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Small-Sided Games in Elite Football: Practical Solutions to Replicate the 4-

min Match-Derived Maximal Intensities

Article in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research · March 2022

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 Original Research

Small-Sided Games in Elite Football: Practical

Solutions to Replicate the 4-min Match-Derived
Maximal Intensities
Andrea Riboli, Fabio Esposito, and Giuseppe Coratella
Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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Abstract
Riboli, A, Esposito, F, and Coratella, G. Small-sided games in elite football: practical solutions to replicate the 4-min match-derived
maximal intensities. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2022—The purpose of the study was to determine the area per player
(ApP, m2·player21) to replicate the maximal 4-min match-play period (4-minPeak) using small-sided or large-sided games (SSGs)
lasting the same duration in elite football players. Twenty players (age: 26 6 5 years) competing in European championship and
international UEFA competitions were monitored during SSGs with (SSGwith) or without (SSGwithout) goalkeepers, both lasting 4-
min. A total of 1,724 and 561 individual observations for SSGwith and SSGwithout across 99 and 34 different SSGs formats were
undertaken. Whole (90-minavg) and 4-minPeak match demands were calculated. Relative (m·min21) total, high-speed (HSRD), very
high-speed (VHSRD), sprint, and acceleration/deceleration distance were collected. For both SSGwith and SSGwithout, ApP was
small-to-very-largely correlated with TD, HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint, whereas an inverse trivial-to-small correlation with
acceleration/deceleration was found. In SSGwith, the ApP to replicate 4-minPeak was larger (p , 0.001, effect size [ES]: 0.33–5.80)
than that to mimic 90-minavg for total distance, HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint, whereas for acceleration/deceleration the ApP was lower
(p , 0.001, ES: 23.13 to 0.48) for 4-minPeak. In SSGwithout, the ApP to replicate 4-minPeak was larger (p , 0.001, ES: 0.04–3.72)
than that to mimic 90-minavg for HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint. Some positional differences (p , 0.05, ES: 0.22–1.10) in ApP were
found. The ApP to replicate 4-minPeak was higher for SSGwith than SSGwithout (p , 0.001, ES: 0.67–3.58). These findings may help
practitioners to recreate the 4-minPeak to manage ApP during SSGs in elite football.
Key Words: team sports, soccer, performance, training load, global positioning system, locomotor activities

Introduction conditioned for more intense demands of the competition (10,39).

In football, coaches and sport scientists need to control the
training load applied to each player to maximize individual ad-
aptations and improve performance (22,28). To this purpose,
player-tracking technologies such as global positioning systems
are typically used to quantify total distance (TD), high-speed
running distance (HSRD), very-high-speed running distance
(VHSRD), sprint, and acceleration/deceleration distance allowing
to profile the individual training and match locomotor de-
mands (34).
The activities recorded during the matches are used to plan the
training workload (25,28,34). Although the most common time-
motion analysis has been focused on the 90-minute match de-
mands (12), the use of a rolling average method, where distance is
divided in set intervals from every time point sampled, was sug-
gested as a more appropriate method when quantifying the run-
ning intensity periods in football (3,39). Several investigations
from Serie A (39), French Ligue 1 (25), English Championship
(15), and reserve squad Spanish La Liga (3,27) highlighted that
different time windows (e.g., 1-, 2-,3-, 4-min, etc.) should be
considered across training routine to allow the players to be
Address correspondence to Andrea Riboli, riboliandrea@outlook.com.
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear
in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on
the journal’s Web site (http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr).
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 00(00)/1–9
ª 2022 National Strength and Conditioning Association
For example, accordingly with the distribution of match activities
relative to maximal intensities (36), football-specific drills lasting
2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-minutes could be targeted accordingly with the
most intense phases of similar durations determined during offi-
cial matches (7,39).
Small-sided games (SSGs) are largely used to improve physical
fitness (21,32) recreating technical, tactical, and physical
football-specific abilities (19,34). In practice, continuous
(i.e., 10–30 minutes) or interval (i.e., 2–10 bouts lasting 3- to 5-
minute) training regimens are used to manage the workload using
SSGs (17,19). Interestingly, the literature shows that higher
HSRD and VHSRD were found using SSGs intermittent vs.
continuous regimens (20). In addition, 4-min SSGs bout was
suggested as “the optimal” physical training stimulus to elicit
training adaptations (14). Hence, the intermittent 4-min SSGs
model could be used to target the training stimuli toward the
intense phases of match-play recorded in similar time-windows.
When using SSGs in practice, several independent parameters
could be manipulated to vary the training-induced adaptations
(8). For example, SSGs may be played with (SSGwith) or without
(SSGwithout) the presence of the goalkeeper, when the aim is to out-
score the opponent team or to maintain ball possession as long as
possible, respectively (19,34). Despite some controversial find-
ings (24,26), TD and HSRD were higher in SSGwithout than
SSGwith of similar pitch-size in Serie A soccer players because of a
lower player tactical organization, thus increasing the SSGs de-
mands (34). In addition, greater pitch size and lower number of

