Unveiling anaerobic soccer training: comparing its effects with small-sided games on youth performance enhancement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15561/26649837.2025.0301Keywords:
anaerobic soccer training, small-sided games, aerobic capacity, anaerobic performance, soccer trainingAbstract
Background and Study Aim. Soccer is a high-intensity sport that requires players to maintain optimal physical performance over an extended period. This has led to the development of various training methods to enhance both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Small-Sided Games (SSG) is a popular training method in soccer, as it improves both technical skills and fitness. However, its effectiveness in developing anaerobic capacity still requires further investigation. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effects of Anaerobic Soccer Training (AnST) and SSG on aerobic and anaerobic performance in young soccer players. Material and Methods. A randomized trial was conducted on 25 male soccer players (AnST: n = 16; SSG: n = 9) aged 18 to 21 years. The average (mean ± SD) values were: age 19 ± 0.65 years, body weight 61.88 ± 5.28 kg, height 167 ± 5.50 cm, and body mass index (BMI) 21.84 ± 2.01. The intervention lasted six weeks. Aerobic capacity was assessed using a 2400-meter run test. Anaerobic performance was evaluated through average power, minimum power, peak power, and fatigue index. Statistical analysis included paired t-tests and percentage change calculations. Results. The findings indicate that both AnST and SSG significantly improved aerobic performance. The AnST group showed a greater relative increase (Δ% = 7.23%) compared to the SSG group (Δ% = 5.06%). For anaerobic performance, AnST produced a significant increase in average power (Δ% = 16.80%, p < 0.001) and minimum power (Δ% = 28.60%, p < 0.001). Changes in peak power and fatigue index were not statistically significant. Conclusions. Anaerobic Soccer Training (AnST) and Small-Sided Games (SSG) are both effective in improving aerobic and anaerobic capacities in young soccer players. AnST demonstrated greater gains, likely due to its higher training intensity.References
Kusuma IDMAW, Kusnanik NW, Pramono BA, Pranoto A, Phanpheng Y, Susanto IH, et al. Anaerobic Soccer Training Model: Enhancing Soccer Players’ Performance through a Combination of Repeated Sprints and 4 vs 4 Games. Physical Education Theory and Methodology, 2025;25(1): 7–14. https://doi.org/10.17309/tmfv.2025.1.01
Kunz P, Engel FA, Holmberg HC, Sperlich B. A Meta-Comparison of the Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training to Those of Small-Sided Games and Other Training Protocols on Parameters Related to the Physiology and Performance of Youth Soccer Players. Sports Medicine - Open, 2019;5(1): 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-019-0180-5
Clemente FM, Moran J, Ramirez-Campillo R, Beato M, Afonso J. Endurance Performance Adaptations between SSG and HIIT in Soccer Players: A Meta-analysis. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2024;45(03): 183–210. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2171-3255
Clemente FM, Ramirez-Campillo R, Afonso J, Sarmento H, Rosemann T, Knechtle B. A Meta-Analytical Comparison of the Effects of Small-Sided Games vs. Running-Based High-Intensity Interval Training on Soccer Players’ Repeated-Sprint Ability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021;18(5): 2781. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052781
Koral J, Lloria Varella J, Lazaro Romero F, Foschia C. Effects of Three Preseason Training Programs on Speed, Change-of-Direction, and Endurance in Recreationally Trained Soccer Players. Frontiers in Physiology, 2021;12: 719580. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.719580
Beato M, Drust B, Iacono AD. Implementing High-speed Running and Sprinting Training in Professional Soccer. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021;42(04): 295–299. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1302-7968
Krustrup P, Krustrup BR. Football is medicine: it is time for patients to play! British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018;52(22): 1412–1414. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099377
Hands DE, Janse De Jonge X. Current time-motion analyses of professional football matches in top-level domestic leagues: a systematic review. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 2020;20(5): 747–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2020.1780872
Smpokos E, Mourikis C, Linardakis M. Seasonal physical performance of a professional team’s football players in a national league and European matches. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 2018;13(4). https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2018.134.01
M. Oliva-Lozano J, Riboli A, Fortes V, M. Muyor J. Monitoring physical match performance relative to peak locomotor demands: implications for training professional soccer players. Biology of Sport, 2023;40(2): 253–260. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2023.116450
Savu VC. Study on the Optimization of Physical Training in Students who are Members of the University Representative Soccer Team. GYMNASIUM, 2019;19(1 (Supplement)): 56–72. https://doi.org/10.29081/gsjesh.2018.19.1s.05
