ABSTRACT
The physical aspects of high-level male soccer have been studied extensively (Withers et al., 1982; Ohashi et al., 1988; Van Gool et al., 1988; Bangsbo et al., 1991; Reilly, 1997; Helgerud et al., 2000; Krustrup et al., 2005, 2006; Mohr et al., 2003). Less information exists about the physical demands in female soccer (Tumilty and Derby, 1992; Davis and Brewer, 1993; Brewer and Davis, 1994; Shephard, 2000; Todd et al., 2002; Polman et al., 2004; Krustrup et al. 2005). Body dimensions (Jensen and Larsson, 1993, Rico-Sanz, 1998) and maximum aerobic power (Rhodes and Mosher, 1992; Davis and Brewer, 1992; Jensen and Larsson, 1993; Tamer et al., 1997; Krustrup et al. 2005) of female players have been determined. In addition, some studies have examined the activity profile and heart rate during match play (Reilly, 1997; Shephard, 2000; Krustrup et al. 2005). However, the main focus has been on total distance covered, which is believed to be a poor indicator of physical match performance, since the majority of the ground is covered by low-intensity activities such as walking and jogging, which hardly can be considered physically demanding (Mohr et al., 2003).