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 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00
players may lead to increase in the locomotor activities specially
at high intensities (18). Since the pitch size and number of players
could be manipulated independently resulting in a very high
number of combinations, the area per player (ApP, expressed as
m2·player) was suggested to have possible reference values for
training purposes (19,31,34). The manipulation of the ApP was
reported to induce different physiological responses (5), loco-
motor activities (34), technical factors (23), and tactical behaviors
(30) in elite football players. Focusing on the locomotor activities,
increments in ApP were reported to increase TD, HSRD, VHSRD,
and sprint in Serie A football players (25,34). In addition, larger
ApP may be used during SSGwith than SSGwithout to replicate the
90-minute match-play demands (90-minavg) for TD and HSRD
distance, whereas no difference was observed in SSGwith vs.
SSGwithout for sprint (34). Moreover, between-position differ-
ences were reported highlighting that central defenders need
lower and forwards and central midfielders higher ApP (34).
However, no previous study has investigated the minimal ApP to
replicate the match demands across a specific 4-min time-window
determined during the official matches. Because the 4-min time
window is representative of the optimal SSGs duration (14), this
may have potential practical implications. Therefore, the aim of
the present study was to calculate the ApP during SSGwith and
SSGwithout to replicate the 4-minPeak determined during the offi-
cial match using a rolling average method for TD, HSRD,
VHSRD, sprint, and acceleration/deceleration in elite football
players. In addition, between-position differences were
investigated.
Methods
Experimental Approach to the Problem
The present investigation was conducted during the competition
period across 2 consecutive seasons. The subjects undertook their
traditional weekly training routine, and the data were extrapo-
lated from the sessions as proposed by the team manager and the
technical staff. All sessions were performed on grass or artificial-
surface pitches preserved by qualified operators and were con-
ducted at the same time of day to limit the effects of circadian
variation. A specialized and high-qualified physician staff rec-
ommended and monitored the diet regime of each player before
and after every training session.
Two different formats of SSGs were analyzed: SSGwith and
SSGwithout. A total of 2,285 individual observations (1,724 and
561 for SSGwith and SSGwithout, respectively) across 133 different
formats of SSGs (99 and 34 for SSGwith and SSGwithout, re-
spectively) were undertaken. Small-sided games with ranges from
4 vs. 4 to 10 vs. 10 with a ApP from 38–487 m2; SSGwithout ranged
from 4 vs. 4 to 10 vs. 10 with a ApP from 33.3 to 150 m2. A
detailed description of the SSGs characteristics and the average
locomotor demands are reported in Supplemental Digital Con-
tent (see Tables 1 and 2, http://links.lww.com/JSCR/A318) for
SSGwith and SSGwithout, respectively. The ApP was calculated
excluding the goalkeepers in SSGwith. Each SSGwith or SSGwithout
lasted 4-min in duration. The SSGwith or SSGwithout were per-
formed under the supervision and motivation of several coaches
to keep up a high work-rate. For the same reason, a ball was
always available by prompt replacement when it went out-of-play
(19). In SSGwith, the corners were replaced by a prompt ball-in-
game from the goalkeeper. Both SSGwith or SSGwithout were
completed after a standardized 20-minute warm-up under the
guidance of club staff.
Copyright © 2022 National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
A total of 524 individual samples during official matches with a
median of 34.2 6 15.4 (range 5 43–2) individual samples were
monitored. The official-match pitch size was 105 3 66 m, with a
grass surface.
Subjects
Twenty elite football players competing in top-class European
championship and international UEFA competitions (age [6SD]:
26 6 5 years; body mass: 80 6 7 kg; body height: 1.85 6 0.06 m)
were involved in the present study. All subjects were classified
according to their position: forwards (n 5 3), wide forwards, (n 5
3), central-midfielders (n 5 4), wide-midfielders (n 5 4), and
central-defenders (n 5 6). The goalkeepers were excluded from
the data collection. The club’s medical staff certified the health
status of each player. An injured player was excluded from data
collection for at least 1 month after their return to full training.
The procedures were fully explained to the subjects and the club
