~ 201 ~ International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2020; 7(2): 201-207 P-ISSN: 2394-1685 E-ISSN: 2394-1693 Impact Factor (ISRA): 5.38 IJPESH 2020; 7(2): 201-207 © 2020 IJPESH www.kheljournal.com Received: 18-01-2020 Accepted: 17-02-2020 Athanasios Mourtziapis Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life, Department of Sports Organization and Management, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Lakonia, Greece Panagiotis Alexopoulos Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life, Department of Sports Organization and Management, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Lakonia, Greece Stylianos Kaprinis Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life, Department of Sports Organization and Management, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Lakonia, Greece Vasileios Dedes Faculty of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Physiology Pharmacology, Department of Nursing, University of Peloponnese Tripoli, Lakonia, Greece Georgios Panoutsopoulos Faculty of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Physiology Pharmacology, Department of Nursing, University of Peloponnese Tripoli, Lakonia, Greece George Kipreos Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life, Department of Sports Organization and Management, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Lakonia, Greece Corresponding Author: Athanasios Mourtziapis Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life, Department of Sports Organization and Management, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Lakonia, Greece Physiological profile of Greek elite soccer players Athanasios Mourtziapis, Panagiotis Alexopoulos, Stylianos Kaprinis, Vasileios Dedes, Georgios Panoutsopoulos and George Kipreos Abstract Modern professional soccer is a sport of especially high physiological demands and consequently physical condition is one of the most crucial and defining factors for succeeding in the sport. The aerobic and anaerobic mechanisms that are employed during a game are extremely demanding and the athlete must be in a position to cope with all kinds of physical strain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the short term and long term physiological adjustments observed in Greek soccer players and to point out the strong and weak points of their physiological profile. In order to examine the long term variation of the physical condition parameters, measurements were taken from a sample of one hundred professional soccer players in four different time periods; before and after preseason, in the middle and at the end of the season. The measurements included the assessment of a) anthropometric characteristics b) cardio respiratory endurance c) anaerobic capacity. The results showed there is statistically significant change (p>.01) in the maximal oxygen uptake capacity (VO2max), the maximal aerobic speed v- VΟ2max, the velocity at the anaerobic threshold, while there was a reduction in the variation of the maximal heart rate-HRmax and an increase in the mean pulmonary ventilation. The mean 10m velocity was reduced by 4%, while regarding the 30m velocity a reduction by 3.5% in average occurred. The ability to maintain mean speed during the Running Anaerobic Speed Test was reduced by 3.0 %. The mean agility speed according to the Illinois Agility Run Test was reduced by 3%. Lastly, the explosive power jumping ability and Squat Jump increased by 8.5%. In conclusion, soccer is a complex sport which poses high demands on all aspects of the athletes’ the physical condition. The coaches should be aware of their athletes’ training level and the results of the present study could contribute in designing suitable training plans and improving the training process on the whole. Keywords: Football players, physiological characteristics, aerobic and anaerobic capacity 1. Introduction Modern professional soccer is a sport of high physiological demands and therefore the players’ physical condition is one of the most crucial and defining factors of success [1, 2, 3] . The energy mechanisms employed during a game are especially demanding and the athlete should be in a position to cope with all kinds of physical strain [4, 5] . Moreover the abrupt and intense changes of rhythm during the game render it a fast, demanding, strenuous and unpredictable sport [6, 7, 8] . Simultaneously, the passive rehabilitation rates and the low intense periods during the game are constantly reduced while on the contrary the demands on speed are constantly increased [5, 9, 10] . Finally, the distance a player covers in a game can reach 12 - 13 km; this pinpoints the fact that the metabolic demands in a soccer game are huge and the athlete’s physiological characteristics are a defining factor regarding success [4, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14] . Researches have shown that when the players’ physical condition is low, lactic acid quickly reaches and surpasses 6 mmol/l, leading to technical and tactical mistakes [15] . Parameters of the physiological factor, such as aerobic and anaerobic capacity, muscle strength and power, should be evenly developed in the modern soccer player and act as a single mechanism, in order for the player’s technique not to be distorted due to fatigue but also because a good level of physical condition allows for the right implementation of tactical development on a team level [11, 16, 17, 18, 19] . Moreover these indexes are extremely interesting as the training process is assessed and judged based on them and the training planning and orientation is designed and organized accordingly [3, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25] . The determining effect of the physiologic characteristics on the development of the game has been supported by many researchers.