The Influence of Playing Formation on Physical Demands and Technical-Tactical Actions According to Playing Positions in an Elite Soccer Team

José Luis Arjol-Serrano, Miguel Lampre, Adrián Díez, Daniel Castillo, Fernando Sanz-López and Demetrio Lozano
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José Luis Arjol-Serrano: Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Miguel Lampre: Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Adrián Díez: Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Daniel Castillo: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Isabel I, 09003 Burgos, Spain
Fernando Sanz-López: National Sports Medicine Program (NSMP) Aspetar Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Hospital, 29222 Doha, Qatar
Demetrio Lozano: Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the differences in the physical demands and technical-tactical actions encountered by soccer players between two playing formations (1-4-2-3-1 and 1-4-4-2) for each playing position. Twenty-three professional male soccer players who played 31 official matches participated in this study. Players were classified according to their playing position: central defenders (CD), wide defenders (WD), central midfielders (CM), wide midfielders (WM), offensive midfielders (OM) and forwards (FW). The physical demands were collected as total distance (TD), distance covered in different speed thresholds, and number of accelerations and decelerations. Also, the technical-tactical variables were recorded. The results showed that the 1-4-2-3-1 playing formation demanded decelerations between 2–4 m·s 2 ( p = 0.027; ES = 0.26) in comparison with 1-4-4-2 for all players. Likewise, forwards (FW) and central midfielders (CM) registered higher physical demands playing with the 1-4-2-3-1 compared to the 1-4-4-2 formation. Regarding the technical-tactical actions, they showed differences between the playing positions of the two playing formations. The findings suggest coaches prescribe specific training programs based on the influence of the playing formation and playing position on the physical demands and technical-tactical actions encountered by players during official match-play.

Keywords: match analysis; performance analysis; playing system; physical performance; technical profiles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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