Physiological profile of amateur top level soccer players according to positional role

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cardiorespiratory fitness level of soccer players according to their positional role in the field. Fifty-five Greek top level amateur adolescent soccer players were participated. Twenty defenders (aged 17 +/- 0.9yrs - group A), 20 midfielders (aged 17.6 +/- 1.3 yrs - group B) and 15 forwards (aged 18.1 +/- 1.3yrs - group C) underwent anthropometric measurements, spiroergometric study and maximal blood lactate accumulation analysis. All measurements were performed at the end of the playing season. The results showed that defenders were significantly taller compared to midfielders (p<0.05) while group B had lower body fat percentage in comparison with groups A and C. Group B exhibited higher time to exhaustion compared to A (p<0.05). On the contrary, defenders presented significantly higher exercise ventilation in comparison with groups B and C (p<0.05). Maximal oxygen uptake and maximal exercise blood lactate concentration were not found to differ significantly among the three groups. It is concluded that the positional role of the player in modern soccer depends rather on anthropometric characteristics than on aerobic capacity. This is possibly due to the unified exercise training program and modem tactical systems, which are commonly, used in amateur soccer teams.