effective playing time Archives - Football Innovation Hub

20 Feb Effective Playing Time and Its Impact on Match Running Performance

Posted at 12:31h in Research

https://youtu.be/HXnI-9HUsGs Effective playing time changes how we interpret physical performance in elite football. Most match reports describe performance per 90 minutes.Total distance.High-speed running.Sprint count. But football is not 90 minutes of continuous exposure. In LALIGA, the ball is in play for roughly 55% of total match time. The rest...

09 Sep Are players tired—or just reacting to the scoreboard? The truth about second-half performance and effective playing time

Posted at 13:28h in Research

A real touchline moment Minute 72. You’re 0–1 down away from home. GPS shows your full-backs surging; your 9’s sprints are dipping. The analyst whispers “fatigue.” The assistant says “we’re chasing.” Who’s right? Two peer‑reviewed studies from the Football Intelligence & Performance Department at LALIGA suggest a...

04 Sep Ball Possession vs Physical Performance: the real trade‑offs coaches must manage

Posted at 14:00h in Research

What LaLiga data really says about ball possession and physical demands A real sideline question It’s Friday. You’re finalising tomorrow’s plan. One assistant argues for 60% possession to control the game; another wants a more direct, pressing approach. Then the physio asks: “What does that do to...

28 Jul “Do Teams Really Run More Without the Ball? It Depends on How Long They Have It”

Posted at 13:51h in Research

Does a team always run more without the ball? This data-driven analysis of over 8,000 LALIGA match records shows that physical effort during in-possession phases can exceed out-of-possession demands—especially when ball possession drops below 36%. Discover how possession percentage reshapes match running performance and what...

20 Dic Match running performance is similar in lower and higher competitive standards of Spanish professional soccer accounting for effective playing time

Posted at 13:10h in Paper

For years, match data seemed to tell a clear story. Higher-level teams run more. More sprints. More high-speed actions. More physical demands. This paper challenges that idea directly. The study analysed almost 2,800 matches from LaLiga and LaLiga Smartbank across two full seasons. It used the...

19 Dic Tell me how much your opponent team runs and I will tell you how much you should run: A predictive model applied to Spanish high-level football

Posted at 12:58h in Paper

Football is not played in isolation. Every physical demand your team faces is shaped by the opponent. This study confirms that idea with real competition data from LaLiga. It shows that how much your players run is strongly linked to how much the opponent runs,...