Sports Performance

A new way of studying, approaching and managing the sport

Main
challenges

NON-INVASIVE MONITORING SYSTEMS

Improvement and development of non-invasive monitoring systems for mechanical exercise (external load) and the physiological response (internal load).

ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT

Analysis and assessment of new relationships between external and internal load markers.

PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION AND INJURY PREVENTION

Development of new solutions, tests, and plans to optimize performance and prevent muscle and tendon injuries.

MONITORIZACIÓN AUTOMÁTICAAUTOMATIC MONITORING

Automatic and non-invasive athlete monitoring in the gym using computer vision systems.

NEW INDICATORS OF FATIGUE

Development and monitoring of new indicators of fatigue.

NEW WAYS OF TRAINING

Exploration, development and implementation of new ways of training, from blood flow restriction to hypoxic training

Sports Performance

OUR PERFORMANCE AREA SEEKS TO IMPROVE ATHLETES’ PHYSICAL PREPARATION THROUGH A SYSTEMIC AND INTEGRATIVE APPROACH.

A distinctive way of understanding the game naturally brings with it a distinctive way of approaching and managing training loads.


Based on structured training methodology, developed under the wing of FC Barcelona over years, the performance area has the fundamental goal of improving our athletes’ physical preparation through a systemic and integrative approach.


Theories of complex dynamic systems have arisen as a new way of seeing the game and sport, fostering an understanding of the hierarchical organization of living systems and the dynamic interaction which leads them to self-regulate.

RELATED NOTES

THE ADVANTAGE OF PLAYING AT HOME

The advantage of playing at home in football is a widely studied and recognised phenomenon.

PRE-SEASON DESIGN: THE INFLUENCE OF INITIAL RESULTS ON A TEAM’S FINAL RANKING

One of the first decisions a club’s coaching staff must take is the design of pre-season training.

PRE-SEASON. GETTING READY TO SHAPE THE PHYSICAL FITNESS OF PLAYERS

The objective of the pre-season is to seek the best individual and collective physical fitness of the team before beginning the competition.

SMALL-SIDED GAMES IN FOOTBALL. ARE ADAPTATIONS THE SAME FOR PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS AND AMATEURS?

Small-sided games (SSG) are very common training tasks for any team.

APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES OF JOHAN CRUYFF TO DATA SCIENCE

With such an ambitious goal, the Barça Innovation Hub has presented its research at this year’s world-renowned MIT Sloan Sports Analytics international conference.

EVALUATION OF THE INTERNAL LOAD IN FOOTBALL: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

The development of elite sports has meant that players are constantly exposed to higher training loads, busier competition schedules and shorter rest periods.

NORDIC HAM CURLS DO NOT IMPROVE SPRINTING PERFORMANCE

The hamstring muscle is very important in sports such as football. Not only because this muscle is key to sprinting, but also because hamstring muscle injuries are the most frequent kind of injuries.

MAXIMUM DEMAND SCENARIOS IN POSITIONAL PLAY: ARE THEY EQUALLY REPLICATED ACROSS ALL POSITIONS?

Players’ conditional response during competition, for example, distance covered at a run, has traditionally been described using the average value covered during a half or full game.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE PERCEIVED EXERTION RATING ON FOOTBALL TRAINING AND COMPETITION.

Monitoring training load is one of the fundamental tools for optimising the performance of both elite athletes in general and football players in particular.

ENTROPY, A NEW MEASUREMENT IN STRENGTH TRAINING

The ability to sprint is essential in the majority of team sports, including rugby, soccer, and basketball. But this ability is not developed in stable and controlled conditions: players are constantly subjected to variable demands, whether receiving, carrying, passing, hitting, or throwing the ball.

ARE SMALL-SIDED GAMES THE SOLUTION TO ALL OUR PROBLEMS?

One of today’s most attention-grabbing topics among sports researchers, coaches and managers have to do with the study of maximal demand scenarios, also known as “worst case scenarios”.

PLAYER ORIENTATION, A KEY ASPECT OF PREDICTIVE MODELS IN FOOTBALL

In the OptaPro Forum this week, Carlos Rodríguez will be presenting a study currently being carried out by the club on the body orientation of players in different game situations. We sat down for a chat with him so that he could give us a brief explanation of the project.

WHICH VARIABLES DO WE TRAINERS LOOK AT TO HELP US MAKE DECISIONS?

