The Relationship Between Individually Assessed High-Intensity Accelerations, High-Intensity Decelerations, Sprints, and Technical Performances During Soccer Matches: A Full Season Analysis.

Abstract

Purpose: This longitudinal study analyzed the relationship between players' physical (sprint distances, number of high-intensity accelerations and decelerations assessed with individual and relative thresholds) and technical (retrieved from SofaScore platform) performances during competition. Methods: Twenty elite players were monitored across a full season. Physical performances were monitored with GNSS devices, retrieving time (s), velocity (km.h^-1) and distance (m). Sprint distances were calculated as > 80% of the match peak speed registered across the season. High-intensity accelerations and decelerations were calculated as >75% of the peak values registered across the season. Pearson (r) correlations (with 95% confidence intervals) were calculated to assess the relationship among different physical performance variables and between the physical and technical performance variables. Results: Sprint distances correlated with the number of ball touches (r = -0.36 [-0.49, -0.23], p < .001), accurate passes (r = -0.45 [-0.56, -0.32], p < .001), and dribble attempts (r = 0.30 [0.16, 0.43], p < .001). If players touched the ball more frequently and pass the ball more accurately, they covered shorter sprint distances. However, if players attempted more dribbles, they covered longer sprint distances. Conclusion: Practitioners can develop tactical strategies considering the relationship between sprint distances and technical variables such as ball touches, accurate passes, and dribble attempts.