Effect of player position on movement behaviour, physical and physiological performances during an 11-a-side football game

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify differences in time-motion, modified training impulse, body load and movement behaviour between defenders, midfielders and forwards, during an 11-a-side simulated football game. Twenty elite youth male footballers from the same squad participated in this study (age: 18.1 ± 0.7 years old, body mass: 70.5 ± 4.3 kg, height: 1.8 ± 0.3 m and playing experience: 9.4 ± 1.3 years). All data were collected using GPS units (SPI-Pro, GPSports, Canberra, Australia). The movement behaviour was measured with kinematic data, used to calculate position-specific centroids (defenders, midfielders and forwards), and processed with non-linear statistical procedures (approximate entropy normalised and relative phase). There were significant effects and interactions in all variables across the players' positions. The results showed that displacements of all players (defenders, midfielders and forwards) were nearer and more coordinated with their own position-specific centroids than with the other centroids. However, this coupling effect was stronger in midfield players and weaker in forwards. All players' dynamical positioning showed more irregularity when related to the forwards' centroid, as a consequence of their need to be less predictable when playing. The time-motion and physiological variables showed lower activity in forward players. Adding together, the results may contribute to a better understanding of players' specific performances and football complexity.

Big data and tactical analysis in elite soccer: future challenges and opportunities for sports science

“…Rampinini et al (2007) investigated the total running distances and the time spent different running speed categories (standing to sprinting). The results showed a significant influence of the level of the opponents and the playing position (compare also Goncalves et al 2014). Bush et al (2015) investigated the changes in physiological performance variables in the English Premier League across several seasons and results indicated significant increases in passing event rates associated with changes in team tactics (Bush et al 2015).…”

“…This will further increase the availability of detailed performance data from elite soccer. Thereby this has been a results of today’s common practices among professional teams to already collect physiological and tracking data during training and friendly matches to manage the training process (Bush et al 2015; Carling et al 2008; Ehrmann et al 2016; Goncalves et al 2014; Ingebrigtsen et al 2015). At present, several different tracking systems are available in the market including vision based systems, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and radio wave based tracking systems (Leser et al 2011).…”

How dots behave in two different pitch sizes? Analysis of tactical behavior based on position data in two soccer field sizes. [¿Cómo se comportan los puntos en dos campos diferentes? Análisis del comportamiento táctico basado en los datos de posición en dos tamaños de campo de fútbol].

“…Findings suggest strong coordination patterns between opposing teams centroids (Duarte et al, 2013), although they do not have strong relations to score situations (Frencken, Poel, Visscher, & Lemmink, 2012). Other analyses have showed higher degrees of coordination when players/teams became more offensive, and unpredictable movements of the attackers during the attacking phase (Gonçalves, Figueira, Maçãs, & Sampaio, 2014). In the same line, no relationship has been found between teams' longitudinal and lateral centroid distances with goal scoring situations, but space and temporal reorganization became crucial after ball position changes (Frencken et al, 2012).…”

Typical weekly workload of under 15, under 17, and under 19 elite Portuguese football players

“…body impacts) performed by footballers that help us understand the physical demands made on the body during training and competition (Abade et al, 2014). As a result, adequate descriptions of players' responses to the intensity and number of impact forces they encounter during training or game situations are unavailable (Aslan et al, 2012;Gonçalves, Figueira, Maçãs, & Sampaio, 2014).…”