champions league

This study aimed to examine the effects of low-percentage ball possession teams (LPBPT) and high-percentage ball possession teams (HPBPT) on the physical and technical performance of UEFA Champions League (UCL) players. All data were obtained from group stage matches of UCL during the 2020/21 season using a semi-automatic optical tracking system. Linear mixed model was fitted with contextual variables as covariates. Wide midfielders and forwards in LPBPT covered more total distance, low-intensity running, and achieved greater average speed than in HPBPT (all large effect sizes [ES])...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the evolution of technical performance indicators over the course of football matches in the UEFA Champions League. Three elite football teams were the sample of the present study and were analyzed throughout four consecutive seasons within the previously mentioned competition. Data from 15 min periods were collected from Wyscout and elaborated. The effects of match location and competition stage were analyzed on nine technical indicators, including ball possession and variables related to offense and goal scoring...

This paper is the first to empirically analyse the determinants of stadium attendance demand in the men's UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious competition in club football. The analysis covers 1,234 matches from 2009/10 to 2018/19 across 32 nations. The results show that outcome uncertainty and competitive intensity are not significantly associated with higher attendances, but the level of team quality is, for all fans, and the presence of star players is, for fans of clubs outside the top five European leagues...

OBJECTIVES: To describe the perceived importance of suggested hamstring injury risk factors according to chief medical officers (CMOs) of European male professional football clubs. A secondary objective was to compare if these perceptions differed between teams with a lower-than-average hamstring injury burden and teams with a higher than average hamstring injury burden. METHODS: First, CMOs of 15 European professional male football clubs were asked to suggest risk factors for hamstring injury in their club...

The concept of competitive balance is considered to be an essential aspect in the field of sport economics. This work describes a novel approach for measuring and evaluating competitive balance through concentration of championships. The concentration of championships was assessed using a sliding window approach with the length of five consecutive competitions (years) and a single competition (year) increment over the whole evaluated period. Because the sliding window was relatively short, the newly developed index, termed 'We Are the Champions' (WAC5 ), is sensitive to rapid changes in competitive balance...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To describe the COVID-19 positivity rate among football players, team staff, and local organizing committee members participated in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (West) tournament organized with the Bio-secure bubble protocol in place. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was carried out to include a total of 2184 participants during the AFC-West tournament in Qatar, which was a 3-week event (September 14-October 3, 2020)...

This study examined the relationship between pre-season body composition, in-season match performance, and match availability in female players competing in the Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) competition. With the outlawing of body composition assessments as part of pre-draft player evaluations in the AFLW, this study seeks to examine whether this is justified. Twenty-two ( n = 22) players had body composition assessed with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at the beginning of the 2021 AFLW pre-season (whole-body and regional fat mass and lean soft-tissue mass [LSTM])...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the within-week differences in external training intensity in different microcycles considering different playing positions in women elite volleyball players. METHODS: The training and match data were collected during the 2020-2021 season, which included 10 friendly matches, 41 league matches and 11 champions league matches. The players' position, training/match duration, training/match load, local positioning system (LPS) total distance, LPS jumps, accelerations, decelerations, high metabolic load distance (HMLD), acute and chronic (AC) mean and AC ratio calculated with the rolling average (RA) method and the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) method, monotony and strain values were analyzed...

It is widely recognized that there is a decline in match running performance (MRP) towards the end of matches. To clarify whether it is primarily a consequence of fatigue, pacing or situational influences, this study aimed to examine MRP across 15-min match periods for players on different playing positions. Players' MRP ( n = 244) were examined from the UEFA Champions League matches ( n = 20) using a semiautomatic optical tracking system. Linear mixed models for repeated measures were adjusted to analyze MRP over the six 15-min match periods while controlling the influence of situational factors...

The current investigation aimed to understand the differing positional demands across two elite rugby union competitions, with special reference to high-intensity effort (HIE) and repeated high-intensity effort (RHIE) activity. Four hundred and forty-one ( n = 441) individual game files from thirty-five competitive games from the European Rugby Champions Cup (tier 1; n = 8) and PRO12 League (tier 2; n = 24) were analysed. Players' locomotor profiles were recorded using wearable global positioning system microtechnology (10 Hz Catapult S5, Catapult Innovations, Australia)...

