Comparison of Different Coach Competition Micro-Cycle Planning Strategies in Professional Soccer

Abstract

Coaches propose training strategies to develop their playing model, but the impact on the conditional demand of players is unknown. The objective of this study aimed to assess the conditional demands associated with five competitive micro-cycle (Mi) planning strategies put forth by professional soccer coaches. The dependent locomotor variables were: total distance traveled (TD, in m), high-speed running distance (TD21, >21 km·h−1, in m), sprint distance (TD27, >27 km·h−1, in m), acceleration load (aLoaD, in AU) and number of accelerations (ACC2, >2 m·s−2 in n) and decelerations (DEC2, <−2 m·s−2 in n). The activity profile of the players was monitored during each training session using a global positioning system (GPS) during four seasons (2018–2019 to 2021–2022). Regardless of the coach, the sessions furthest from Mi (MD+1, MD-4 and MD-3) were the most conditionally demanding, where TD27 was especially stimulated on MD-3 (ES = 0.7, 0.2/1.2, mean and range; p < 0.05); furthermore, MD-2 was the least demanding session of all the trainers (ES = −2.4, −2.6/−1.5, mean and range; p < 0.01). However, there were nuances regarding the conditional demand among the coaches: Co1 and Co2 proposed a higher conditional demand in the MD-2 and MD-1 sessions (p < 0.05). The conclusion was twofold: elite soccer coaches proposed a horizontal alternation in the weekly distribution of training stimuli; nevertheless, the differences in the style of play of each coach affected the week-planning strategy.