Monitoring of Perceived Load, Fatigue and Recovery within National Football Team Contexts

Abstract

During major international football tournaments, national team practitioners operate within a challenging context, in which physical preparation and recovery is complicated by numerous organisational, operational, and logistical factors. Despite the ubiquitousness of training load, fatigue, and recovery monitoring in football, much of the literature emanates from professional clubs; whereby, the level of competitiveness, training programmes, logistical demands and availability of equipment/facilities differ from international football tournaments. Thus, further research is warranted within applied international football settings to quantify the demands of training and match loads during international tournaments and the effects on perceived fatigue, and recovery. Study one examined the training load profiles of international footballers as they transitioned between club, camp, and tournament contexts. Thirty-five male national team footballers (25.9 ± 3.8y) were monitored over 3 international tournaments with measures of external (session duration and count) and internal (session rating of perceived exertion [s-RPE]) training load compared across each of the three tournaments. As international footballers transitioned from their clubs to national team camp, an increase in internal training load occurred due to a large increase in the number of training sessions performed. Subsequent reductions in training volumes and increased match load characterise the camp-to-tournament transition, resulting in an overall decrease in training load. Thus, the changing dynamic of trainings and matches alters the accumulation and distribution of internal training load in international footballers. Knowledge of the players’ club-based training loads becomes important to national team practitioners to help plan and manage camp and tournament training based on individual needs. Study two investigated the effect of match load on self-reported fatigue and recovery during congested and non-congested tournament schedules. Thirty-seven male national team footballers (26.4 ± 4.1y) reported daily measures of internal training load (s-RPE) and perceived fatigue status (ratings of perceived fatigue, muscle soreness, psychological status, sleep quality, and sleep duration) during the competition phase of 3 international tournaments. Player’s data was retrospectively categorised into congested or non-congested 2-match microcycles (Acute-Congestion, Non-Congestion, Single-Match, No-Match), and then comparatively assessed to determine the effect of acute match congestion on internal load and perceived fatigue/recovery profiles. During international football tournaments, variations in player’s perceived fatigue status were largely responsive to the presence of match load, with transient worsening post-match in perceived fatigue, muscle soreness, and sleep ratings. Further, acute match congestion impaired player’s pre-match perceived fatigue status compared to non-congested microcycles. However, within the Acute Congestion condition, no significant difference in perceptual fatigue was evident between the consecutive match days. Thus, acute match congestion does not exacerbate perceived fatigue and recovery responses within international tournaments. Study three further examined the self-reported fatigue and recovery profiles of international footballers during congested tournament matches, while also reporting preliminary evidence of player’s recovery intervention usage within a national team context. Forty male national team footballers (26.4 ± 4.1y) were monitored throughout 2 international tournaments, with outcome measures of perceived fatigue status (5-items), recovery status (1-item), and recovery intervention usage assessed according to player’s match exposure (Starters, Rotations, Non-Playing, and Consecutive Starters). Repeated match exposure during a week of congested international tournament football elicits a transient worsening in perceived fatigue and recovery status, with perceptions of perceived fatigue further impaired following the second match. In response, recovery intervention use was higher for playing groups compared to non-playing, with a high prevalence of recovery methods targeting physiological recovery mechanisms, due in part to the availability and preference for these interventions. Practitioner provision of recovery modalities may also have influenced player behaviour as to the selection and frequency of recovery interventions used within the national teams. Overall, the current thesis provides an initial and detailed description of the perceived training load, fatigue, and recovery profiles of Australian national team footballers across multiple major international tournaments. It is recommended that national team practitioners seek prior knowledge of player’s club-based training loads to help plan and manage camp and tournament training according to player’s individual needs. During international football tournaments, monitoring players exposure to matches and time between matches, as well as changes in perceived fatigue, recovery and intervention usage may be helpful to determine player’s match readiness. However, concerns remain in relation to the validity and reliability of using multi-item and single-item self-report measures to assess athlete’s training ‘response’, with ambiguous findings surrounding national team footballers perceived fatigue response during congested match schedules. To counter transient worsening in post-match perceived fatigue and recovery status, national team practitioners should be mindful of the influence that they have on player’s recovery intervention choices, with key information such as the initial targeting of physiological recovery strategies and provision/timing of different recovery options.