ABSTRACT
This chapter compares the level of fitness of soccer players before and after the pre-season period as well as in the middle of the playing season. The aerobic capacity of soccer players needs to be evaluated in a specific way, by specific intermittent tests. The soccer player needs a good aerobic capacity to maintain the intensity of exercise in matches and to recover from the more highly demanding activities. Endurance training has a "glycogen sparing" effect. The Intermittent Field Test (IFT) is employed to evaluate the soccer-specific endurance capacity. The distance covered during the IFT is correlated with the performance in an intermittent endurance test designed with reference to the "time motion" characteristics of soccer. The chapter suggests the pre-season period was probably not long enough to prepare the players for the first matches of the season and the match practice is of special importance for an improvement in the capacity of soccer players for intermittent endurance exercise.
