The Relationship Between Individually Assessed High-Intensity Accelerations, High-Intensity Decelerations, Sprints, and Technical Performances During Soccer Matches: A Full Season Analysis

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 95; no. 4; pp. 930 - 937
• Main Authors: Silva, Hugo, Nakamura, Fábio Yuzo, Praça, Gibson, Ribeiro, João, Marcelino, Rui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Acceleration; Adult; Athletic Performance - physiology; Competition; Competitive Behavior - physiology; Deceleration; football; game; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; match load; physiological demands; Running - physiology; Soccer - physiology; Young Adult; Competition; game; match load; football; physiological demands
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2024.2353713

Purpose: This longitudinal study analyzed the relationship between players' physical (sprint distances, number of high-intensity accelerations and decelerations assessed with individual and relative thresholds) and technical (retrieved from SofaScore platform) performances during competition. Methods: Twenty elite players were monitored across a full season. Physical performances were monitored with GNSS devices, retrieving time (s), velocity (km.h −1 ) and distance (m). Sprint distances were calculated as > 80% of the match peak speed registered across the season. High-intensity accelerations and decelerations were calculated as >75% of the peak values registered across the season. Pearson (r) correlations (with 95% confidence intervals) were calculated to assess the relationship among different physical performance variables and between the physical and technical performance variables. Results: Sprint distances correlated with the number of ball touches (r = −0.36 [−0.49, −0.23], p < .001), accurate passes (r = −0.45 [−0.56, −0.32], p < .001), and dribble attempts (r = 0.30 [0.16, 0.43], p < .001). If players touched the ball more frequently and pass the ball more accurately, they covered shorter sprint distances. However, if players attempted more dribbles, they covered longer sprint distances. Conclusion: Practitioners can develop tactical strategies considering the relationship between sprint distances and technical variables such as ball touches, accurate passes, and dribble attempts.