An innovative RPE-based approach using machine learning to analyse starter and substitute training load in soccer
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Department of Education and Sport Sciences, Pegaso Telematic University, 80143 Naples, Italy
Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of La Manouba, Manouba, Tunisia
Naufar Center, Doha, Qatar
Department of Human Science and Promotion of Quality of Life, San Raffaele Open University, 00166 Rome, Italy
Cardiology Rehabilitation Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele, Rome, Italy
Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
Department of Performance and Sport Science, Hellas Verona, Verona, Italy
Pisa Sporting Club, Pisa, Italy
Biol Sport. 2026;43:1473–1485
Data publikacji online: 2026/06/10
Article file
- Lorenzo-Martínez M, Rein R, Garnica-Caparrós M, et al. The Effect of Substitutions on Team Tactical Behavior in Professional Soccer. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2022; 93:301–309. doi: 10.1080 /02701367.2020.1828563.
- Reilly T, Drust B, Clarke N. Muscle fatigue during football match-play. Sports Med. Auckl NZ 2008; 38:357–367. doi: 10 .2165/00007256-200838050-00001.
- Wei X, Shu Y, Liu J, et al. Analysing substitutions in recent World Cups and European Championships in male and female elite football – influence of new substitution rules. Biol Sport. 2024; 41:267–274. doi: 10.5114/biolsport .2024.134755.
- Clemente F, Pillitteri G, Vieira LHP, et al. Balancing the load: A narrative review with methodological implications of compensatory training strategies for non-starting soccer players. Biol Sport. 2024; 41:173–185. doi: 10.5114 /biolsport.2024.139071.
- Morgans R, Di Michele R, Drust B. Soccer Match Play as an Important Component of the Power-Training Stimulus in Premier League Players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2018; 13:665–667. doi: 10.1123/ijspp .2016-0412.
- Anderson L, Orme P, Di Michele R, et al. Quantification of Seasonal-Long Physical Load in Soccer Players With Different Starting Status From the English Premier League: Implications for Maintaining Squad Physical Fitness. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2016; 11:1038–1046. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2015-0672.
- Moreno-Pérez V, Del Coso J, López-Del Campo R, et al. Reduced Match Exposure in the Previous 2 Matches Accounts for Hamstring Muscle Injury Incidence in Professional Football Players. Sports Health. 2023; 16:109–114. doi: 10.1177/19417381231158117.
- Alijanpour N, Nobari H, Bolboli L, et al. Using Global Positioning System to Compare Training Monotony and Training Strain of Starters and Non-Starters across of Full-Season in Professional Soccer Players. Sustainability. 2022; 14:3560. doi: 10.3390/su14063560.
- Nobari H, Khalili SM, Oliveira R, et al. Comparison of Official and Friendly Matches through Acceleration, Deceleration and Metabolic Power Measures: A Full-Season Study in Professional Soccer Players. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18:5980. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18115980.
- Oliveira R, Palucci Vieira LH, Martins A, et al. In-Season Internal and External Workload Variations between Starters and Non-Starters—A Case Study of a Top Elite European Soccer Team. Medicina (Mex). 2021; 57:645. doi: 10.3390 /medicina57070645.
- Castillo-Rodríguez A, González-Téllez JL, Figueiredo A, et al. Starters and non-starters soccer players in competition: is physical performance increased by the substitutions? BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2023; 15:33. doi: 10.1186/s13102-023-00641-3.
- Di Salvo V, Gregson W, Atkinson G, et al. Analysis of high intensity activity in Premier League soccer. Int J Sports Med. 2009; 30:205–212. doi: 10.1055 /s-0028-1105950.
- Guerrero-Calderón B, Morcillo JA, Chena M, et al. Comparison of training and match load between metabolic and running speed metrics of professional Spanish soccer players by playing position. Biol Sport. 2022; 39:933–941. doi: 10.5114/biolsport .2022.110884.
- Laterza F, Savoia C, Bovenzi A, et al. Influence of Substitutions and Roles on Kinematic Variables in Professional Soccer Players. Int J Sports Med. 2024; doi: 10.1055/a-2334-6458.
- Manzi V, Annino G, Savoia C, et al. Relationship between aerobic fitness and metabolic power metrics in elite male soccer players. Biol Sport. 2022; 39:599–606. doi: 10.5114 /biolsport.2022.106389.
- Sinaga KP, Yang M-S. Unsupervised K-Means Clustering Algorithm. IEEE Access. 2020; 8:80716–80727. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2988796.
- Beato M, Jaward H, Nassis G, et al. An educational review on machine learning: a SWOT analysis for implementing machine learning techniques in football. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2024.
- Jain AK, Dubes RC. Algorithms for clustering data. USA: Prentice-Hall, Inc.; 1988.
- Morgans R, Radnor J, Fonseca J, et al. Match running performance is influenced by possession and team formation in an English Premier League team. Biol Sport. 2024; 41:275–286. doi: 10.5114 /biolsport.2024.135414.
