The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of match status, venue, and quality of opposition on the styles of play in soccer. Data were collected from 380 games of the English Premier League from the 2015–2016 season. Linear mixed models were applied to evaluate the influence of these contextual variables on membership scores for Direct Play, Counterattack, Maintenance, Build Up, Sustained Threat, Fast Tempo, Crossing, and High Pressure. The results showed that match status had a significant effect on the eight styles of play (all P < 0.001), venue had a significant effect on all styles of play (P < 0.01) except Counterattack and Maintenance, and quality of opposition had a significant effect on all styles of play (P < 0.05) except Counterattack. Moreover, the interaction between match status and quality of opposition, and venue and quality of opposition showed significant effects on some styles of play. The results of this study imply that contextual variables influence the use of styles of play in soccer match play. Consequently, this provides meaningful recommendations for practitioners in soccer.

The study examines fatigue in elite soccer played in hot conditions. High‐profile soccer players (n=20) were studied during match play at ∼31 °C. Repeated sprint and jump performances were assessed in rested state and after a game and activity profile was examined. Additionally, heart rate (HR), blood lactate, muscle temperature and body mass changes were determined. Repeated sprint and jump performances were reduced (P<0.05) by 2.6% and 8.2%, respectively, after the game. The fatigue index in the repeated sprint test was 6.0±0.7% after the game compared with 1.7±1.0% at rest (P<0.05). High‐intensity running was 57±4% lower (P<0.05) during the last 15‐min interval of the game compared with the first 15‐min period. No differences were observed in mean HR or blood lactates between halves. Muscle temperature was 40.5±0.4 °C after the first half, which was 0.8±0.2 °C higher (P2% of the body mass. Correlations were observed between net‐fluid loss and repeated sprint test fatigue index after the game (r=0.73, P<0.05) and Yo‐Yo intermittent recovery, level 1 test performance and high‐intensity running during the final 15 min of the game (r=0.51, P<0.05). The study provides direct evidence of compromised repeated sprint and jump performances induced by soccer match play and pronounced reduction in high‐intensity running toward the end of an elite game played in a hot environment. This fatigue could be associated training status and hyperthermia/dehydration.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of styles of play in soccer and the influence of contextual variables (i.e. match status, venue and quality of opposition). Team possessions (n = 68,766) from the 380 matches of the 2015–2016 English Premier League season were collected for this study. The Possession Effectiveness Index, based on Expected Goals and Ball Movement Points metrics, was used to measure the effectiveness of team possessions. Linear mixed models were applied to analyse the influence of contextual variables on the effectiveness score for each style. Results showed that the effectiveness of Direct Play, Counterattack, Maintenance and Crossing significantly increased when teams were winning by two or more goals. Counterattack increased its effectiveness when teams were winning by one goal and reduced its effectiveness when losing by one goal. The effectiveness of Direct Play increased when losing by two goals or more. Playing away negatively affected the effectiveness of Direct Play, Maintenance and High Pressure. In addition, playing against a stronger opposition reduced the effectiveness of all styles of play. The results suggest that the effectiveness of styles of play changes under specific circumstances and that not all contextual variables affect them in the same way.

The main aim of this article was to review the existing scientific literature on the soccer goalkeeper.This article has reviewed the scientific literature related to the soccer goalkeeper as long a...

The aim of the present study was to analyse the role of exercises' resistance profile in regional hypertrophy. Thirty-eight healthy women completed a 9-week resistance training program consisting of either 4 sets of 12 repetitions to volitional failure of inclined bicep curls (INC group) or preacher curls (PREA group), three times per week. Pre- and post-intervention muscle thickness was measured using B-mode ultrasound imaging with a linear-array transducer. Scan acquisition sites were determined by measuring 50%, 60% and 70% of the distance between the posterior crest of the acromion and the olecranon. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. No region of the INC group grew when comparing pre- to post-intervention. The 70% region of the PREA group grew significantly (muscle thickness increased from 2.7  0.43 cm to 2.94  0.44 cm). We found no growth differences between regions when analysing per group (p = 0.274), region (p = 0.571) or group*region (p = 0.367). Our results show that the distal region of the arm grows in response to the preacher curl that places the highest amount of strain in the range of motion in which the arm muscles are more elongated.

The aim of this study was to explore emergent patterns of game structure in male and female matches from elite soccer by using playing distances measured according to the ball location. Archive data based on carefully selected four male and four female matches from elite Spanish soccer seasons 2002-3, 2003-4 and 2004-5 were collected by help of AMISCO PRO^® system. Differences across six ball locations were found in mean playing length (χ²₅=328.1 and 520.9, P<0.001) and playing width (χ²₅=39.6 and 26.9, P<0.001) from male and female matches, respectively. Both sexes displayed similar movements in playing length that vary with stretch-contraction-stretch patterns and in playing width that vary with opposite patterns of contraction-stretch-contraction, but these patterns varied to a significantly greater extent in male matches. For example, male matches (mean=44.93±8.34 m) produced significantly (U=128564.0, z=-8.2, P<0.001) longer playing width during transition phase in midfield compared with female matches (mean=41.80±8.00 m). Results suggest that female matches produced less favourable patterns of game structure with fewer penetration opportunities than male matches. Specific suggestions for coaching intervention were given. This study demonstrates the potential of analysing playing distances according to the ball location for studying patterns of game structure in real soccer matches.