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Professional soccer involves varying numbers of training sessions and matches each week, which can influence load distribution. Understanding the exact distribution may allow appropriate load periodisation and planning for players. Thus, this study aimed to (i) compare accumulated load and wellness between weeks with different numbers of training sessions and (ii) compare the training/match ratio (TMr) of external and internal load between weeks with different numbers of training sessions. Ten players with a minimum of 45 minutes of weekly match-play participation were analysed over 16 weeks. The microcycle structures consisted of three (3dW), four (4dW), five (5dW) and six (6dW) training sessions plus match-day per week. The following measures were used for analysis: duration, fatigue, quality of sleep, muscle soreness, stress, mood, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), session-RPE (s-RPE), high-speed running distance (HSR), sprint distance (SPD), number of accelerations (ACC) and number of decelerations (DEC). Accumulated wellness/load were calculated by adding all training and match sessions, while TMr was calculated by dividing the accumulated load by match data. The main results showed that accumulated wellness and load were significantly different, with moderate to very large effect sizes, except regarding mood, duration, s-RPE, SPD during 5dW vs 6dW and s-RPE, HSR, SPD, ACC and DEC during 3dW vs 4dW (all p > 0.05). Moreover, 6dW was significantly higher than 4dW regarding TMr of duration (p < 0.05, moderate effect size), RPE, HSR and SPD (all p < 0.05 with very large effect sizes) and for 3dW of HSR and ACC (p < 0.05 with very large effect sizes). This study showed that 5dW and 6dW had higher training measures than 3dW or 4dW. Additionally, higher wellness was presented in the microcycles with higher training frequencies. These findings suggest that physical load and wellness were not adjusted according to the number of training sessions within a microcycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to (i) compare accumulated load and wellness between starters and nonstarters of a European professional soccer team; (ii) analyse the relationships between wellness and load measures, and; (iii) compare training/match ratio (TMr) of external and internal load between starters and non-starters. Ten players were considered starters, while seven were classified as non-starters over a 16-week period in which six training sessions and match day (MD) were considered in each weekly micro-cycle. The following measures were used: wellness (fatigue, quality of sleep, muscle soreness, stress, and mood); load (rated of perceived exertion (RPE), session-RPE (s-RPE), high-speed running (HSR), sprinting, accelerations (ACC) and decelerations (DEC)). Accumulated wellness/load were calculated by summing all training and match sessions, while TMr was calculated by dividing the accumulated load by match data for all load measures. The main results showed that non-starters presented higher significant values for fatigue (p < 0.019; g = 0.24) and lower significant values for duration (p < 0.006; ES = 1.81) and s- RPE (p < 0.001; ES = 2.69) when compared to starters. Moreover, positive and very large correlations were found between quality of sleep and RPE, stress and deceleration, mood and deceleration (all, p < 0.05). Finally, non-starters presented higher values in all TMr than starters, namely, RPE (p = 0.001; g = 1.96), s-RPE (p = 0.002; g = 1.77), HSR (p = 0.001; g = 2.02), sprinting (p = 0.002; g = 4.23), accelerations (p = 0.001; g = 2.72), decelerations (p < 0.001; g = 3.44), and duration (p = 0.003; g = 2.27). In conclusion, this study showed that non-starters produced higher TMr in all examined variables despite the lower match and training durations when compared with starters, suggesting that physical load was adjusted appropriately. Additionally, RPE and a higher number of decelerations may contribute to decreased wellness, namely, quality of sleep, stress and mood for nonstarters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]