staff. The subjects gave their written consent. The Ethics Com-
mittee of the University of Milan (protocol #102/14) approved
the study that was performed in accordance with the principles of
the Declaration of Helsinki (1975) for studies involving human
subjects.
Procedures
A 10-Hz Global-positioning system unit (K-Sport, Mon-
telabbate, Italy) was used to collect data during training (34).
Each device was turned on at least 15-minutes before each
session to allow for acquisition of the satellite signal (34). To
reduce the interunit differences, each player wore the same unit
for every training session over the whole investigation (34).
The locomotor activities during the official matches were col-
lected using a computerized semi-automated video-based
multicamera image system (Stats Perform, Chicago, IL) and
processed by a dedicated software (34). The system has pre-
viously been shown to provide valid and reliable measurements
of the match activity in football (12,34). GPS and the video-
based multi-camera image system was previously determined
as interchangeable (34).
During both training sessions and matches, TD, HSRD
(15–19.9 km·h21), VHSRD (20–24 km·h21), sprint distance
(.24 km·h21), and acceleration/deceleration distance (.3 m·s21)
were measured (34). The distance covered across the entire match
(90-minavg) for each player and metric was collected. To assist in
the development of velocity-based movement indicators, rolling
moving averages were calculated across 4-min time duration (4-
minPeak) for each player across each match with the maximum
value collected at each metric (39). The rolling moving average
across 4-min time duration was calculated across 1-minute time-
windows analysis determined during official matches throughout
a specifically developed spreadsheet. The 4-minPeak and 90-
minavg for TD, HSRD, VHSRD, sprint, and acceleration/
deceleration distances were normalized as the relative distance
covered in one minute (m·min21) and inserted into the data
analysis.
To determine the ApP that replicates the normalized TD,
HSRD, VHSRD, sprint, and acceleration/deceleration
(m·min21) recorded during the 90-minavg and/or the 4-
minPeak, we first recorded these variables during the official
matches. Thereafter, we separately plotted each relationship
between ApP and the normalized TD, HSRD, VHSRD, sprint,
 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00
and acceleration/deceleration during SSGs. Then, the 90-
minavg or 4-minPeak values recorded during the official
matches were used to intersect each ApP/TD, HSRD, VHSRD,
sprint, and acceleration/deceleration relationship recorded in
SSGwith and SSGwithout to calculate the forecasted ApP that
corresponded to the 90-minavg or 4-minPeak official match
demands, as previously proposed (34,37). Moreover, using the
same procedures, we provided the information required to
determine the equation to calculate the ApP depending on the
desired locomotor demands or ApP for TD, HSRD, VHSRD,
sprint, and acceleration/deceleration.
Statistical Analysis
SPSS (version 26, Chicago, IL) was used to perform the statistical
analysis. To check the normal distribution of the sampling, a
Shapiro-Wilk test was used. A linear mixed model analysis was
used to calculate the individual relationship between TD, HSRD,
VHSRD, sprint, acceleration/deceleration, and the ApP during
SSGwith and SSGwithout. The correlation coefficient between ApP
and TD, HSRD, VHSRD, sprint, and acceleration/deceleration in
SSGwith and SSGwithout was calculated and interpreted as follows:
r 5 0.00–0.09 trivial, 0.10–0.29 small, 0.30–0.49 moderate,
0.50–0.69 large, 0.70–0.89 very large, and 0.90–0.99 nearly
perfect. Thereafter, a linear mixed model analysis was used to
calculate the difference in the minimal ApP in TD, HSRD,
VHSRD, sprint, and acceleration/deceleration calculated across
each position. Cohen’s d effect size with 95% confidence intervals
(CI) was used to describe the magnitude of the pairwise differ-
ences and interpreted as follows: ,0.20: trivial; 0.20–0.59: small;
0.60–1.19: moderate; 1.20–1.99: large; and $2.00: very large.
Statistical significance was set at a , 0.05. Unless otherwise
stated, all values are presented as mean 6 SD.
Results
In SSGwith, to assess the individual relationship between ApP and
locomotor demands, the estimates of covariance parameters jus-
tified the use of linear mixed model for both intercept and slope
only in TD (p , 0.05); in addition, the use of linear mixed model
was justified for slope in HSRD (p 5 0.029) and sprint (p 5
0.012). In SSGwithout, linear mixed model was justified for in-
