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 Train...

Female soccer has become increasingly popular during the last two decades. According to the International Football Association (FIFA) there are approximately 40 million registered female soccer players in the world. Three studies in elite soccer have shown an injury incidence during games ranging from 12.6 to 23.3 injuries per 1,000 h. A very high incidence of ACL-injuries ranging from 0.31 to ...

the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between age and the soccer performance of elite male soccer players were playing with an emphasis on post. sample of 396 soccer players (36 goalkeeper, 168 defenders, 123 midfielders and 69 forwards) participating in the 2010 world cup in south africa, with a mean age of 27.23 ± 3.71 years, height 181.45 ± 6.43 cm and body mass 75.89 ± 6.4...

The objectives of this study were to (i) describe soccer training (e.g., volume, types), anthropometry, body composition, and physical fitness and (ii) compute associations between soccer training data and relative changes of anthropometry, body composition, and physical fitness during a soccer season in female elite young athletes. Seasonal training (i.e., day-to-day training volume/types) as ...

The aim of this study was to concurrently model the influence of a number of physical and performance parameters on subsequent incidence of hamstring injury in a squad of English Premier League soccer players. Thirty six healthy, male, elite, professional soccer players (age 22.6+/-5.2 years, height 1.81+/-0.08 m, mass 75.8+/-9.4 kg, lean mass 69.0+/-8.0 kg) were assessed during the first week ...

BACKGROUND The injury rate in soccer is high, and effective injury prevention methods are needed. PURPOSE To test the effect of a video-based awareness program on the incidence of acute injuries in soccer. STUDY DESIGN Randomized control trial; Level of evidence, 1. METHODS Participants were elite male soccer players from the top 2 divisions in Iceland. Fifteen of 20 teams completed the s...

Body composition is an important aspect of soccer fitness. There is a dearth of longitudinal data on the intraseasonal variation in the body composition parameters of youth professional soccer players especially of Asian origin. This study assessed the body composition profile of the Asian youth professional soccer players (n=20; Mean ± SD, age 17.5 ± 0.3 years, stature 1.73 ± 0.04 m, body mass...

PURPOSE Soccer referees' physical match performances at the start of the second half (46-60 min) were evaluated in relation to both the corresponding phase of the first half (0-15 min) and players' performances during the same match periods. METHODS Match analysis data were collected (Prozone, UK) from 12 soccer referees on 152 English Premier League matches during the 2008/09 soccer season. ...

Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to age differences in the same selection year. In this study, 6,229 female soccer players representing the entire Swiss female soccer population were evaluated to determine the prevalence of RAEs in Swiss women’s soccer. Significant RAEs existed in the self-selected extracurricular (n = 2987) soccer teams and the subgroup of talent development teams (n = 450) i...

Exercise training is known to induce an increase in free radical production potentially leading to enhanced muscle injury. Vitamins C and E are well known antioxidants that may prevent muscle cell damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of these supplemental antioxidant vitamins on markers of oxidative stress, muscle damage and performance of elite soccer players. Ten mal...