Assessing Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Soccer Players: Is Test Specificity the Issue?–A Review

Abstract

It is important that players and coaches have access to objective information on soccer player’s physical status for team selection and training purposes. Physiological tests can provide this information. Physiological testing in laboratories and field settings are very common, but both methods have been questioned because of their specificity and accuracy respectively. Currently, football players have their direct aerobic fitness assessed in laboratories using treadmills or cycle ergometers, whilst indirect measures (using estimation of aerobic performance) are performed in the field, typically comprising multiple shuttle runs back and forth over a set distance. The purpose of this review is to discuss the applied techniques and technologies used for evaluating soccer players’ health and fitness variables with a specific focus on cardiorespiratory testing. A clear distinction of the functionality and the specificity between the field tests and laboratory tests is well established in the literature. The review findings prioritize field tests over laboratory tests, not only for commodity purpose but also for motivational and specificity reasons. Moreover, the research literature suggests a combination of various tests to provide a comprehensive assessment of the players. Finally, more research needs to be conducted to develop a specific and comprehensive test model through the combination of various exercise modes for soccer players.