tercept in TD (p 5 0.047) and acceleration/deceleration (p 5
0.012). Otherwise, linear model with ApP and locomotor de-
mands as fixed-effect was used.
Correlations Between Area Per Player and
Locomotor Demands
Figure 1 shows the individual relationship between ApP and lo-
comotor demands for both SSGwith and SSGwithout. The correla-
tion between ApP and locomotor demands for the estimates of
fixed effects for both SSGwith and SSGwithout are reported in
Figure 1. In SSGwith, large-to-very large correlations for TD,
HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint were found; conversely, acceleration/
deceleration showed inversely small correlation with ApP. In
SSGwithout, small-to-large correlations for TD, HSRD, VHSRD,
and sprint were found; conversely, acceleration/deceleration
showed inversely trivial correlation with ApP.
Figure 2 shows the individual relationship between ApP and
the locomotor demands express as percentages than the in-
dividual 4-minPeak determined during official matches. Data are
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| www.nsca.com
presented for SSGwith and SSGwithout. To determine the individual
ApP to replicate the desired locomotor demands, the random
effects parameters should be considered for each player as follow:
y 5 ß0 fixed 1 ß1 fixed·xplayer 1 ß0 random 1 ß1 random·xplayer, where y
is the locomotor demands during SSGs, x is the ApP, ß0 is the
intercept, and ß1 is the regression coefficient.
The Area Per Player in Small-Sided Games With vs. Small-
Sided Games Without to Replicate 4-minPeak
Table 1 shows the ApP to replicate 4-minPeak for SSGwith and
SSGwithout. The magnitude of the between-drills differences (p ,
0.001) is also reported. Some between-position differences (p ,
0.05) in the ApP to replicate locomotor match demands for
SSGwith (ES: 0.22–1.10) and SSGwithout (ES: 0.36–1.49) were
found and reported in Figure 3.
Comparing with the ApP to replicate 90-minavg, the ApP to
replicate 4-minPeak was larger (p , 0.001; ES: 1.03–3.30) in
SSGwith for TD, HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint; conversely, larger
ApP to replicate acceleration/deceleration in 90-minavg than 4-
minPeak was found (p , 0.05; ES: 21.32, CI: 23.12 to 0.08). For
SSGwithout, the ApP to replicate 4-minPeak was larger (p , 0.001;
ES: 0.41–1.88) than the ApP required to mimic 90-minavg for
HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint.
Discussion
The current study determined the ApP to replicate the 4-minPeak
using SSGwith and SSGwithout. To increase the locomotor demands
for TD, HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint, the ApP should be enlarged
during both SSGwith and SSGwithout, whereas acceleration/
deceleration is quite similar across different ApP. The ApP to
replicate the 4-minPeak was larger, the higher the speed threshold
considered. Interestingly, the present novel findings modelled a
specific ApP to recreate the 4-minPeak using both SSGwith (ApP
;245, ;349, ;367, ;541 and ;121 m2·player21 for TD,
HSRD, VHSRD, sprint, and acceleration/deceleration, re-
spectively) and SSGwithout (i.e., ;90, ;142, ;186, ;366 and
;76 m2·player21, respectively). Moreover, some between-
position differences in the ApP to replicate 4-minPeak were
found, albeit no specific trend was observed.
Increments in the ApP lead to higher locomotor demand for
TD, HSRD, VHSRD, and sprint during SSGwith and SSGwithout.
These findings confirm previous results in which a correlation
between ApP and TD, HSRD, and sprint was found during both
SSGwith and SSGwithout in elite Serie A soccer players (34). In line
with these findings, higher HSRD and sprint were reported when
incrementing the ApP during 5-, 6- and 9-a-side SSGwith in second
division Portuguese football players (9) or during 5-, 7-, 10-a-side
SSGwith and SSGwithout in English Premier League (16) football
players. The current results further highlighted that larger pitch
size is required to increase the locomotor demands especially for
the high-speed running. Conversely, acceleration/deceleration
remained quite unchanged across the different ApP, as reported in
Portuguese (9), Italian (34), and English (16) football players.
Therefore, practitioners should use larger ApP to increase HSRD,
VHSRD, and sprint, whereas acceleration/deceleration seems
only slightly affected by the ApP manipulation and quite consis-
tent across different ApP.
For the first time here, a specific ApP to recreate the 4-minPeak
was reported. Compared with SSGwith (ApP ;245, ;349, ;367,
;541 and ;121 m2·player21 for TD, HSRD, VHSRD, sprint,
 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00

