Game Management: Considerations for the Goalkeeper, Substitutes, and Extra-Time

The recent increase in monitoring tools used to improve player management has led to new observations in previously ignored areas of the game of soccer, including, but not limited to, the playing populations of goalkeepers and substitutes and the responses to the extra-time period. Goalkeepers have unique physical demands during a soccer game and recent research quantifying these demands points to the need for individualized training plans for this playing population. Whilst many athlete management systems monitor the entire team and plan training and game management strategies for this group as a whole, the practices of substitutes differ from starting players on match-day and thus strategies to optimize the performance of these individuals throughout an entire season are warranted. In addition to considering these subsets of a soccer team, responses to extra-time also merit discussion as the majority of teams will experience the additional load of prolonged match-play on at least one occasion throughout a single competitive season. Coaches, sports scientists, and medical professionals can utilize the most up-to-date research related to these distinctive sub-groups to ensure players experience peak game performance.