Soccer-drill specificity in top-class male players with reference to peak match locomotor demands

To compare the locomotor demands of several ball/running drills with the official match peak, locomotor demands determined across different time-windows of the same duration in top-class male soccer players (n = 40). Total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR, 15–20 km⋅h⁻¹), very high-speed running (VHSR, 20–24 km⋅h⁻¹), sprint and acceleration+deceleration (Acc+Dec >±3 m⋅s⁻²) distances were measured during training and official matches. A total of 9372 individual observations were classified as technical-tactical drills, small-sided games (SSGs), super-SSGs (pitch-area >340 m²·player), SSGs with rules modifications (SSG_modified), individual positional drills or running drills. The relative (m·min⁻¹) TD, HSR, VHSR, sprint and Acc+Dec were compared with the peak locomotor demands determined during official matches across different time-windows (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5-min). Individual position-specific drill, super-SSGs, SSG_modified and running drills showed similar (P > 0.05) or higher (P < 0.05; ES:1.17/4.61) than match TD, HSR and VHSR, while sprint and Acc+Dec were lower (P < 0.05). Conversely, technical-tactical drills and SSGs showed lower (P < 0.05; ES:-1.00/-3.45) TD, HSR, VHSR, sprint and Acc+Dec than official match peak demands. Locomotor loads during technical-tactical drills and SSGs were lower than peak demands, particularly for VHSR and sprint. Since training intensity is a key factor for high-performance development, these results may help to prepare top-class players for the official match peak demands.