Recovery in SoccerPart I – Post-Match Fatigue and Time Course of Recovery

International audienceIn elite soccer, players are frequently required to play consecutive matchesinterspersed by 3 days and complete physical performance recovery may notbe achieved. Incomplete recovery might result in underperformance and injury.During congested schedules, recovery strategies are therefore requiredto alleviate post-match fatigue, regain performance faster and reduce the riskof injury. This article is Part I of a subsequent companion review and dealswith post-match fatigue mechanisms and recovery kinetics of physical performance(sprints, jumps, maximal strength and technical skills), cognitive,subjective and biochemical markers. The companion review will analyse recoverystrategies used in contemporary professional soccer. Soccer involvesmany physically demanding activities including sprinting, changes in runningspeed, changes of direction, jumps and tackles, as well as technical actionssuch as dribbling, shooting and passing. These activities lead to a post-matchfatigue that is linked to a combination of dehydration, glycogen depletion,muscle damage and mental fatigue. The magnitude of soccer match-inducedfatigue, extrinsic factors (i.e. match result, quality of the opponent, matchlocation, playing surface) and/or intrinsic factors (i.e. training status, age,gender, muscle fibre typology), potentially influence the time course of recovery.Recovery in soccer is a complex issue, reinforcing the need for futureresearch to estimate the quantitative importance of fatigue mechanisms andidentify influencing factors. Efficient and individualized recovery strategiesmay consequently be proposed