External loading in football to discriminate the different performance model

Abstract

Purpose: External load analysis is one of the fundamental criteria in soccer, to more easily monitoring the team more easily both during the training phase and during the match itself, by analyzing the difference between the complete performance and performance to be reached. External load monitoring has been analyzed in several recent studies; however, research has mainly focused on professional soccer teams or also on non-professional ones, but without specifications for different study levels. The aim of this study has been to quantify measures and to evaluate and compare the differences among the non-professional players’ load demands. Methods: Three non-professional Italian male soccer teams, D-Serie, 1st Category and Under-19, with a total of 30 players participated in this study. GPS was used to monitor the external load of a mid-season match. One-way ANOVA and a Bonferroni post-hoc have been used to analyze differences between groups. The significance level has been set at P < 0.05. Results: The results have shown statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) among the three teams in terms of distance (p = 0.00), power plays (p = 0.02), energy (p = 0.00), player load (p = 0.00), distance x minute (p = 0.00), power score (p = 0.00) and work ratio (p = 0.00). Overall, in terms of volume, the 1st Category team has performed better than the other two, while in terms of intensity, the better performing team has been the D-series team. Conclusions: Results should be applied to design training programs, to improve appropriately each team for external load demand profiles for the team and to know, in advance, the differences among the categories.