Of all the variables provided by the systems that monitor and record our players’ activity, what is the most relevant information? This is a question that all coaches will probably face when they begin managing the large volumes of data generated in every training session.

FC BARCELONA: HOW OUR NEW RESEARCH HELPED UNLOCK THE ‘BARÇA WAY’

For the first time, our new research may provide some insight into the training methodology and, potentially, the secrets of the club’s success. These “secrets” could be closely associated with the theories put forward by coach Paco Seirul·lo and how they link with cutting edge sports science.

DO FOOTBALL PLAYER’S MENTAL ABILITIES INFLUENCE THE RISK OF INJURY?

Mental abilities, although not yet fully appreciated, are already considered a relevant part of performance. But their importance could go beyond that: Do they also influence the injury risk, including recurrence, once the player returns to play?

NEW DATA ON PHYSICAL DEMANDS IN BASKETBALL PLAYERS

A basketball player performs approximately one thousand actions on average during a game, and at least one out of every ten requires high intensity. The detailed analysis of these physical demands allows for optimized training, improved performance and decreased injury risk.

INJURY TYPE IN HANDBALL MAY VARY BY POSITION, CATEGORY AND MATURATION OF PLAYERS

Although several studies have tried to evaluate the characteristics of the risk of injury in handball players, they have been unable to reach sufficiently reliable conclusions. A new study of all the FC Barcelona handball categories has attempted to shed more light on the subject.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP AN “UNBREAKABLE” ATHLETE?

If the knowledge around the benefits of training load is increasing, is it possible for performance and medical staff to one day develop an “unbreakable” athlete? In a recent British Journal of Sports Medicine paper, researchers and practitioners joined forces to address this question.

HOW PHYSICAL DEMANDS ON FOOTBALL PLAYERS VARY BY THEIR POSITION

Although there are several studies on this topic, many of them have analyzed these demands by looking at just a few variables or using very broad timeframes. A new study completed by physical trainers from F.C. Barcelona has analyzed several of these details more closely.

THE GREAT UNKNOWN OF MUSCLE INJURIES: CONNECTIVE TISSUE IN THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX

An article published in The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine —in which members of the club’s medical services participated— now suggests to consider the detailed structure of the area affected, and treating the extracellular matrix as an essential player in the prognosis of the injury.

HAMSTRING AND OTHER MUSCLE INJURIES IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG ATHLETES

This is a groundbreaking study that addresses hamstring injuries in children and youth. The results indicate that the risk is lower than it is in adults, though no less significant, and that it increases progressively with age.

WHAT IS LOAD MANAGEMENT REALLY ABOUT?

In this article, Tim Gabbett and his team provide a user-friendly guide for practitioners when describing the general purpose of load management to coaches.

TWO WEEKS ARE ENOUGH TO INCREASE MUSCLE VOLUME AND STRENGTH

For the first time, it has been demonstrated that it does not take months of training to significantly improve both muscle volume and strength; instead, two weeks of an appropriate exercise are enough.

RECOVERY NUTRITION FOR FOOTBALL: BUILDING A TEAM

ECCENTRIC EXERCISES: STUDYING “VACCINES” FOR MUSCLES

Training using eccentric exercises is important to prevent possible damage. However, intensive training can also cause muscle damage, so it is critical to be vigilant in order to keep injury risk to an absolute minimum.

AN OBJECTIVE CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE INJURIES

An objective and appropriate classification would improve the accuracy of prognosis, allow treatment to be adjusted and reduce the risk of re-injury.

STUDY OF HIGH INTENSITY ACCELERATIONS AND DECELERATIONS IN SOCCER

A new dimension of analysis suggests that maximum accelerations occur with a frequency 8x greater than sprint actions.

THE LEVEL OF RESISTANCE AS A MODERATOR OF THE TRAINING LOAD

Cardiovascular endurance manifests as a moderator of the load result to which the athlete is exposed.

PRE-SEASON TRAINING LOAD AND INJURY RISK

The pre-season or preparatory phase of the season is a time when major “errors” in training load management are often committed.

Are the players well positioned in relation to the ball?

Through the use of computer vision we can identify some shortcomings in the body orientation of players in different game situations.

Diagnostic Imaging in Sports Medicine: Present and Future

Muscle injuries account for more than 30% of all injuries in sports like soccer. Their significance is therefore enormous in terms of training sessions and lost game time.

RELATED PROGRAMS