Pre‐season friendly match‐play as a double‐edged sword: Performance gains and inflammatory cost in semi‐professional soccer players (a natural experiment)
7 affiliations
- 1Section of Sport Medicine & Biology of Exercise School of Physical Education and Sports Science National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Daphni Greece
- 2School of Physical Education and Sports Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Serres Greece
- 3School of Physical Education & Sport Science National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Daphni Greece
- 4School of Physical Education and Sport Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki University Campus Thessaloniki Greece
- 5Department of Sports Organization and Management Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life Sciences University of the Peloponnese Sparta Greece
- 6Section of Sports Medicine Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation Umeå University Umeå Sweden
- 7Umeå School of Sport Sciences Umeå University Umeå Sweden
Abstract
Pre‐season training prepares soccer players for competition, but the longitudinal effects of friendly match exposure remain unclear. We investigated whether cumulative late pre‐season match‐play is associated with physiological adaptation in semi‐professional players. Twenty‐four male players from a randomly selected semi‐professional team competing at national level were assessed at pre‐season start, mid‐pre‐season and pre‐competition. Measurements included body composition, physical performance, aerobic fitness and blood markers reflecting muscle damage, inflammation, hormonal status and haematological adaptation. Based on cumulative playing time across eight friendly matches, as determined by coaching staff, players were classified retrospectively into extended play (EP) or limited play (LP) groups. Controlling for mid‐pre‐season baseline, the EP group showed significantly lower pre‐competition values for body mass (ηp2= 0.276), body fat (ηp2= 0.294) and 35 m sprint time (ηp2= 0.129) and higher values for lower‐limb power (dominant/non‐dominant; ηp2= 0.219–0.424), velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (ηp2= 0.441) and at second ventilatory threshold (ηp2= 0.708), serum glutamic–oxaloacetic transaminase (ηp2= 0.296), myoglobin (ηp2= 0.199), high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (ηp2= 0.920), interleukin‐6 (ηp2= 0.893), tumour necrosis factor‐α (ηp2= 0.937) and red blood cell count (ηp2= 0.190) (all P ≤ 0.038). Across all participants, total match‐play time was correlated significantly with reductions in body fat (r = −0.47) and increases in lower‐limb power (r = 0.44–0.67), second ventilatory threshold (r = 0.55) and inflammatory markers (r = 0.79–0.86) (all P ≤ 0.033). Greater friendly match‐play exposure during pre‐season was associated with favourable physiological adaptations and a more pronounced physiological and inflammatory response. These findings support friendly match‐play as a meaningful physiological stimulus and highlight the importance of balancing match exposure with recovery during pre‐season preparation.
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BibTeX
@article{bourdas2026preseason,
title = {{Pre‐season friendly match‐play as a double‐edged sword: Performance gains and inflammatory cost in semi‐professional soccer players (a natural experiment)}},
author = {Dimitrios I. Bourdas and Eleftherios Mylonis and Natalia Kompodieta and Panteleimon Bakirtzoglou and Athanasios Souglis and Evangelos Bekris and Antonios K. Travlos and Apostolos Theos},
journal = {Experimental Physiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1113/ep093797},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1113/ep093797},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pre‐season friendly match‐play as a double‐edged sword: Performance gains and inflammatory cost in semi‐professional soccer players (a natural experiment)
AU - Dimitrios I. Bourdas
AU - Eleftherios Mylonis
AU - Natalia Kompodieta
AU - Panteleimon Bakirtzoglou
AU - Athanasios Souglis
AU - Evangelos Bekris
AU - Antonios K. Travlos
AU - Apostolos Theos
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Experimental Physiology
DO - 10.1113/ep093797
UR - https://doi.org/10.1113/ep093797
AB - Pre‐season training prepares soccer players for competition, but the longitudinal effects of friendly match exposure remain unclear. We investigated whether cumulative late pre‐season match‐play is associated with physiological adaptation in semi‐professional players. Twenty‐four male players from a randomly selected semi‐professional team competing at national level were assessed at pre‐season start, mid‐pre‐season and pre‐competition. Measurements included body composition, physical performance, aerobic fitness and blood markers reflecting muscle damage, inflammation, hormonal status and haematological adaptation. Based on cumulative playing time across eight friendly matches, as determined by coaching staff, players were classified retrospectively into extended play (EP) or limited play (LP) groups. Controlling for mid‐pre‐season baseline, the EP group showed significantly lower pre‐competition values for body mass (ηp2= 0.276), body fat (ηp2= 0.294) and 35 m sprint time (ηp2= 0.129) and higher values for lower‐limb power (dominant/non‐dominant; ηp2= 0.219–0.424), velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (ηp2= 0.441) and at second ventilatory threshold (ηp2= 0.708), serum glutamic–oxaloacetic transaminase (ηp2= 0.296), myoglobin (ηp2= 0.199), high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (ηp2= 0.920), interleukin‐6 (ηp2= 0.893), tumour necrosis factor‐α (ηp2= 0.937) and red blood cell count (ηp2= 0.190) (all P ≤ 0.038). Across all participants, total match‐play time was correlated significantly with reductions in body fat (r = −0.47) and increases in lower‐limb power (r = 0.44–0.67), second ventilatory threshold (r = 0.55) and inflammatory markers (r = 0.79–0.86) (all P ≤ 0.033). Greater friendly match‐play exposure during pre‐season was associated with favourable physiological adaptations and a more pronounced physiological and inflammatory response. These findings support friendly match‐play as a meaningful physiological stimulus and highlight the importance of balancing match exposure with recovery during pre‐season preparation.
SN - 0958-0670
SN - 1469-445X
ER -