IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i22p12221-d684191.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Damir Sekulic

    (Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia)

  • Sime Versic

    (Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
    HNK Hajduk, 21000 Split, Croatia)

  • Andrew Decelis

    (Institute for Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Education, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta)

  • Jose Castro-Piñero

    (GALENO Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cádiz, Avenida República Saharaui s/n, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain
    Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), 11009 Cádiz, Spain)

  • Dejan Javorac

    (Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia)

  • Goran Dimitric

    (Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia)

  • Kemal Idrizovic

    (Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Montenegro, 81400 Niksic, Montenegro)

  • Igor Jukic

    (Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Toni Modric

    (Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia)

Abstract

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 ( n = 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; n = 42), fullbacks (FB; n = 20), midfielders (MF; n = 46), and forwards (FW; n = 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 2 ), high-intensity accelerations (>3 m/s 2 ), total decelerations (less than –0.5 m/s 2 ), and high-intensity decelerations (less than –3 m/s 2 ). 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 p < 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 p < 0.05, moderate to large effect sizes), and (iii) FWs featured lower high-intensity running (t-value = 2.66, p = 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Damir Sekulic & Sime Versic & Andrew Decelis & Jose Castro-Piñero & Dejan Javorac & Goran Dimitric & Kemal Idrizovic & Igor Jukic & Toni Modric, 2021. "The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Position-Specific Match Running Performance of Professional Football Players; Preliminary Observational Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-9, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12221-:d:684191
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12221/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12221/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Toni Modric & Sime Versic & Damir Sekulic & Silvester Liposek, 2019. "Analysis of the Association between Running Performance and Game Performance Indicators in Professional Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Aleksandra Milovancev & Jovana Avakumovic & Nemanja Lakicevic & Valdemar Stajer & Darinka Korovljev & Nikola Todorovic & Antonino Bianco & Nebojsa Maksimovic & Sergej Ostojic & Patrik Drid, 2021. "Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Volleyball Athletes Following a COVID-19 Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-8, April.
    3. Juan Del Coso & Diego Brito de Souza & Víctor Moreno-Perez & Javier M. Buldú & Fabio Nevado & Ricardo Resta & Roberto López-Del Campo, 2020. "Influence of Players’ Maximum Running Speed on the Team’s Ranking Position at the End of the Spanish LaLiga," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-11, November.
    4. Abraham García-Aliaga & Moisés Marquina & Antonio Cordón-Carmona & Manuel Sillero-Quintana & Alfonso de la Rubia & Silvestre Jos Vielcazat & Fabio Nevado Garrosa & Ignacio Refoyo Román, 2021. "Comparative Analysis of Soccer Performance Intensity of the Pre–Post-Lockdown COVID-19 in LaLiga™," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-9, April.
    5. Joel Barrera & Hugo Sarmento & Filipe Manuel Clemente & Adam Field & António J. Figueiredo, 2021. "The Effect of Contextual Variables on Match Performance across Different Playing Positions in Professional Portuguese Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-12, May.
    6. Qing Yi & Hong Jia & Hongyou Liu & Miguel Ángel Gómez, 2018. "Technical demands of different playing positions in the UEFA Champions League," International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(6), pages 926-937, November.
    7. Łukasz Radzimiński & Alexis Padrón-Cabo & Marek Konefał & Paweł Chmura & Andrzej Szwarc & Zbigniew Jastrzębski, 2021. "The Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on the Physical Performance of Professional Soccer Players: An Example of German and Polish Leagues," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-11, August.
    8. Paweł Chmura & Marek Konefał & Del P. Wong & Antonio J. Figueiredo & Edward Kowalczuk & Andrzej Rokita & Jan Chmura & Marcin Andrzejewski, 2019. "Players’ Physical Performance Decreased After Two-Thirds of the Season: Results of 3 Consecutive Seasons in the German First Bundesliga," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-9, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jasna Nincevic & Anamarija Jurcev-Savicevic & Sime Versic & Toni Modric & Ante Turic & Ante Bandalovic & Boris Becir & Marijana Mijakovic & Ivana Bocina & Damir Sekulic, 2023. "How Different Predominant SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Affected Clinical Patterns and Performances of Infected Professional Players during Two Soccer Seasons: An Observational Study from Split, Croa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-19, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic & Jasna Nincevic & Sime Versic & Sarah Cuschieri & Ante Bandalovic & Ante Turic & Boris Becir & Toni Modric & Damir Sekulic, 2021. "Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Felipe Hermosilla-Palma & Juan Francisco Loro-Ferrer & Pablo Merino-Muñoz & Nicolás Gómez-Álvarez & Alejandro Bustamante-Garrido & Hugo Cerda-Kohler & Moacyr Portes-Junior & Esteban Aedo-Muñoz, 2022. "Changes in the Mechanical Properties of the Horizontal Force-Velocity Profile during a Repeated Sprint Test in Professional Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Abraham García-Aliaga & Moisés Marquina & Antonio Cordón-Carmona & Manuel Sillero-Quintana & Alfonso de la Rubia & Silvestre Jos Vielcazat & Fabio Nevado Garrosa & Ignacio Refoyo Román, 2021. "Comparative Analysis of Soccer Performance Intensity of the Pre–Post-Lockdown COVID-19 in LaLiga™," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-9, April.
