ABSTRACT
During a match, soccer players must move in many directions and at various speeds for their team's success. Their movements in the field are based on various physical abilities such as aerobic or anaerobic capacity and others. In order to study physiological characteristics of soccer, the analysis of the mode of movements of players during a match is needed. Using the published data of Whitehead (1975), Reilly and Thomas (1976), and Withers et al. (1982), Ekblom (1986) summarized that players cover approximately 10km in a match, of which 8 – 18% is at the individual's top speed. However, the values obtained by these investigators were not consistent. Ekblom (1986) suggested that one of the reasons for this was the different methods used for estimating the distances covered. Most investigators were estimating distances by observing modes of players' movements at pre-determined levels of speed. It seems that such estimations reduce the precision or objectivity of the observations.
