@Article{Di Paco2025,
journal="Biology of Sport",
issn="0860-021X",
volume="42",
number="2",
year="2025",
title="Normative cardiorespiratory values in Italian first-division male 
soccer players: effects of age, playing position and season phase",
abstract="The study aimed to provide reference values of cardiorespiratory parameters and maximal exercise velocity (MEV) of first-division soccer players measured during a ramp exercise running test. A large ( N  = 741) database of cardiopulmonary exercise tests collected over a decade on Serie A teams in Italy was scrutinized. The reference values were stratified for age, playing position, and season phase. We found an average V̇O 2 peak of 4.78±0.56 l/min, a relative V̇O 2 peak of 61.5±5.96 ml/kg/min and an MEV of 19.0±1.3 km/h. Relative V̇O 2 peak was constant from 18 to 30 years of age and then decreased, while MEV decreased constantly with increasing age. While the absolute V̇O 2 peak was similar for all playing roles  (P  = 0.782), the midfielders were the players with the highest relative V̇O 2 peak ( P  = 0.020) and they had lower body mass than the others ( P  < 0.001). This study presents estimates of the influence of age, player position, and season phase on V̇O 2 peak in men’s elite soccer. V̇O 2 peak values ~62 ml/kg/min fulfil the demands for V̇O 2 peak in men’s professional soccer. Midfielders showed larger relative, but not absolute, V̇O 2 peak.",
author="Di Paco, Adriano
and Laveneziana, Pierantonio
and Onorati, Paolo
and Trotta, Luca
and Boccia, Gennaro",
pages="199--206",
doi="10.5114/biolsport.2025.144406",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2025.144406"
}