Figure 1. The linear mixed model analysis for the individual (gray line) and pooled (black line) relationship between
area per player (m2·player21) and the relative locomotor demands (m·min21) during small-sided games with (SSGwith)
and without (SSGwithout) goalkeepers is shown. The correlation of the estimates of fixed effects between the area per
player and the relative locomotor demands are shown for total distance (panel A and panel F for SSGwith and
SSGwithout, respectively), high-speed running (panel B and panel G, respectively), very high-speed running (panel C
and panel H, respectively), sprint (panel D and panel I, respectively), and acceleration/deceleration (panel E and panel
L, respectively).

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 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00 | www.nsca.com

Figure 2. The linear mixed model analysis for the individual (gray line) and pooled (black line) relationship between
area per player (m2·player21) and the relative locomotor demands expressed as percentage than official match 4-
minPeak is shown. Data are presented for small-sided games with (SSGwith) and without (SSGwithout) goalkeepers.
The gray area highlights the 610% than the 4-minPeak demands determined during official matches. Total distance:
panel A and panel F for SSGwith and SSGwithout, respectively; high-speed running: panel B and panel G, re-
spectively; very high-speed running: panel C and panel H, respectively; sprint: panel D and panel I, respectively;
and acceleration/deceleration: panel E and panel L, respectively.

