Soccer

PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to quantify maximal aerobic power (VO2max) in soccer as a function of performance level, position, age, and time of season. In addition, the authors examined the evolution of VO2max among professional players over a 23-y period.METHODS: 1545 male soccer players (22 ± 4 y, 76 ± 8 kg, 181 ± 6 cm) were tested for VO2max at the Norwegian Olympic Training Center between 1989 and 2012.RESULTS: No differences in VO2max were observed among national-team players, 1st- and 2nd-division players, and juniors. Midfielders had higher VO2max than defenders, forwards, and goalkeepers (P < .05). Players <18 y of age had ~3% higher VO2max than 23- to 26-y-old players (P = .016). The players had 1.6% and 2.1% lower VO2max during off-season than preseason (P = .046) and in season (P = .021), respectively. Relative to body mass, VO2max among the professional players in this study has not improved over time. Professional players tested during 2006-2012 actually had 3.2% lower VO2max than those tested from 2000 to 2006 (P = .001).CONCLUSIONS: This study provides effect-magnitude estimates for the influence of performance level, player position, age, and season time on VO2max in men's elite soccer. The findings from a robust data set indicate that VO2max values ~62-64 mL · kg-1 · min-1 fulfill the demands for aerobic capacity in men's professional soccer and that VO2max is not a clearly distinguishing variable separating players of different standards.

The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) in a maximal treadmill run and the aerobic endurance performance in the 20-m multistage shuttle run (MST) test, with the performance indices obtained in the running repeated sprint ability (rRSA) test, in elite youth soccer players. Thirty-seven adolescent male outfield players performed on separate days and in random order the treadmill run test and the MST, to obtain their measured VO(2max) and aerobic endurance performance (via the number of completed shuttles in the MST), respectively. Players also completed the rRSA test of 6x20-m all-out sprints, interspersed with 20 s of active recovery. There was a significant moderate correlation between measured VO(2max) (in L . min(-1) and mL . kg(-1) . min(-1)) and MST results (r=0.43 and 0.54, P&lt;0.05, respectively). There was no significant correlation between measured VO(2max) and aerobic endurance performance with any of the performance...

The aim of this research is to understand the experience of the football sector on the use of artificial turf (satisfaction, safety, sporting feature, or the advantages and disadvantages). The study was conducted on a random selection of 627 male participants (404 amateur/semi-professional footballers, 101 coaches and 122 referees) that regularly train/compete on artificial turf in Spanish football leagues. The

The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) back injury prevention program (IPP) is an evidence-based injury prevention exercise designed to prevent back pain and other related injuries. The aim of this study was to assess the implementation of the OSTRC Back IPP among professional basketball, handball, soccer, and volleyball players in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The survey was developed by the study authors and it consisted of two sections: the socio-demographic and questionnaire assess the implementation of OSTRC Back IPP. A total of 360 athletes responded to the survey (response rate was 93.75%). The mean (±SD) of the total implementation score was 6.6 (±1.8) out of 13. Jumping lunges exercise was the highest implemented exercise, making up 56.1% of the participated players, followed by the side plank and jump turns 53.3% and 53.1%, respectively. In contrast, the lowest implemented exercise was the rotational strength exercise which accounts for 46.4%. There were no statistically significant differences between the GCC countries in the implementation of all exercises except for the side lunges exercise. The rate of implementation of the OSTRC Back IPP among players was low in the GCC countries.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the strength and anthropometric characteristics of elite and semi-elite tenpin bowlers as compared to non-bowlers, and to establish whether it was possible to discriminate playing level through selected predictor variables. Elite and semi-elite bowlers were distinguished by their bowling score average (BS ave), with participants scoring 200 pin falls and above assigned to the elite group. Eighteen elite bowlers (M=10, F=8; BS ave 213.2± 6.80), 12 semi-elite bowlers (M=7, F=5; BS ave 181.3± 9.36) and 33 sedentary university students (M=14, F=19) were recruited. Anthropometric measurements were taken and isometric arm strength was recorded. Between-group differences were identified through a two-way ANOVA, while discriminant analysis was used to predict group membership. For anthropometric characteristics, the results indicated that the elite bowlers were heavier, had longer lower leg and hand length and had a wider arm span as compared to the non-bowlers. The elite group also had stronger forearm/wrist internal rotation compared to non-bowlers. In addition, the male elite group were stronger than the non-bowling group for arm flexion. There appeared to be a 54% success rate for predicting group membership from selected anthropometric and strength discriminating variables, with forearm/wrist internal rotation strength being the best discriminating variable. It is suggested that coaches should benefit by selecting larger built bowlers with long limbs. Furthermore, bowlers could potentially gain by paying extra attention to increasing the strength levels of forearm/wrist internal rotators and arm flexors during training. These findings also provide normative data for elite and semi-elite bowlers.

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Carbohydrate and caffeine are known to independently improve certain aspects of athletic performance. However, less is understood about physiological and performance outcomes when these compounds are coingested in a rehydration and carbohydrate-replacement strategy. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of adding a moderate dose of caffeine to a carbohydrate solution during prolonged soccer activity. Fifteen male soccer players performed two 90-min intermittent shuttle-running trials. They ingested a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution (CON) providing a total of 1.8 g/kg body mass (BM) of carbohydrate or a similar solution with added caffeine (CAF; 3.7 mg/kg BM). Solutions were ingested 1 hr before exercise and every 15 min during the protocol. Soccer passing skill and countermovement-jump height (CMJ) were quantified before exercise and regularly during exercise. Sprinting performance, heart rate, blood lactate concentration (La) and the subjective experiences of partici...

