Is it worth the effort? Understanding and contextualizing physical metrics in soccer

Despite the vast number of publications, most research has focused on assessing player performance based on isolated metrics such as distance covered, accelerations, or high-intensity runs (HI) (Bradley et al. 2013; Altmann et al. 2021; Ingebrigtsen et al. 2015). In addition, the tactical context tends to be widely simplified and often ignored. For sports scientists and soccer practitioners, the idea that the integration of tactical and qualitative information can be very beneficial to develop a much more in-depth analysis of physical demands does not go unnoticed. However, the lack of spatiotemporal data that allows analyzing individual effort within the collective context has been an enormous barrier for developing this integration between the physical and the tactical. Far on the horizon remains the old question: is it about running more or running better?