Main Article Ger J Exerc Sport Res https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-019-00639-5 Received: 11 June 2019 Accepted: 14 November 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland, ein Teil von Springer Nature 2019 Lazaros Vardakis 1 · Yiannis Michailidis 1 · Athanasios Mandroukas 2 · George Mavrommatis 1 · Kosmas Christoulas 1 · Thomas Metaxas 1 1 Laboratory of Evaluation of Human Biological Performance, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece 2 Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Analysis of the running performance of elite soccer players depending on position in the 1-4-3-3 formation Introduction Soccer is a very popular sport and the de- velopment of technology has given train- ers the opportunity to analyze real soc- cer games for the past two decades. Tis helps trainers to identify the demands of the sport, the match running perfor- mance of the players, and to improve the training process (Bangsbo, Mohr, & Krustrup, 2006; Burgess, Naughton, & Norton, 2006; Di Salvo et al., 2007; Edge- comb & Norton, 2006; Rampinini, Im- pellizzeri, Castagna, Coutts, & Wisloff, 2009). Te performance in soccer is con- sidered to be influenced by different factors, such as technique, tactic, and physical and mental demands (Carling, 2013; Hoppe, Slomka, Baumgart, We- ber, & Freiwald, 2015; Stølen, Chamari, Castagna, & Wisløff, 2005). Te activity during a soccer match is long term, with intervals varying between high and low intensity (Randers et al., 2010; Tu- milty, 1993), although it is mostly low and medium (Ingebrigtsen, Dillern, & Shalfawi, 2011). Furthermore, players must execute maximum sprints, from 1 to 7sec, with only brief periods of recovery (Bishop, Girard, & Mendez- Villanueva, 2011; Bishop, Spencer, Duffield, & Lawrence, 2001; Carling & Dupont, 2011). Recovery time between sprints is approximately 90 s (Mathisen & Danielsen, 2014). Overall, the physical fitness assess- ment strategy with GPS is a commonly used method in sports. Match running performance analyses imposed on pro- fessional soccer players have been widely documented in recent years (Bradley, Mascio, Peart, Olsen, & Sheldon, 2010; Dellal, Wong, Moalla, & Chamari, 2010; Rampinini et al., 2009). Te use of such technology makes the assessment of the physical demands (distance at specific speed ranges, average speed, and maximum number of sprints) of each athlete during games and training sessions (Aughey, 2011) easily possible. During a match, a soccerplayercovers, on average, about 10 to 13.5 km (Andrze- jewski, Chmura, Pluta, & Kasprzak, 2012; Barros et al., 2007; Di Salvo et al., 2007). However, due to the intermittent nature of the game, the total covered distance is a fairly superficial method of match assessment (Andrzejewski et al., 2012). It is necessary to account for the amount and frequency of high-speed running and other activities such as accelerations and decelerations that are performed by the players at maximum intensity (Aken- head, French, Tompson, & Hayes, 2014; Di Salvo, Gregson, Atkinson, Tordoff, & Drust, 2009; Polglaze et al., 2018; Var- ley & Aughey, 2013). Bradley et al. (2011) examined the distance covered in differ- ent formations. Players in 1-4-4-2 and 1-4-3-3 formations covered greater dis- tances in jogging while players in a 1-4- 5-1 covered more distance in walking. Overall, the distance covered was the same among the formations but not for the very-high intensity running. Play- ers in a 1-4-5-1 formation performed less very-high-intensity running when their team was in ball possession, but more when not in possession, compared to 1-4-4-2 and 1-4-3-3 formations. At- tackers covered 30% more very-high-in- tensity running in a 1-4-3-3 formation than in 1-4-4-2 and 1-4-5-1 formations. Although the number of high-intensity runs and recovery times among very- high-intensity bouts were similar across formations, more efforts were observed in players in 1-4-4-2 and 1-4-3-3 forma- tions. Tese differences in a 1-4-5-1 for- mation may be due to the tactical purpose of using this formation, with an increase in the number of players performing a de- fensive role and occupying a smaller area of play on the field. Understanding the physiological de- mands (activity profile, distance covered, intensity, energysystems, and muscles in- volved) of professional soccer players de- pending on their positional role is neces- sary for developing an appropriate sport- specific training protocol (Di Salvo et al., 2007). Results of previous studies indi- cate differences in physical demands and running profile, depending on the po- sitional role, for men and women. (Di Mascio & Bradley, 2013; Dillern, Inge- brigtsen, & Shalfawi, 2012; Ingebrigtsen et al., 2011; Krustrup, Mohr, Ellings- gaard, & Bangsbo, 2005; Mohr, Krustrup, German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research