The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted professional football in the 2019/2020 season, and football experts anticipate that the consequences of lockdown measures will negatively affect the physical performance of players once competition restarts. This study aimed to evaluate position-specific match runni...

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Autores principales:	Damir Sekulic, Sime Versic, Andrew Decelis, Jose Castro-Piñero, Dejan Javorac, Goran Dimitric, Kemal Idrizovic, Igor Jukic, Toni Modric
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	SARS-CoV-2 match running performance soccer match demands Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c6403d736aaf484685404d36e67fbd30
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c6403d736aaf484685404d36e67fbd302021-11-25T17:52:09ZThe Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study10.3390/ijerph1822122211660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/c6403d736aaf484685404d36e67fbd302021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12221https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted professional football in the 2019/2020 season, and football experts anticipate that the consequences of lockdown measures will negatively affect the physical performance of players once competition restarts. This study aimed to evaluate position-specific match running performance (MRP) to determine the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on the physical performance of professional football players. Players’ MRPs (<i>n</i> = 124) were observed in matches before and after the COVID-19 lockdown in the 2019/2020 season of the highest level of national competition in Croatia and were classified according to player position: central defenders (CD; <i>n</i> = 42), fullbacks (FB; <i>n</i> = 20), midfielders (MF; <i>n</i> = 46), and forwards (FW; <i>n</i> = 16). The MRPs were measured using Global Positioning System, and included the total distance covered, low-intensity running (≤14.3 km/h), running (14.4–19.7 km/h), high-intensity running (≥19.8 km/h), total accelerations (>0.5 m/s<sup>2</sup>), high-intensity accelerations (>3 m/s<sup>2</sup>), total decelerations (less than –0.5 m/s<sup>2</sup>), and high-intensity decelerations (less than –3 m/s<sup>2</sup>). The results indicated that, in matches after the COVID-19 lockdown, (i) CDs and FBs featured lower running and high-intensity running (t-value: from 2.05 to 3.51; all <i>p</i> < 0.05; moderate to large effect sizes), (ii) MFs covered a greater distance in low-intensity running and achieved a lower number of total accelerations, and total and high-intensity decelerations (t-value: from –3.54 to 2.46; all <i>p</i> < 0.05, moderate to large effect sizes), and (iii) FWs featured lower high-intensity running (t-value = 2.66, <i>p</i> = 0.02, large effect size). These findings demonstrate that the physical performances of football players from the Croatian first division significantly decreased in matches after the COVID-19 lockdown. A combination of inadequate adaptation to football-specific match demands and a crowded schedule after the competition was restarted most likely resulted in such an effect.Damir SekulicSime VersicAndrew DecelisJose Castro-PiñeroDejan JavoracGoran DimitricKemal IdrizovicIgor JukicToni ModricMDPI AGarticleSARS-CoV-2match running performancesoccermatch demandsMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 12221, p 12221 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	SARS-CoV-2 match running performance soccer match demands Medicine R
spellingShingle	SARS-CoV-2 match running performance soccer match demands Medicine R Damir Sekulic Sime Versic Andrew Decelis Jose Castro-Piñero Dejan Javorac Goran Dimitric Kemal Idrizovic Igor Jukic Toni Modric The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study
description	The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted professional football in the 2019/2020 season, and football experts anticipate that the consequences of lockdown measures will negatively affect the physical performance of players once competition restarts. This study aimed to evaluate position-specific match running performance (MRP) to determine the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on the physical performance of professional football players. Players’ MRPs (<i>n</i> = 124) were observed in matches before and after the COVID-19 lockdown in the 2019/2020 season of the highest level of national competition in Croatia and were classified according to player position: central defenders (CD; <i>n</i> = 42), fullbacks (FB; <i>n</i> = 20), midfielders (MF; <i>n</i> = 46), and forwards (FW; <i>n</i> = 16). The MRPs were measured using Global Positioning System, and included the total distance covered, low-intensity running (≤14.3 km/h), running (14.4–19.7 km/h), high-intensity running (≥19.8 km/h), total accelerations (>0.5 m/s<sup>2</sup>), high-intensity accelerations (>3 m/s<sup>2</sup>), total decelerations (less than –0.5 m/s<sup>2</sup>), and high-intensity decelerations (less than –3 m/s<sup>2</sup>). The results indicated that, in matches after the COVID-19 lockdown, (i) CDs and FBs featured lower running and high-intensity running (t-value: from 2.05 to 3.51; all <i>p</i> < 0.05; moderate to large effect sizes), (ii) MFs covered a greater distance in low-intensity running and achieved a lower number of total accelerations, and total and high-intensity decelerations (t-value: from –3.54 to 2.46; all <i>p</i> < 0.05, moderate to large effect sizes), and (iii) FWs featured lower high-intensity running (t-value = 2.66, <i>p</i> = 0.02, large effect size). These findings demonstrate that the physical performances of football players from the Croatian first division significantly decreased in matches after the COVID-19 lockdown. A combination of inadequate adaptation to football-specific match demands and a crowded schedule after the competition was restarted most likely resulted in such an effect.
format	article
author	Damir Sekulic Sime Versic Andrew Decelis Jose Castro-Piñero Dejan Javorac Goran Dimitric Kemal Idrizovic Igor Jukic Toni Modric
author_facet	Damir Sekulic Sime Versic Andrew Decelis Jose Castro-Piñero Dejan Javorac Goran Dimitric Kemal Idrizovic Igor Jukic Toni Modric
author_sort	Damir Sekulic
title	The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study
title_short	The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study
title_full	The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study
title_fullStr	The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study
title_full_unstemmed	The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study
title_sort	effect of the covid-19 lockdown on the position-specific match running performance of professional football players; preliminary observational study
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c6403d736aaf484685404d36e67fbd30
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The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study

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