Physical commitment and specific work for each role in an elite soccer team

The aim of this study is to detect the differences in physical commitment required for professional footballers and if there are significant effects between the preseason period and season of the championship (Second Division Italian); in order to, eventually there are not significant differences, to schedule specific work sessions for work groups (distinguished by role). The following quantitative variables have been detected: distance covered, energy cost, metabolic power, distance travelled in high acceleration and in high deceleration. The team was divided by roles into 5 groups (n=5) and each group included four players. The activities of the players were monitored using GPS technology with a sampling rate of 10 Hz and in relation to five different game positions: (CD) Central Defenders, (FB) Full-Backs, (M) Midfielders, (AM) Advanced Midfielders and (A) Attackers. It has been used the following descriptive statistic (average values, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values) and checking the normality of distribution (KS test, skewness and kurtosis), and 2x5 ANOVA. The results obtained during season were compared with that acquired at the beginning of the year (preseason) and significant effects there aren’t between the different groups.