THE INFLUENCE OF THE FUTSAL OUTFIELD GOALKEEPER ON PLAYERS’ RUNNING PERFORMANCE.

Purpose. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the outfield goalkeeper game situation on the running performance of teammates and opponent players during professional futsal matches. Methods. The movement trajectories of 126 professional players during 6 official matches were analysed with a videobased tracking system (30 Hz). Distance covered and percentage of distance covered in different speed ranges were calculated to identify differences per team and per sub-phase of the game (traditional vs. outfield goalkeeper situation). Results. The teammates of the outfield goalkeeper spent a higher percentage of the distance covered in the standing and walking speed range (36.27 ± 15.38%) compared with the teammates of the traditional goalkeeper (31.44 ± 7.74%). The outfield goalkeeper spent a smaller percentage of the distance covered in the standing and walking range (41.13 ± 10.86% vs. 80.77 ± 4.30%) and a higher percentage in the low- and medium-intensity running range (31.59 ± 5.59% vs. 15.07 ± 2.74% and 14.33 ± 3.90% vs. 2.50 ± 1.19%, respectively), as well as covered a greater distance (77.41 ± 16.00 m/min) than the traditional goalkeeper (33.81 ± 3.66 m/min). Conclusions. These findings provide coaches with a background concerning the requirements during the outfield goalkeeper situation as guidelines for final exercises in training sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]