Summarizing physical performance in professional soccer: development of a new composite index

The aims of this study were to create a composite index to measure the overall players’ physical performance in professional soccer matches and analyze the effect of individual playing time and positional differences on this composite index. A total of 830 official matches from LaLiga men’s first division and Spanish Copa del Rey were analyzed, which resulted in 24,980 match observations collected from 1138 male players (forwards, n = 286; midfielders, n = 441; defenders, n = 411). The physical performance variables, which represent the locomotor demands, were collected using electronic performance tracking systems. A Partial Least-Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to measure performance. The PLS-SEM output had three significant latent components, which explained 95% of the initial variability, that were related to the acceleration-specific performance (component 1), high-intensity running-related variables (component 2), and medium intensity actions variables (component 3). Also, a linear regression analysis was used to explore relationships between playing activity time (hours—X axis) and the composite index (10-point scale—Y axis), in which a strong and positive correlation was observed between individual playing time and the composite index ( r = 0.76; p < 0.001; R 2 = 0.58). Also, significant positive correlations were observed in forwards ( r = 0.85; p < 0.001; R 2 = 0.74), midfielders ( r = 0.80; p < 0.001; R 2 = 0.64), and defenders ( r = 0.67; p < 0.001; R 2 = 0.45). However, significant differences between playing positions with a small effect size ( p < 0.05; eta-squared = 0.01) were found. From a practical perspective, this study may serve as a reference for sports performance practitioners to create a composite index that measures the overall players’ physical performance. The instructions to create this index are available in the manuscript.