Analysis of Running Performance in the Offensive and Defensive Phases of the Game: Is It Associated with the Team Achievement in the UEFA Champions League?

Applied Sciences

Łukasz Radzimiński¹  Sime Versic²  Damir Sekulic²  Toni Modric²  Patrik Drid³  Marko Stojanovic³  Tomasz Aftański⁴  Cyril Bossard⁵ 

[1] Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland;Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia;Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, 21 000 Novi Sad, Serbia;Physical Education and Sports Study Center, University of Gdansk, 80-309 Gdansk, Poland;Research Center for Education Learning and Didactics, University of West Brittany, 20 Avenue Victor Le Gorgeu, 29200 Brest, France;

关键词: football;    monitoring;    physical demands;    ball possession;    team success;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app11188765

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Although associations between running performance (RP) with ball possession and team achievement in soccer are often hypothesized, actual knowledge of this association in elite soccer remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate players’ RPs according to ball possession to determine its possible influence on team achievement in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). The players’ RPs (n = 244) were collected during UCL group stage matches (n = 20) in the 2020/21 season using the semiautomatic video system InStat Fitness. Then, players’ RPs were classified according to the specific playing position: central defenders (CD; n = 79), fullbacks (FB; n = 65), central midfielders (CM; n = 55), wide midfielders (WM; n = 28) and forwards (FW; n = 17). RPs were observed in the attacking phase (AP, i.e., when the team was in possession of the ball) and defensive phase (DP, i.e., when the team did not have possession of the ball) of the game, and included the total distance covered (m) and distance covered in different categories: walking (<7.1 km/h), jogging (7.1–14.3 km/h), running (14.4–19.7 km/h), high-intensity running (>19.8 km/h), high-speed running (19.8–25.1 km/h) and sprinting (>25.2 km/h). Team achievement was defined by the total group points earned (TGP) at the end of the group phase of the UCL and by match outcome (win, draw, loss) of single matches. The results indicated that the total, walking and jogging distances covered were negatively and positively associated with TGP (Pearson’s correlations from 0.30 to 0.73; all p < 0.05) in the AP and DP of the game, respectively. Won matches were characterized by significantly lower and higher values of total, walking and jogging distances covered in AP and DP of the game, respectively (F tests: from 7.15 to 22.5, all p < 0.01; all small to medium effect sizes). In addition, RPs in the AP and DP of the game explained only 37.2% of the variance in the TGP. These findings demonstrate that the influence of RP on team achievement in UCL is limited in both the AP and DP of the game.

【 授权许可】

Unknown