    4. Álvaro García-Romero-Pérez & Francisco Javier Ordonez & Fernando Reyes-Gil & Elena Sonsoles Rodríguez-López & Ángel Oliva-Pascual-Vaca, 2021. "Muscle Damage Biomarkers in Congestion Weeks in English Premier League Soccer Players: A Prospective Study for Two Consecutive Seasons," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-12, July.
    5. Łukasz Radzimiński & Alexis Padrón-Cabo & Marek Konefał & Paweł Chmura & Andrzej Szwarc & Zbigniew Jastrzębski, 2021. "The Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on the Physical Performance of Professional Soccer Players: An Example of German and Polish Leagues," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-11, August.
    6. João Lourenço & Élvio Rúbio Gouveia & Hugo Sarmento & Andreas Ihle & Tiago Ribeiro & Ricardo Henriques & Francisco Martins & Cíntia França & Ricardo Maia Ferreira & Luís Fernandes & Pedro Teques & Dan, 2023. "Relationship between Objective and Subjective Fatigue Monitoring Tests in Professional Soccer," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-11, January.
    7. José Luis Arjol-Serrano & Miguel Lampre & Adrián Díez & Daniel Castillo & Fernando Sanz-López & Demetrio Lozano, 2021. "The Influence of Playing Formation on Physical Demands and Technical-Tactical Actions According to Playing Positions in an Elite Soccer Team," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-12, April.
    8. Michał Zacharko & Robert Cichowicz & Marcin Andrzejewski & Paweł Chmura & Edward Kowalczuk & Jan Chmura & Marek Konefał, 2021. "Air Pollutants Reduce the Physical Activity of Professional Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Abraham García-Aliaga & Moisés Marquina & Ignacio Refoyo Román & Diego Muriarte Solana & Juan A. Piñero Madrona & Roberto López del Campo & Fabio Nevado Garrosa & Daniel Mon-López, 2022. "COVID-19 Confinement Effects on Game Actions during Competition Restart in Professional Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-11, April.
    10. Sümer Alvurdu & Cihan Baykal & Zeki Akyildiz & Ömer Şenel & Ana Filipa Silva & Daniele Conte & Filipe Manuel Clemente, 2022. "Impact of Prolonged Absence of Organized Training on Body Composition, Neuromuscular Performance, and Aerobic Capacity: A Study in Youth Male Soccer Players Exposed to COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-12, January.
    11. Qing Yi & Miguel-Ángel Gómez-Ruano & Hongyou Liu & Shaoliang Zhang & Binghong Gao & Fabian Wunderlich & Daniel Memmert, 2020. "Evaluation of the Technical Performance of Football Players in the UEFA Champions League," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-12, January.
    12. Zongpeng Zhai & Yongbo Guo & Yuanchang Li & Shaoliang Zhang & Hongyou Liu, 2020. "The Regional Differences in Game-Play Styles Considering Playing Position in the FIBA Female Continental Basketball Competitions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-11, August.
    13. Eduard Bezuglov & Oleg Talibov & Vladimir Khaitin & Bekzhan Pirmakhanov & Zbigniew Waśkiewicz & Mikhail Butovskiy & Ryland Morgans, 2021. "Running Performance during the Holy Month of Ramadan in Elite Professional Adult Soccer Players in Russia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-8, November.
    14. Toni Modric & Sime Versic & Damir Sekulic & Silvester Liposek, 2019. "Analysis of the Association between Running Performance and Game Performance Indicators in Professional Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-13, October.
    15. Michał Zacharko & Robert Cichowicz & Adam Depta & Paweł Chmura & Marek Konefał, 2022. "High Levels of PM10 Reduce the Physical Activity of Professional Soccer Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-9, December.
    16. Sofia Romagnoli & Agnese Sbrollini & Ilaria Marcantoni & Micaela Morettini & Laura Burattini, 2022. "Review on Cardiorespiratory Complications after SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Young Adult Healthy Athletes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-15, May.
    17. Emese Csulak & Árpád Petrov & Tímea Kováts & Márton Tokodi & Bálint Lakatos & Attila Kovács & Levente Staub & Ferenc Imre Suhai & Erzsébet Liliána Szabó & Zsófia Dohy & Hajnalka Vágó & Dávid Becker & , 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Preparation for the Tokyo Olympics: A Comprehensive Performance Assessment of Top Swimmers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-12, September.
    18. Ronaldo Kobal & Rodrigo Aquino & Leonardo Carvalho & Adriano Serra & Rafaela Sander & Natan Gomes & Vinicius Concon & Guilherme Passos Ramos & Renato Barroso, 2022. "Does the Number of Substitutions Used during the Matches Affect the Recovery Status and the Physical and Technical Performance of Elite Women’s Soccer?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-9, September.
    19. Abraham García-Aliaga & Moisés Marquina & Antonio Cordón-Carmona & Manuel Sillero-Quintana & Alfonso de la Rubia & Silvestre Jos Vielcazat & Fabio Nevado Garrosa & Ignacio Refoyo Román, 2022. "Correction: García-Aliaga et al. Comparative Analysis of Soccer Performance Intensity of the Pre–Post-Lockdown COVID-19 in LaLiga™. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18 , 3685," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-3, January.
    20. Vicente Fernández-Ruiz & Álvaro López-Samanes & Juan Del Coso & José Pino-Ortega & Javier Sánchez-Sánchez & Pablo Terrón-Manrique & Marco Beato & Víctor Moreno-Pérez, 2021. "Influence of Football Match-Play on Isometric Knee Flexion Strength and Passive Hip Flexion Range of Motion in Football Referees and Assistant Referees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-9, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12221-:d:684191. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.