Wickham H, Chang W, Henry L, Pedersen TL, Takashi K, Wilke C, Woo K, Yutani H, Cunnington D, Van Den Brand T. ggplot2: Create Elegant Data Visualisations Using the Grammar of Graphics [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2025 Dec 24]. Available from: https://ggplot2.tidyverse.org/reference/ggplot2-package.html
Keir DA, Thériault F, Serresse O. Evaluation of the Running-Based Anaerobic Sprint Test as a Measure of Repeated Sprint Ability in Collegiate-Level Soccer Players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2013;27(6): 1671–1678. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31827367ba
Sheykhlouvand M, Gharaat M. Optimal homeostatic stress to maximize the homogeneity of adaptations to interval interventions in soccer players. Frontiers in Physiology, 2024;15: 1377552. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2024.1377552
Rabbani A, Clemente FM, Kargarfard M, Jahangiri S. Combined Small‐Sided Game and High‐Intensity Interval Training in Soccer Players: The Effect of Exercise Order. Journal of Human Kinetics, 2019;69(1): 249–257. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2018-0092
Perween S, Hussain ME, Hejazi II, Siddiqui MYS, Saif A, Parveen A. Comparison of sprint training and high intensity interval training on oxidative stress and aerobic capacity in male soccer players. Comparative Exercise Physiology, 2020;16(5): 357–366. https://doi.org/10.3920/CEP190078
Arazi H, Keihaniyan A, EatemadyBoroujeni A, Oftade A, Takhsha S, Asadi A, et al. Effects of Heart Rate vs. Speed-Based High Intensity Interval Training on Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacity of Female Soccer Players. Sports, 2017;5(3): 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports5030057
Fang B, Kim Y, Choi M. Effect of Cycle-Based High-Intensity Interval Training and Moderate to Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training in Adolescent Soccer Players. Healthcare, 2021;9(12): 1628. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121628
Hermann R, Biallas B, Predel HG, Petrowski K. Physical versus psychosocial stress: effects on hormonal, autonomic, and psychological parameters in healthy young men. Stress, 2019;22(1): 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2018.1514384
Arslan E, Orer G, Clemente F. Running-based high-intensity interval training vs. small-sided game training programs: effects on the physical performance, psychophysiological responses and technical skills in young soccer players. Biology of Sport, 2020;37(2): 165–173. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2020.94237
Karahan M. Effect of skill-based training vs. small-sided games on physical performance improvement in young soccer players. Biology of Sport, 2020;37(3): 305–312. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2020.96319
Bujalance-Moreno P, Latorre-Román PÁ, García-Pinillos F. A systematic review on small-sided games in football players: Acute and chronic adaptations. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2019;37(8): 921–949. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1535821
Ouertatani Z, Selmi O, Marsigliante S, Aydi B, Hammami N, Muscella A. Comparison of the Physical, Physiological, and Psychological Responses of the High-Intensity Interval (HIIT) and Small-Sided Games (SSG) Training Programs in Young Elite Soccer Players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022;19(21): 13807. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113807
Ispirlidis I, Pantazis D, Poulios A, Avloniti A, Stampoulis T, Michailidis Y, et al. The Effect of Intraset Rest Periods on External and Internal Load During Small-Sided Games in Soccer. Sports, 2024;12(12): 331. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12120331
Castagna C, D’Ottavio S, Cappelli S, Araújo Póvoas SC. The Effects of Long Sprint Ability–Oriented Small-Sided Games Using Different Ratios of Players to Pitch Area on Internal and External Load in Soccer Players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2019;14(9): 1265–1272. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0645
Burnley M, Jones AM. Power–duration relationship: Physiology, fatigue, and the limits of human performance. European Journal of Sport Science, 2018;18(1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2016.1249524
Travers G, Kippelen P, Trangmar SJ, González-Alonso J. Physiological Function during Exercise and Environmental Stress in Humans—An Integrative View of Body Systems and Homeostasis. Cells, 2022;11(3): 383. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11030383
Jiménez-Reyes P, Pareja-Blanco F, Cuadrado-Peñafiel V, Ortega-Becerra M, Párraga J, González-Badillo JJ. Jump height loss as an indicator of fatigue during sprint training. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2019;37(9): 1029–1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1539445
Selmi O, Ouergui I, E Levitt D, Marzouki H, Knechtle B, Nikolaidis PT, et al. Training, psychometric status, biological markers and neuromuscular fatigue in soccer. Biology of Sport, 2022;39(2): 319–327. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2022.104065
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Trio Hisbi Muttahid Ahmad, I Dewa Made Aryananda Wijaya Kusuma, Bayu Agung Pramono, Mochammad Ilham Ramadhani, Waristra Tyo Nirwansyah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Holder - Author(s). more
Abstract views: 890 / PDF downloads: 521