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 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00
Table 1
The minimal area per player (m2·player21) to replicate 4-minPeak locomotor match demands using small-sided games with (SSGwith) or
without (SSGwithout) goalkeepers is reported across different metrics.*
Total distance
High-speed running
Very high-speed running
Sprint
Acceleration/deceleration
*Data are reported as mean (SD). Effect size (ES) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between SSGwith and SSGwithout are also reported.
†p , 0.05 vs. SSGwithout.
and acceleration/deceleration, respectively), lower ApP in
SSGwithout was calculated (i.e., ;90, ;142, ;186, ;366 and
;76 m2·player21). This was probably because of the greater
tactical organization during SSGwith that lowered the locomotor
demands as previously suggested, thus requiring a greater ApP to
increase the intensity of the activities (34). These latter findings
support previous studies in a similar elite football population
(34). In addition, higher high-intensity running was previously
observed without goalkeepers in different 3-, 4-, 5-, and 7-a-side
SSGs across the same ApP (6,24,26). Partially in contrast with the
present outcomes, it was reported that SSGwith resulted in higher
sprint than in SSGwithout (16). However, the authors investigated
a maximum ApP of 135 m2, and this does not allow an appro-
priate comparison. Other researchers reported that TD and the
time spent in high-intensity running (.17 km·h21) was higher
with goalkeepers (11). Although the authors argued that the
goalkeeper presence might have motivated the players, 2 sub-
sequent reviews (1,19) consistently remarked that the goalkeeper
presence could improve the players’ organization, thus decreasing
the SSGs demands. Therefore, because the SSGs intensity is a
crucial issue (17,25,34) for high-performance development, the
present findings remarked that practitioners should use a specific
large ApP when increments in locomotor demands are required,
greater using SSGwith than SSGwithout.
The maximal match-play intensity was recently contextual-
ized across the training microcycles, suggesting that practi-
tioners need to condition football players by increasing the
training workloads up to the maximal demands of the compe-
tition (29). The distribution of the official match demands with
respect to the maximal intensity provides a practical tool to
support training load management and training prescriptions
(36). Therefore, because 4-min is largely used as typical duration
for the SSGs within the typical weekly routine (19,20), the 4-
minPeak could be an effective reference for intermittent SSG
prescriptions. The current findings also showed for the first
time, a higher ApP to replicate the 4-minPeak than 90-minavg in
SSGwith and SSGwithout, providing practical information for
stimulating the maximal demands of the competition. More-
over, the present results report that the relative high-intensity
locomotor demands during most SSGs formats are far lower that
official match demands across the same time-window. In-
terestingly, only 2 players (i.e., a central-defender and a central-
midfielders) achieved or overloaded the maximal 4-minpeak us-
ing SSGwith, suggesting that an individual approach is manda-
torily required during the field practice.
That said, the ApP in SSGwith exceeded the match-derived
ApP (;340 m2·player21) to replicate the 4-minPeak sprint de-
mands. This may possibly derive from the lower psycho-
physiological stressors during training than official matches
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SSGwith SSGwithout ES (95% CI)
246 6 104† 90 6 22 3.58 (1.67–6.00)
350 6 129† 143 6 34 2.93 (0.80–5.06)
367 6 88† 187 6 101 2.17 (0.26–4.08)
541 6 145† 366 6 124 1.31 (0.39–2.23)
121 6 47† 77 6 26 1.84 (1.06–2.62)
(4,13). In the training practice, this may limit the stimulus and
this extremely great ApP could seem prohibitive within a team
training routine, so that SSGwithout (i.e., that require an ApP
similar to the relative pitch-size during official matches) or
supplemental running-based exercises should be used when
aiming to condition the 4-minPeak match demands for sprinting
activities. As an alternative, during SSGwith, supplemental
rules such as specific timeframes (i.e., 10–20 seconds) in which
possession-play should be maintained or goals should be
achieved and/or other specific rules modifications (19) may be
used to increase the locomotor demands. In contrast,
SSGwithout could negatively affect the tactical learning envi-
ronments, and this factor should be considered in the training-
load management for football-specific performance de-
velopment. Moreover, SSGwith in large ApP was reported as
useful to recreate the tactical variability for attacking explo-
ration and defending organization (31). Therefore, SSGwith in
large ApP seem to be a good solution to contextualize the lo-
comotor demands (2), physiological responses (5), and tactical
behaviors (30) regarding maximal match demands, whereas
SSGwithout permits to recreate similar locomotor demands us-
ing smaller ApP when required.
The present findings also showed some between-position
differences in the ApP to replicate 4-minPeak using SSGwith
(i.e., without a clear trend), suggesting that an individualized
training-load manipulation may be needed to overload in-
dividual peak performance demands. Given that the use of dif-
ferent positional SSGs is not feasible in real-life training routine,
practitioners should consider to overload the locomotor de-
mands using individual supplemental activities when required.
Individual positional-drills, running-based exercises, and/or
specific rules could be considered as supplemental tools to in-
dividualize the training exposure near to individual maximal
match-derived locomotor demands. Between-position differ-
ences during SSGwith were already reported in similar pop-
ulation (25,34). In contrast, because few between-position
differences were found in SSGwithout, this could allow to simul-
taneously condition each player up to the 4-minPeak match-play
demands reducing between-player variability in the locomotor
demands. This was probably because of lower tactical-
organization during SSGwithout, in which players are free to
move to keep or regain ball-possession without tactical restric-
tions that may have affected the between-position overloading
or underloading.
Some limitations accompany the present investigation, also
opening to future research perspectives. First, the internal load
parameters (i.e., heart rate) and the rate of perceived exertion
were not examined, and we acknowledge that should be coupled
with the external load metrics to describe accurately both the
 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00 | www.nsca.com