Due to increasing prevalence of the COVID-19 virus, athletes were unable to train optimally. This study aimed to determine the differences in aerobic capacity, body mass, and body mass index in soccer players as the effect of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Fourteen male participants were recruited from the university soccer team. Anthropometric characteristics were as follows: age = 20.75 ± 1.48 years, height = 174.35 ± 5.59 cm, body mass = 68.95 ± 6.17 kg, and body mass index = 21.92 ± 0.94 kg/m 2. Single-group pretest and posttest designs were selected to conduct this study. A multistage fitness test determined aerobic capacity. ANOVA test was used to identify aerobic capacity, body mass, and body mass index differences between pretest and posttest on university soccer players. Results: The pretest and posttest were similar in anthropometric characteristics, and there were no significant differences in age (P = 0.382), height (P = 0.106), and body mass (P = 0.068). Our findings showed significant differences between pretest and posttest for aerobic capacity (P = 0.042) and body mass index (P = 0.037) in university soccer players. Conclusion: We conclude that there was a significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the soccer player's aerobic capacity and body mass index. These findings may have implications, namely, as functional test's organization, administration, and outcomes while testing the players. Team coaches, trainers, and physiologists must consider the effects of lockdown on the players' performance while preparing players for competition. Further researchers should be established to modify other types of tests, conduct studies with a larger sample and population, and add other variables.

Nicholas Blincoe’s More Noble Than War: A Soccer History of Israel-Palestine (Bold Type Books, 2019) is a beautifully narrated and written history of a century of conflict between pre-state Jews and Palestinians and Israeli Jews and Israeli Palestinians after the establishment of the state. It is a story that goes far beyond the history of the conflict, the mirror images of developments in Jewish and Palestinian society, and the internecine ideological infighting and power struggles within the two communities. It paints in graphic detail the incestuous and inseparable relationship between sports and politics and the importance of soccer, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, in identity and nation formation as well as nation building. It also demonstrates in graphic detail how first Jews and then Palestinians exploited soccer to first achieve international recognition of their struggles and then as nations by dispatching teams to tour other countries and being granted membership in world soccer body FIFA. In doing so, Israelis and Palestinians set an example that decades later became a key pillar of the Algerian liberation struggle in the 1950s and 1960s with the National Liberation Front (FLN)’s creation of its own national soccer team that put its fight for independence on the world map. The skeletal facts of Blincoe’s tale have long been known. The significance of Blincoe’s contribution is that he puts flesh on the skeleton by weaving the facts into a meticulously researched and reported, easily accessible narrative in which he brings key players and ideological trends to life. It’s a tale that is all fact but reads like a thriller.

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Young soccer players are usually trained with adult-training methods, even though the physiological adaptations are likely to be very different compared with adults. In contrast, some have suggested training preadolescents only with coordination training. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether coordination or repeated-sprint training better improved speed over 20 m, with and without the ball. Sixteen soccer players (mean age 11+/-0.5 y) were randomly assigned to a sprint-training group (STG=7) or a coordination-training group (CTG=9). The STG trained twice a week for 12 wk and performed 20 repetitions of 20- and 10-m sprints; the CTG performed coordination training (eg, speed ladder running) for the same training duration. Maximal jump height, anthropometric measures, and 20-m sprint time, with and without ball, were evaluated before and after the training period. Statistical significance was determined using two-way ANOVA with repeated measure and Pearson test for cor...

Konrad Heitkamp was taken aback by the extraordinary ordinariness present in the lobby of the Zurich hotel. In November of 1943, life in Zurich seemed unperturbed by the fact that the countries surrounding Switzerland were embroiled in one of the most devastating wars in the history of the world. Heitkamp realized that as the coach of the FC Bayern München soccer team, he was one of the privileged few who could bask in this oasis of normalcy for a few days before he would have to head back home to Munich. He surveyed the lobby and began waving his hand at some of his players standing across the vestibule. Hopefully, the Gestapo men watching him thought of this as an innocuous gesture, a soccer team coach acknowledging the arrival of his players and performing a headcount. But he could not bank on it.

Studies regarding ankle and foot overuse injuries are quite diverse in research methodology, data reporting, and outcomes. The aims of this systematic review were to analyze the methodology of published studies regarding ankle and foot overuse injuries in different sports disciplines and to summarize epidemiological data of ankle and foot overuse injuries. Four electronic databases, PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus(®) were systematically searched up to June 2011. A total of 89 articles on 23 sports disciplines were included in this review. Soccer, running, and gymnastics were the most frequently studied sports. Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, and stress fracture were the most frequently studied injuries. Study design and reporting methods were heterogeneous. Most studies suffered from a weak methodology and poor reporting. The most common weaknesses were lack of a clear case definition, describing assessment procedures and reporting sample characteristics....

Sports Geographer BJ Pheasant has calculated the ratios of needed incoming male college freshman soccer players versus the number of 12th grade boys soccer players in each state. The ratio shows the number of players from each U18 club team needed to play in college soccer to fill the incoming freshman class in each state. 

The calculations use data from the US Census Bureau, USYS, NCAA, NAIA and Gotsoccer among others in its research.