Search

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of air quality – analyzed on the basis of the model of integrating three types of air pollutants (ozone – O3, particulate matter - PM, nitrogen dioxide – NO2) – on the physical activity of soccer players. Study material consisted of 8927 individual match observations of 461 players competing in the German Bundesliga during the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 domestic seasons. The measured indices included players’ physical activities: total distance (TD) and high intensity effort (HIE). Statistical analysis showed that with increasing levels of air pollution, both TD (F = 13.900(3); p = 0.001) and HIE (F = 8.060(3); p = 0.001) decrease significantly. The worsening of just one parameter of air pollution results in a significant reduction in performance. This is important information as air pollution is currently a considerable problem for many countries. Improving air quality during training sessions and sports competitions will result in better well-being and sporting performance of athletes, and will also help protect athletes from negative health effects caused by air pollution.

The aim of the research detailed here has been to assess the frequency with which football players engage in technical activity of various different types, in relation to seven phases of a game associated with changes in match status. To this end, 2016&ndash, 2017 domestic-season matches in Germany&rsquo, s Bundesliga were analyzed, the relevant data being retrieved using an Opta Sportsdata Company system. Technical activity taken into consideration included shots, passes, ball possession, dribbles, and tackles. It was found that there was a large impact of frequency of shots on target (H = 466.999(6), p = 0.001) in relation to the different match-status phases. Furthermore, moderate effect sizes were then obtained for frequency of shots (H = 187.073(6), p = 0.001), frequency of passes (H = 133.547(6), p = 0.001), and percentage of ball possession (H = 123.401(6), p = 0.001). The implication would be that a team trying to change the match score of a game experienced at a given moment in a more favorable direction will need to raise the frequency and accuracy of passes, the percentage of ball possession, and the percentage of tackles ending in success. The maintenance of a winning match status requires a high frequency of occurrence of shots and shots on target as well as greater frequency and effectiveness of dribbling. The main finding from our work is that consideration of the consequences of a game presented in relation to seven potential phases to match status can point to a novel approach to analysis.

The aim of this study was to determine relationships between repeated 1 &times, 1 small-sided games (SSGs) (variable duration, constant work-to-rest ratio) and the concentration of steroid hormones and characteristic fatigue markers in youth soccer players. Eighteen young male soccer players were assigned at random to two experimental groups: E1&mdash, undertaking a six 30 s one-on-one SSGs with a 2 min rest period, and E2&mdash, playing six 45 s SSGs with a 3 min rest interval. Capillary blood was collected from the players at rest, after the last game, and 15 and 30 min after the exercise protocol. The variables assessed included serum cortisol (C), free testosterone (FT) and total testosterone (TT). An effect was observed between the measurement times (TT (F = 15.26, p &le, 0.0001), FT (F = 6.86, p = 0.0006)). In terms of cortisol (C) levels, no interactions or effect between the studied groups were revealed, but an interaction was found (F = 4.01, p = 0.0126) and the effect appeared between the measurement times (F = 11.16, p &le, 0.0001). The study results show that in all likelihood, longer rest intervals in repeated 30 s 1 &times, 1 SSGs can reduce catabolic reactions and hence the risk of overtraining in youth soccer players.