match load accumulated by professional soccer players depending on participation in several consecutive matches.

This study aims to quantify and analyze the differences in position-specific performances in games played with three or four defensive players.

The study assessed whether a new, closed-skill dribbling or sprinting task could predict attacking performance.

The aims of the study were to determine the effectiveness of indirect free kicks, identify variables associated with a successful outcome.

The aim of this study was to examine the performance indicators that differentiated between African and European teams in the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The aim of this study was to analyze in-game match statistics on the top-3 and bottom-3 teams ranked in LaLiga.

The aim was to examine strategic time-wasting, a behavior that help teams win games or tie games against superior opponents.

The aim was to investigate the association between  injuries and training load indices in elite footballers.

The aim was to investigate the impact of video speed on the decision making process of association football referees and how this interacts with expertise.

The aim was to compare heart rate, rating of perceived exertion and technical-tactical actions during SSGs played with and without goalkeepers.

The study investigated the effects of a 6-month school-based soccer program on cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in overweight children.

As previous literature updates, I have performed a PubCrawler search looking for football articles in NCBI Medline (PubMed) and GenBank databases.

Following studies were retrieved for this week:

The main purpose was to assess the relations between training loads and selected blood parameters in professional players during a preseason sports camp.

The aim was to compare physiological parameters and technica-tactical actions during SSGs with and without wildcard players.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between offensive tactical knowledge and the soccer-specific motor skills performance.

Predicting the defensive performance of individual players in one vs. one soccer games.

The aim was to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation on soccer skills.

The aim was to investigate the relationship between motor development in adolescence and future adult performance. 

The aim was to systematically review the predictive value of psychological talent predictors.

The study aimed to identify the differences in technical performance between players from clubs in UEFA Champions League matches.

The aim of this study was to determine the role of FMS in the process of acquiring soccer-specific motor skills.

The study investigates the influence of specific soccer training with the non-dominant leg on mental rotation performance of young soccer players.

The aim of the study was to explore the underlying bases of goal-scoring ability of young soccer players.

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between basics cognitive functions and sports-specific motor skills in elite youth soccer players

I have updated the special topic - Performance analysis - CLICK HERE to get to the page or follow the navigation

The aim was to examine the contribution of maturity status and body size descriptors to age-associated inter-individual variability in VO2peak and to present static allometric models to normalize in male youth soccer players.

The aim of this study was to determine the optimal recovery time to elicit PAP after a bout of high-intensity resistance exercise in professional soccer players.

The aim was to assess the utility of an inertial sensor for assessing recovery in professional soccer players.

The aim was to examine the dose reponse effect of plyometric training on soccer performance variables.

The study aimed to identify associations between running performance and game performance indicators in professional footballers compared to their playing position.

The aim was to provide in-season training load for different days within a mesocycle in elite soccer players.

The aim was to analyze the effects of 2 resistance programs using the same relative load but different repetition volume.

The aim of the study was to provide seasonal internal and external training load includig the Hooper Index in elite soccer players during an in-season period.

Player readiness can affect the ability to perform and tolerate prescribed training load. Consequently, practitioners need objective evidence to inform readiness to train.

The purpose was to quantify the relationship between daily training load and a range of potential measures of fatigue.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of mental fatigue on passing decision-making in professional soccer athletes.

The results of a systematic review.

The study profiled the match-day physical activities performed by substitutes focusing on the pre- and post-pitch-entry periods.

The effects of a Nordic hamstring exercise before vs. after football training was examined.

The purpose was to analyze the day-to-day variance of a typical weekly external training workload of two professional soccer teams from Portugal and Netherlands

The study aimed to describe positional differences in the acceleration and sprint profiles of professional footballers.

A comprehensive 3-year study from English Premier League Footballers

Is there an effect of unbalanced players numbers in SSG on workload and technical/tactical actions in football?

The aim was to determine the effectiveness of sprint interval training on performance and lactate kinetics in soccer players.

Variables assessed passing strategies, field position and possession.

Effects on body composition, strength and sprint performance.

The study investigated the preventive effect of the nordic hamstring exercise on the incidence in male amateur footballers.

The purpose was to investigate the association between physical and technical activities and match status.

The purpose was to investigate the effect of an imagery training programme on the performance of a soccer task by skilled and novice players.

Some considerations and limitations

The study investigated the association between high-speed running and sprinting and injuries in football.

Passing and shooting in the LSST and LSPT.

Effects on the physical performance, psychophysiological responses and technical skills in young soccer players.

A new approach to determine in-game sprinting patterns

Also with regards to positional differences.

Are there positional differences playing a 4-2-3-1 with strong vs. weak oppositions?

And their relation with other performance tests.

Small-sided games (5 vs 5) to larg(er)-sided games (10 vs 10) vs. official match.

What is the effect of an intense training cycle and well-being on performance in SSGs?

...does not really matter.

What is it and are there quantifiable variables

Was there any effect on injury occurrence and performance?

Analysis of Spanish and English teams.

How important is a creative pass to score a goal?

More precisely, money as motivation counteracts fatigue.

The influence of speed and power abilities in goal scoring situations in professional football.

Are there differences in successful passes before and after a goal in football?

Metabolic and mechanical demands in small-sided games with goalkeepers vs. possession play.

Concurrent training during pre-season. One example what was done.

Goalkeepers in SSGs - their effect on technical and physiological parameters.

Are there any differences in intensity and technical parameters in SSGs with different durations?

The effect of using an end-zone vs. a small goal on physiological parameters (such as heart rate).

What are the effects of task constraints (for example number of touches) on different game indicators in football?

...but does it have the same cardiovascular effect for players?

Are there any differences for midfielders vs. strikers with regards to meters covered per minute in demanding passages of games?

Are there any positional differences? Are there any consequences for training - more specifically for conditioning...

The German Sport Science Association – Section Football had its annual meeting at Ruhr University Bochum from 28.-30.9.2017.

I attended the conference and the important slides from the one and only english presentation from the one and only Aaron Coutts about “Developing athlete monitoring systems for football: theoretical foundations” are shown below.

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) was created to evaluate movement pattern quality for athletes as it thought that poor neuromuscular control increases the risk of acute injuries (8).

Based on this idea, the FMS would therefore serve as the basis for more complex movements (21) and consequently would be useful to identify functional movement deficits such as muscular imbalances/asymmetries (30), flexibility deficits (mobility) and balance or stability (5).

The following slides were presented on Day 3.

Day 3 of the World Conference on Science and Soccer started with some Talent Identification. Below are some slides from the first session.

The following slides will display some of the content of the second day of the World Conference on Science and Soccer that I have visited.

As mentioned in previous post, I have attended the World Conference on Science and Soccer.

Beside presenting myself I visited a couple of session/presentations, of which I took some pictures.

Since Wednesday I have been at the World Conference on Science and Soccer at Rennes (France).

As part of every conference, delegates can submit their research as a poster that are hang up in a separate room for visitors.

Below are (nearly) all poster of the conference.