@Article{Ribeiro2025,
journal="Biology of Sport",
issn="0860-021X",
volume="42",
number="4",
year="2025",
title="Running demands during top-up conditioning sessions compared 
to competitive matches in elite Portuguese soccer players",
abstract="Soccer players who are non-starters typically experience reduced match loads, which can hinder their physical fitness and match readiness over time. This study aimed to investigate the running demands accumulated during top-up sessions in comparison to soccer matches. Twenty-six outfield soccer players from an elite Portuguese soccer team participated in this study. The following running variables were recorded: total distance (TD), running (14.4 to 19.7 km · h −1 ), high-speed running (HSR: 19.8 to 25.1 km · h −1 ), sprinting (≥ 25.2 km·h −1 ) distances, number of sprints (counts), number of accelerations (ACC; 2–3 m·s −2  and > 3 m·s −2 ), decelerations (DEC; 2–3 m·s −2  and > 3 m·s −2 ), and player load. A linear mixed-effects model was used to examine differences between top-up sessions and matches. Overall, no starters accumulated lower running load during top-up sessions than matches for most of the variables analyzed, but in particular TD ( p  < 0.001; ES range 2.46 to 3.74), running ( p  < 0.001; ES range 2.93 to 3.90), HSR ( p  < 0.001; ES range 2.21 to 3.47), sprints events ( p    3 m·s −2  ( p    3 m·s −2  ( p  < 0.001; ES range 1.91 to 2.66), and player load ( p  < 0.001; ES range 2.34 to 3.23). Therefore, non-starters accumulated less than half of the total match distance for most of the running metrics during top-up sessions. These findings suggest that compensatory training should be designed to more closely replicate match demands, with particular attention to high-intensity demands, such as HSR and sprints.",
author="Ribeiro, João
and Gantois, Petrus
and de Souza Fonseca, Fabiano
and Suarez-Arrones, Luis
and Viana, João
and Nakamura, Fábio Yuzo",
pages="287--297",
doi="10.5114/biolsport.2025.151650",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2025.151650"
}