Figure 3. The minimal area per player (m2·player21) to replicate the 4-minPeak lo-
comotor match demands using small-sided games with (SSGwith, panel A) or
without (SSGwithout, panel B) goalkeepers is reported for each metric across different
positions. Data are reported as mean (SD). TD 5 total distance; HSRD 5 high-
speed running distance; VHSRD 5 very high-speed running distance; SPD 5 sprint
distance; Acc + Dec 5 acceleration/deceleration distance; CD 5 central defenders;
WM 5 wide midfielders; CM 5 central midfielders; WF 5 wide forwards; FW 5
forwards. ap , 0.05 vs. WM. bp , 0.05 vs. CD.

SSGs and match demands (22). However, some technological
limitations (e.g., the use of portable thoracic bands especially
during official matches) or some contextual limitations (e.g., the
possibility to collect rate of perceived exertion after each SSG
format during daily real-life training routine) can limit the op-
portunity to monitor consistently the internal and perceived load.
Second, as both SSGs and running-based exercise may be equally
effective to enhance aerobic training status (21), it should be
remarked that soccer-specific drills only could insufficiently pre-
pare players for the match demands. This may be because of the
individual capacity that may exceed the actual stimuli received for
some positions (e.g., central defenders). In case of nonsufficient
stimulus, individual exercises based on submaximal (38) and/or
maximal physiological capacities (33,35) should be included.
Finally, for replication purposes, the interchangeability between
global-positioning system and computerized semi-automated
video-based multicamera image system needs to be carefully
checked, especially when recording high-speed or nonlinear
movements. However, the present results are based on the trivial
differences in the metrics and adjusted using a calibration equa-
tion as previously investigated using the same technologies (34).
In conclusion, the present study determined the ApP to repli-
cate the 4-minPeak using SSGwith and SSGwithout across different
metrics and positions. For SSGwith and SSGwithout, high-intensity

Copyright © 2022 National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 Area Per Player to Replicate 4-minPeak (2022) 00:00
activities required greater ApP, with higher values in SSGwith vs.
SSGwithout. Finally, between-position differences in ApP across
each metric were observed.
Practical Applications
The present findings have a number of practical applications.
In the first instance, the specific ApP can be used in 4-min
SSGs to replicate, underload, or overload the 4-minPeak, as
also previously suggested for the 90-minavg (34). The present
findings also highlighted that an ApP ;350 m2·player21
using SSGwith should be used to recreate the 4-minPeak at a
similar extent to match-play demands for high-speed to very-
high-speed activities. Interestingly, this ApP was similar to
the ApP during official match-play (;350 m2·player21),
suggesting that a consistency between the ApP during
SSGwith and during official matches is required to replicate
the 4-minPeak. However, a greater pitch size
(.350 m2·player21) or supplementary exercises would be
required to replicate 4-minPeak for sprint using SSGwith.
When lower ApP is used, practitioners should consider high-
speed to sprinting supplementations using specific rules
during SSGs, individualized positional drills and/or running-
based exercises to prepare the players. Another possible
football-specific solution may be to use the SSGwithout that
required a lower ApP (.186 m2·player21) to replicate 4-
minPeak for VHSRD to sprinting activities. However, the
different tactical behavior suggests that practitioners should
use SSGwith and SSGwithout for different technical/tactical
training aims during practice. In addition, using SSGwith,
between-position differences highlighted that supplementary
high-speed to sprint activities should be considered for
overloading such players. This would not be the case for
SSGwithout, during which no between-position difference was
found. Therefore, practitioners could manage the ApP using
both SSGwith, SSGwithout, and/or supplementary solutions to
plan the whole-session training load during practice, in ac-
cordance with the match intensity distribution for each
metric (36).
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank all the subjects of the study for their
committed effort and Mattia Cefis, PhD student at University of
Brescia, for his committed help in the statistical analysis. The
authors have no conflicts of interest to disclosure. No specific
grant supports the present study and the results do not constitute
endorsement of the product by the authors or the NSCA.
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