BACKGROUND: To clarify does physical performance affect success in highest-level soccer, the purpose of the present study was to identify differences in technical-tactical performance (TP) between teams covering high and low running performance (RP) during the UEFA Champions League (UCL) matches. METHODS: The RP and TP data were collected from UCL group stage matches in the 2020/21 season. RP variables included total distance covered (TD), high intensity running (HIR), total distance when in ball possession (TDB), and high intensity running when in ball possession (HIRB)...

This study aimed to determine the effect of team formation on position-specific match running performance (MRP) at highest-level football. Players' MRP (n = 226) was observed in four team formations: 3-5-2 (n = 24), 4-4-2 (n = 44), 4-2-3-1 (n = 77) and 4-3-3 (n = 81). Central defenders in the 3-5-2 formation achieved a greater amount of high-intensity running distance than in the 4-3-3 formation (mean difference (MD) [95% confidence interval] = 144 m [12, 267], medium ES). Fullbacks in the 4-4-2 formation covered less total distance than in 3-5-2 (MD = -762 m [-1431, -94], large ES) and 4-2-3-1 (MD = -662 m [-1055, -269], medium ES)...

BACKGROUND: Elite professional sports events involving mass gatherings carry a high risk of viral transmission during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We describe the potential impact of resuming professional football leagues involving international participants adhering to a strict Bio-secure bubble protocol and investigate the consequences of spectators/fan attendance at such mass events during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cohort study involving football players, referees, match officials, local organizing committee (LOC) members, hotel and security staff working in close coordination, and over 10,000 spectators from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (East) and the final match...

BACKGROUND: This investigation aimed to analyze differences in running performances amongst playing positions between the first and second halves of soccer matches and at 5-minute intervals during matches. METHODS: Data were collected from 179 soccer players during 20 UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2020/2021 group stage matches. Data were examined using the InStat Fitness semi-automatic video system. Eight variables were selected to quantify players' running performance (RP)...

Describing and measuring different team styles of play during matches is a key step towards a more predictive and prescriptive performance analysis. The current study aimed to identify and measure different defensive playing styles in professional football via Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The sample comprised all 240 matches played in the Chinese Football Super League (CSL) during the 2018 season. Seventeen key performance indicators (KPIs), 15 defense-related and 2 physical-related were identified from sixty-two defensive performance indicators...

The main objective of this study was to analyze the influence of tactical and situational variables on offensive sequences during elite European handball matches. A sample of 55 games and 5.857 offensive sequences from the European Handball Federation Champions League, the selected teams were classified as the top eight teams in the league, were analyzed using X 2 and logistic regression analyses. Results indicated that positional attacks [odds ratio (OR) = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.28-0.42; p  < 0.001] and fast attacks (OR = 0...

Although running performance (RP) is considered an important factor of success in soccer, there is a lack of studies to examine this issue in highest-level soccer competition, such as UEFA Champions League (UCL). Therefore, the main objective of this study was to analyse players' RP according to the achievement of their teams in UCL. In addition, position specific RP of the players who competed in the UCL was evaluated. The players' RPs ( n = 244) were collected during UCL group stage matches ( n = 20) in the 2020/21 season using semiautomatic optical system InStat Fitness...

Match activity analyses in Australian Football (AF) have provided information on the loads of match-play and identified contextual factors influencing physical activity. Match physical activity has been shown to be influenced by technical and tactical factors. This study examined the association of in-game contextual factors and technical involvements on the activity demands of elite AF players. Global positioning system data were recorded from 35 players in 13 matches throughout the 2019 Australian Football League (AFL) season...

The aim of this study was to examine the interactive effects of situational variables (competition stage, match location, and match outcome) on teams' technical performance in the UEFA Champion League. Match data of 19 technical actions and events were collected and classified into three groups (variables related to goal scoring, offense, and defense) during eight seasons (2009/2010-2016/2017). Repeated-measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) was used to identify the differences in the technical performances among teams...

BACKGROUND: This study compares ball in play (BiP) analyses and both whole game (WG) and quarter averaged data for physical and technical demands of sub-elite Australian football (AF) players competing in the West Australian Football League across playing positions. METHODS: Microsensor data were collected from 33 male AF players in one club over 19 games of the 2019 season. BiP time periods and technical performance data (e.g., kicks) were acquired from the Champion Data timeline of statistics, and time matched to the microsensor data...