- Foster C, Florhaug JA, Franklin J, et al. A new approach to monitoring exercise training. J Strength Cond Res. 2001; 15:109–115.
- Impellizzeri FM, Rampinini E, Coutts AJ, et al. Use of RPE-based training load in soccer. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004; 36:1042–1047. doi: 10.1249/01. mss.0000128199.23901.2f.
- Gaudino P, Iaia FM, Strudwick AJ, et al. Factors influencing perception of effort (session rating of perceived exertion) during elite soccer training. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2015; 10:860–864. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2014-0518.
- Haddad M, Stylianides G, Djaoui L, et al. Session-RPE Method for Training Load Monitoring: Validity, Ecological Usefulness, and Influencing Factors. Front Neurosci. 2017; 11.
- Barrett S, McLaren S, Spears I, et al. The Influence of Playing Position and Contextual Factors on Soccer Players’ Match Differential Ratings of Perceived Exertion: A Preliminary Investigation. Sports. 2018; 6:13. doi: 10.3390 /sports6010013.
- Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Ovid. Im Internet: https://www.ovid.com/jnls/acsm-msse/full text/00005768-198205000-00012 ~psychophysical-bases-of-perceived -exertion; Stand: 12.02.2026.
- Syakur MA, Khotimah BK, Rochman EMS, et al. Integration K-Means Clustering Method and Elbow Method For Identification of The Best Customer Profile Cluster. IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng. 2018; 336:012017. doi: 10.1088/1757 -899X/336/1/012017.
- Filter A, Olivares-Jabalera J, Dos’Santos T, et al. High-intensity Actions in Elite Soccer: Current Status and Future Perspectives. Int J Sports Med. 2023; 44:535–544. doi: 10.1055/a-2013-1661.
- Osgnach C, di Prampero PE. Metabolic Power in Team Sports – Part 2: Aerobic and Anaerobic Energy Yields. Int J Sports Med. 2018; 39:588–595. doi: 10.1055/a-0592-7219.
- Linke D, Link D, Lames M. Validation of electronic performance and tracking systems EPTS under field conditions. PLOS ONE. 2018; 13: e0199519. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199519.
- Cnaan A, Laird NM, Slasor P. Using the general linear mixed model to analyse unbalanced repeated measures and longitudinal data. Stat Med. 1997; 16:2349–2380. doi: 10.1002/(SICI) 1097-0258(19971030)16:20 <2349::AID-SIM667>3.0.CO; 2-E.
- Hopkins WG, Marshall SW, Batterham AM, et al. Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009; 41:3–13. doi: 10.1249 /MSS.0b013e31818cb278.
- Ibáñez SJ, Gómez-Carmona CD, Mancha-Triguero D. Individualization of Intensity Thresholds on External Workload Demands in Women’s Basketball by K-Means Clustering: Differences Based on the Competitive Level. Sensors. 2022; 22:324. doi: 10.3390/s22010324.
- Buchheit M, Simpson BM, Hader K, et al. Occurrences of near-to-maximal speed-running bouts in elite soccer: insights for training prescription and injury mitigation. Sci Med Footb. 2021; 5:105–110. doi: 10.1080/24733938 .2020.1802058.
- Beato M, de Keijzer KL, Costin AJ. External and internal training load comparison between sided-game drills in professional soccer. Front Sports Act Living. 2023; 5. doi: 10.3389 /fspor.2023.1150461.
- Faude O, Koch T, Meyer T. Straight sprinting is the most frequent action in goal situations in professional football. J Sports Sci. 2012; 30:625–631. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2012 .665940.
- Vermeulen R, van Dyk N, Whiteley R, et al. Injury-inciting circumstances of sudden-onset hamstring injuries: video analyses of 63 match injuries in male professional football players in the Qatar Stars League (2013-2020). Br J Sports Med. 2024; 58:1196–1204. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2023-106722.
- Aiello F, Di Claudio C, Fanchini M, et al. Do non-contact injuries occur during high-speed running in elite football? Preliminary results from a novel GPS and video-based method. J Sci Med Sport. 2023; 26:465–470. doi: 10.1016/j. jsams.2023.07.007.
- Kenttä G, Hassmén P. Overtraining and Recovery. Sports Med. 1998; 26:1–16. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199826010 -00001.
- Connolly DR, Stolp S, Gualtieri A, et al. How Do Young Soccer Players Train? A 5-Year Analysis of Weekly Training Load and its Variability Between Age Groups in an Elite Youth Academy. J Strength Cond Res. 2024; 38: e423–e429. doi: 10.1519/JSC.000000000000 4813.
- Asian-Clemente J, Suarez-Arrones L, Requena B, et al. Influence of Tactical Behaviour on Running Performance in The Three Most Successful Soccer Teams During the Competitive Season of The Spanish First Division. J Hum Kinet. 2022; 82:135–144. doi: 10.2478 /hukin-2022-0040.
- Abade E, Sampaio J, Gonçalves B, et al. Effects of different re-warm up activities in football players’ performance. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0180152. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180152.
Copyright: Institute of Sport. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
