{
  "abstract": "Objectives: This study aimed to: (1) compare the absolute and relative external load during the warm-up of starting and substitute professional football players; (2) describe the subsequent running performance during the first 15 min of match play; and (3) quantify the within-player variability of the warm-up (WU) external load between roles. Methods: Sixteen professional male players (Swiss Second Division) were monitored using 10 Hz GPS units across 13 official matches (106 observations). Starters completed a standardized ~25 min on-field warm-up, while substitutes performed a cyclical sideline warm-up. Running performance was analysed during the first 15 min of play and across three consecutive 5 min intervals (0-5, 5-10, and 10-15 min) in the same players under both match-entry conditions: starters and substitutes. Results: Starters' warm-up showed significantly longer duration (p < 0.001; d = 3.5), greater total distance covered in both absolute and relative terms (p < 0.001, d = 6.6; p < 0.001, d = 5.1, respectively), and higher maximal speed (p < 0.001; d = 1.4) compared to substitutes. However, substitutes covered more distance between 19.8 and 25.2 km·h⁻¹ in either absolute and relative terms (p < 0.05, d = 1.3; p < 0.001, d = 3.6; respectively). No significant differences were found in external load during the overall 0-15 min match period between roles. Nevertheless, block-specific analysis revealed that substitutes performed significantly a greater number of decelerations (p < 0.05; d = 0.5), distance covered between 19.8 and 25.2 km·h⁻¹ (p < 0.05; d = 0.79) and sprinting during the initial 0-5 min period (p < 0.05; d = 1.24). Conclusions: Substitutes' warm-up exhibited substantially higher variability across almost all external load metrics compared with the warm-up completed by the starters, except for slightly higher or identical variability in the number of accelerations and decelerations.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Sport Sciences, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.",
    "Performance and Health Department, FC Lugano, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland.",
    "FSI Lab, Football Science Institute, 18016 Granada, Spain."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gabriele Bagattini",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-1939-2212"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Luis Suarez-Arrones",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5432-4786"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Manuele Ferrini",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8291-6618"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jose Asian-Clemente",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5540-5676"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8fcd2jxcjtcns.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/jfmk11040432",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13692504",
  "id": "8fcd2jxcjtcns",
  "issns": [
    "2411-5142"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924711",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2732|Sports Performance and Training"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222942133",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13692504?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13692504",
  "pmid": "42924711",
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8fcd2jxcjtcns.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42924711",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924711"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2732|Sports Performance and Training",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "External Load During Warm-Up and Early-Match Running Performance of Starting and Substitute Football Players: A Within-Player Comparison.",
  "title_text": "External Load During Warm-Up and Early-Match Running Performance of Starting and Substitute Football Players: A Within-Player Comparison.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8fcd2jxcjtcns",
  "venue": "Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology",
  "versions": []
}