ABSTRACT
In recent years many soccer-specific studies have been published, yet very few focus on repeated measurements in professional players. This is perhaps because soccer players are not frequent visitors to the laboratory during the busy season, except for health or contractual reasons at the beginning of a season (Casajús, 2001). In sports such as soccer where the competitive programme occupies nine months of the year, and often incorporates two games per week, it is hard to maintain physical fitness at its peak throughout. Yet the maintenance of physical fitness during a season is a key target for every team (Koutedakis, 1995). The remaining three months are equally split between the off-season (or recess period) at the end of the competitive year and the pre-season training period before the start of the next annual league competition. Traditionally the off-season was deemed to be a dead period with players tending to return for pre-season training overweight (White et al., 1988). The lack of training in the recess period would also lead to a deterioration in aerobic fitness and a fall in musculoskeletal strength. This decline compromises physical training pre-season and can be partly offset by maintaining fitness on an individual basis, and attending to dietary intake and weight control. Body composition is an important factor in preparing for peak performance in soccer. Excessive adipose tissue acts as a dead weight in activities where the body mass must be repeatedly lifted against gravity during locomotion and jumping (Reilly, 1996), whilst lean mass contributes to the production of power during highintensity activity.
