Comparison of physical demands between positional games and matches in elite soccer players

Abstract

Background: In elite soccer, many teams routinely use positional games (PGs) in their practice sessions, striving to simulate competition situations, although some debate exists about the application’s usefulness. Objective: The main aim of this descriptive study was to compare the physical demands among three different formats of PGs within the competitive profile. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted with 19 Argentinian professional soccer players (age 23.7 ± 4.7 years, body mass 73.6 ± 7.0 kg, height 177.2 ± 5.6 cm). External load was monitored by GPS (Catapult™) during typical practice sessions with PGs designs (7 vs. 7 + 1 Floater [F], 9 vs. 9 + 2F + 2 goalkeepers [GK], 10 vs. 10 + 1F + 2GK) and during 10 official matches. Data on total distance (TD), player-load (PL), HILR (distance covered at speed > 14.9 km/h per minute), HSSL (distance covered at speed > 19.9 km/h per minute), number of runs during HILR and HSSL, very high-intensity accelerations (> 3.5 m/s2; VHIA) and decelerations (