Effect of formation, ball in play and ball possession on peak demands in elite soccer

This study examined the most demanding passages of match play (MDP) and the effects of playing formation, ball-in-play (BiP) time and ball possession on the 1-min peak (1-min(peak)) demand in elite soccer. During 18 official matches, 305 individual samples from 223 Italian Serie A soccer players were collected. MDP and 1-min(peak) were calculated across playing position (central defenders, wide defenders, central midfielders, wide midfielders, wide forwards and forwards). Maximum relative (m·min(-1)) total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), very high-speed running (VHSR), sprint (SPR), acceleration/deceleration (Acc/Dec), estimated metabolic power (P(met)) and high-metabolic load (HML) distance were calculated across different durations (1–5, 10, 90 min) using a rolling method. Additionally, 1-min(peak) demand was compared across playing formation (3-4-1-2, 3-4-2-1, 3-5-2, 4-3-3, 4-4-2), BiP and ball/no-ball possession cycles. MDP showed large to verylarge [effect-size (ES): 1.20/4.06] differences between 1-min(peak) vs all durations for each parameter. In 1-min(peak), central midfielders and wide midfielders achieved greater TD and HSR (ES:0.43/1.13) while wide midfielders and wide forwards showed greater SPR and Acc/Dec (ES:0.30/1.15) than other positions. For VHSR, SPR and Acc/Dec 1-min(peak) showed fourfold higher locomotor requirements than 90-min. 1-min(peak) for Acc/Dec was highest in 4-3-3 for forwards, central and wide midfielders. 1-min(Peak) was lower during peak BiP (BiP(peak)) for HSR, VHSR and Acc/Dec (ES: -2.57/-1.42). Comparing with vs without ball possession, BiP(peak) was greater (ES: 0.06/1.48) in forwards and wide forwards and lower (ES: -2.12/-0.07) in central defenders and wide defenders. Positional differences in MDP, 1-min(peak) and BiP(peak) were observed. Soccer-specific drills should account for positional differences when conditioning players for the peak demands. This may help practitioners to bridge the training/match gap.