14 Oct The Influence of Time Winning and Time Losing on Position-Specific Match Physical Demands in the Top One Spanish Soccer League
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in Paper
When a team is winning or losing, the physical and tactical demands on players shift dramatically—and not in the same way for every position. This study, based on over 36,000 player observations from LaLiga across four seasons, shows how match context (time spent leading or trailing) directly influences running demands with and without ball possession.
Key takeaways for daily practice in professional football:
- When winning: Forwards and midfielders tend to run more and at higher intensities, especially during attacking transitions. Defenders reduce their high-intensity work, focusing more on compactness and defensive balance. Ball possession distances decrease, but high-intensity sprints with the ball increase, often linked to counterattacking opportunities.
- When losing: Central and wide defenders cover greater distances and increase their high-intensity runs. This reflects higher defensive work rates, pressing, and supporting the attack. At the same time, ball possession distances increase, as losing teams tend to push forward and control the game more.
- Training application: Coaches should prepare conditional drills where attackers reproduce high-intensity counterattacks under winning scenarios, while defenders rehearse increased work rates under losing conditions. Recovery strategies should also be adapted—attackers may need more sprint recovery when protecting a lead, while defenders may need extra volume recovery after chasing a result.
In short, match score evolution is not just a tactical variable—it is a physical load variable. Integrating this understanding helps align training with the real demands players face in competition, optimizing readiness and recovery based on game context.
🔗 Read the full paper (DOI): https://doi.org/10.3390/s21206843