The effects of a congested fixture period on physical performance, technical activity and injury rate during matches in a professional soccer team

Abstract

Background In modern professional soccer, the ability to recover from official match-play and intense training is often considered a determining factor in subsequent performance. Objective To investigate the influence of playing multiple games with a short recovery time between matches on physical activity, technical performance and injury rates. Methods The variation of physical (overall distance, light-intensity, low-intensity, moderate-intensity and high-intensity running) and technical performance (successful passes, balls lost, number of touches per possession and duels won) of 16 international players was examined during three different congested periods of matches (six games in 18 days) from the French League and Cup (n=12), and the UEFA Champions' League (n=6) during the 2011-2012 season and compared with that reported in matches outside these periods. Data were collected using a computerised match analysis system (Amisco). Injury rate, time loss injuries, as well as the mechanism, circumstances and severity of the injury were also analysed. Results No differences were found across the six successive games in the congested period, and between no congested and the three congested periods for all the physical and technical activities. The total incidence of injury (matches and training) across the prolonged congested periods did not differ significantly to that reported in the non-congested periods. However, the injury rate during match-play was significantly higher during the congested period compared with the noncongested period ( p<0.001). The injury rate during training time was significantly lower during the congested period compared with the non-congested periods ( p<0.001). The mean lay-off duration for injuries was shorter during the congested periods compared with the non-congested periods (9.5±8.8 days vs 17.5±29.6 days, respectively p=0.012, effect sizes=0.5). Conclusions Although physical activity, technical performance and injury incidence were unaffected during a prolonged period of fixture congestion, injury rates during training and match-play and the lay-off duration were different to that reported in matches outside this period.

Match Running Performance During Fixture Congestion in Elite Soccer: Research Issues and Future Directions

“…For example, no statistically significant changes in running performance were reported during both short (e.g., three matches in 5-7 days) [9,11] and longer periods of congestion (e.g., eight matches in 26 days) [10,15]. According to these apparently stable match running activity profiles, one could assume that elite players are simply able to maintain physical performance across congested schedules.…”

“…However, doubts have recently been cast [20] on the practical utility of these metrics and, notably, assessments of changes in simplistic measures such as distances covered that are commonly used in an attempt to identify the occurrence of declines in physical performance. Yet, at the time of writing, the latest published research in this area has also primarily employed analyses of distances covered [14,15]. Furthermore, only two studies, again mainly using distances covered, have investigated whether match-related fatigue evolves across intensified competition periods by examining declines across halves [10,12], while only one has examined changes related to playing position [14].…”

“…An investigation of an elite soccer team during a prolonged period of match congestion (eight matches in 26 days) reported a single outfield player who completed every match while six players took part in every match as either starters or substitutes [10]. In three separate congested periods (six matches in 18 days) across the same season, only four players in an elite team participated in every match [15]. Finally, analysis of 22 elite English teams who played three matches in 5 days yielded complete datasets for 16 outfield players [11].…”

“…In theory, these declines would negatively impact on ensuing competitive physical performance if the time delay between successive matches was short. Yet several time-motion analysis studies conducted on elite senior soccer competition have shown that external workload represented by distance covered at various running speeds was unaffected over a congested period [2,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Despite the physiological trauma and accumulative fatigue potentially induced by successive matches, it would seem players recover sufficiently and cope 'physically' over a congested period.…”

“…Several authors have suggested that such treatments aided in maintaining match running performance during congested periods [2,9,10,14,15]. However, limited empirical evidence currently exists to support the efficacy of post-match recovery modalities for attenuating potential decrements in running performance across consecutive matches played within a tight timeframe.…”