Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19

In the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (spring 2020), the first division of professional soccer in Spain (LaLiga) was suspended for 12 weeks as part of the lockdown imposed by the Spanish health authorities. Professional soccer players were confined to home for 8 weeks and then a retraining peri...

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Main Authors: Diego Brito de Souza, Roberto López-Del Campo, Ricardo Resta, Victor Moreno-Perez, Juan Del Coso
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Physiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.666593/full
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spelling doaj-c581eba2770b47fe99ff89428abda0732021-04-26T06:29:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2021-04-011210.3389/fphys.2021.666593666593Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19Diego Brito de Souza0Roberto López-Del Campo1Ricardo Resta2Victor Moreno-Perez3Juan Del Coso4Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Camilo José Cela University, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Competitions and Mediacoach, LaLiga, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Competitions and Mediacoach, LaLiga, Madrid, SpainSports Research Centre, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Alicante, SpainCentre for Sports Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, Fuenlabrada, SpainIn the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (spring 2020), the first division of professional soccer in Spain (LaLiga) was suspended for 12 weeks as part of the lockdown imposed by the Spanish health authorities. Professional soccer players were confined to home for 8 weeks and then a retraining period of 4 weeks was set before the first competitive match. When competition was resumed, professional soccer teams competed in a congested calendar (11 matchdays in 39 days) while some in-game regulations were altered (up to 5 substitutions, refreshment pauses). The current research presents an analysis of running patterns before suspension and after resumption of LaLiga to determine how the lockdown affected players’ physical performance. To aid in this purpose, a pairwise comparison was performed of running patterns of the 2019–2020 vs. 2018–2019 season (i.e., control season). Using a two-way ANOVA (season x matchday), it was found that there was no main effect of the season on total running distance per match (P = 0.288) nor in the distances covered < 14.0 km/h (P = 0.294), at 21.0–23.9 km/h (P = 0.266), and at ≥ 24.0 km/h (P = 0.112). Only the distance at 14.0–20.9 km/h was affected by the season (P = 0.019) with a lower running distance on matchday 34 in the 2019–2020 vs. 2018–2019 season. The number of substitutions (from 2.9 to 4.5 substitutions per game; P < 0.001) and match duration (96 vs. 100 min; P < 0.001) significantly increased after resumption respect to the previous season. These data suggest that high-intensity running performance of professional soccer teams was maintained after the resumption of the competition while the alterations likely aided in the in-game regulations facilitated the maintenance of soccer physical performance.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.666593/fullfootballsports competitionelite athleteprofessional athletesport performance
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Diego Brito de Souza
Roberto López-Del Campo
Ricardo Resta
Victor Moreno-Perez
Juan Del Coso
spellingShingle Diego Brito de Souza
Roberto López-Del Campo
Ricardo Resta
Victor Moreno-Perez
Juan Del Coso
Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19
Frontiers in Physiology
football
sports competition
elite athlete
professional athlete
sport performance
author_facet Diego Brito de Souza
Roberto López-Del Campo
Ricardo Resta
Victor Moreno-Perez
Juan Del Coso
author_sort Diego Brito de Souza
title Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19
title_short Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19
title_full Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19
title_fullStr Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed Running Patterns in LaLiga Before and After Suspension of the Competition Due to COVID-19
title_sort running patterns in laliga before and after suspension of the competition due to covid-19
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Physiology
issn 1664-042X
publishDate 2021-04-01
description In the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (spring 2020), the first division of professional soccer in Spain (LaLiga) was suspended for 12 weeks as part of the lockdown imposed by the Spanish health authorities. Professional soccer players were confined to home for 8 weeks and then a retraining period of 4 weeks was set before the first competitive match. When competition was resumed, professional soccer teams competed in a congested calendar (11 matchdays in 39 days) while some in-game regulations were altered (up to 5 substitutions, refreshment pauses). The current research presents an analysis of running patterns before suspension and after resumption of LaLiga to determine how the lockdown affected players’ physical performance. To aid in this purpose, a pairwise comparison was performed of running patterns of the 2019–2020 vs. 2018–2019 season (i.e., control season). Using a two-way ANOVA (season x matchday), it was found that there was no main effect of the season on total running distance per match (P = 0.288) nor in the distances covered < 14.0 km/h (P = 0.294), at 21.0–23.9 km/h (P = 0.266), and at ≥ 24.0 km/h (P = 0.112). Only the distance at 14.0–20.9 km/h was affected by the season (P = 0.019) with a lower running distance on matchday 34 in the 2019–2020 vs. 2018–2019 season. The number of substitutions (from 2.9 to 4.5 substitutions per game; P < 0.001) and match duration (96 vs. 100 min; P < 0.001) significantly increased after resumption respect to the previous season. These data suggest that high-intensity running performance of professional soccer teams was maintained after the resumption of the competition while the alterations likely aided in the in-game regulations facilitated the maintenance of soccer physical performance.
topic football
sports competition
elite athlete
professional athlete
sport performance
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.666593/full
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