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1. Introduction
In elite soccer, the number of competitive matches per season, including domestic, continental and international matches, is very high. During the 2009-10 season ending with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in South Africa, several Spanish players played up to 70 competitive matches. Participation in a single match leads to acute fatigue characterized by a decline in physical performance over the following hours and days.[1,2] Several studies have reported that more than 72 hours are required to achieve pre-match values for physical performance, as well as normalizing muscle damage and inflammation among elite,[1,2] first- and second-division players.[3-5] During periods where the schedule is particularly congested (i.e. two matches per week over several weeks), the recovery time allowed between two successive matches lasts 3-4 days, which may be insufficient to restore normal homeostasis within players. As a result, players may experience acute and chronic fatigue potentially leading to underperformance and/or injury. Ekstrand et al.[6] showed that players who 'underperformed' at the 2002 FIFA World Cup had played a mean of 12.5 matches during the 10 weeks before the event. In comparison, those who performed above expectations had only played nine matches over the same period. In addition, Dupont et al.[7] reported a 6.2-fold higher injury rate in players who played two matches per week compared with those who played only one match per week. During congested schedules, recovery strategies are commonly used in an attempt to regain performance faster and reduce the risk of injury.
A soccer match leads to a physical performance decrement associated with the disturbance of psychophysiological parameters that progressively return to initial values during the recovery process. This article is Part I of a subsequent companion review and deals with (i) post-match fatigue mechanisms; and (ii) recovery kinetics of physical performance, subjective and biochemical markers. The companion review will analyse recovery strategies used by professional soccer teams. This review is justified, given the requirements to recover quickly in order to play mid-week matches or to train hard quicker. It aims to present a pertinent synthesis of research on the fatigue accumulated in elite players following a soccer match and the subsequent recovery process, including the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the time course of recovery....