New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period
Although the effect of coach turnover is often discussed within the football community, there is a very limited body of knowledge on this topic. This study aimed to explore which coaching turnovers are associated with changes in injury incidence in an elite professional football club. A longitudinal...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5226 |
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| author | Ante Bandalovic Šime Veršić Jaksa Skomrlj Toni Modric Arian Skoki Lejla Obradovic Salcin Ante Turic Boris Becir Bruno Lukšić |
| author_facet | Ante Bandalovic Šime Veršić Jaksa Skomrlj Toni Modric Arian Skoki Lejla Obradovic Salcin Ante Turic Boris Becir Bruno Lukšić |
| author_sort | Ante Bandalovic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although the effect of coach turnover is often discussed within the football community, there is a very limited body of knowledge on this topic. This study aimed to explore which coaching turnovers are associated with changes in injury incidence in an elite professional football club. A longitudinal study observed injury occurrence across the eight-season period, with the team experiencing 16 coaching changes, averaging 2 per season. All injuries were continuously monitored regularly recorded and saved in the club’s database. They were analyzed over three-time frames: for each season, 2 weeks after the coach was sacked, and also for 4 weeks after the coaching change. A paired sample t-test was used separately for the overall injuries and specifically for muscle injuries in the observed time frames. Overall injuries had an increase of 27.7% and 35.4% in the two and four weeks after coaching turnovers, respectively, while for muscle injuries, these rates were lower and amounted to 5.5% and 8.1%. There were no statistically significant changes, but a medium effect size was reported when comparing overall injuries in 4 weeks and the season in general. Muscle injuries appear to be less negatively affected by coaching changes. Club coaching and medical staff should be especially careful in controlling the training load and recovery techniques in the transition periods while also maintaining the club’s preventive methodology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-25f22e39c27d46c094a6a5d8fc8ff241 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-25f22e39c27d46c094a6a5d8fc8ff2412025-08-20T03:14:38ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-011510522610.3390/app15105226New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season PeriodAnte Bandalovic0Šime Veršić1Jaksa Skomrlj2Toni Modric3Arian Skoki4Lejla Obradovic Salcin5Ante Turic6Boris Becir7Bruno Lukšić8Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Split, Surgery Clinic, 21000 Split, CroatiaFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21000 Split, CroatiaDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Split, Surgery Clinic, 21000 Split, CroatiaFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, 21000 Split, CroatiaDepartment of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, 51000 Rijeka, CroatiaClinic for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Hospital Mostar, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and HerzegovinaDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Split, Surgery Clinic, 21000 Split, CroatiaDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Split, Surgery Clinic, 21000 Split, CroatiaDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Split, Surgery Clinic, 21000 Split, CroatiaAlthough the effect of coach turnover is often discussed within the football community, there is a very limited body of knowledge on this topic. This study aimed to explore which coaching turnovers are associated with changes in injury incidence in an elite professional football club. A longitudinal study observed injury occurrence across the eight-season period, with the team experiencing 16 coaching changes, averaging 2 per season. All injuries were continuously monitored regularly recorded and saved in the club’s database. They were analyzed over three-time frames: for each season, 2 weeks after the coach was sacked, and also for 4 weeks after the coaching change. A paired sample t-test was used separately for the overall injuries and specifically for muscle injuries in the observed time frames. Overall injuries had an increase of 27.7% and 35.4% in the two and four weeks after coaching turnovers, respectively, while for muscle injuries, these rates were lower and amounted to 5.5% and 8.1%. There were no statistically significant changes, but a medium effect size was reported when comparing overall injuries in 4 weeks and the season in general. Muscle injuries appear to be less negatively affected by coaching changes. Club coaching and medical staff should be especially careful in controlling the training load and recovery techniques in the transition periods while also maintaining the club’s preventive methodology.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5226coaching changesinjury incidencemuscle injuriesorganizational instabilityelite football |
| spellingShingle | Ante Bandalovic Šime Veršić Jaksa Skomrlj Toni Modric Arian Skoki Lejla Obradovic Salcin Ante Turic Boris Becir Bruno Lukšić New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period Applied Sciences coaching changes injury incidence muscle injuries organizational instability elite football |
| title | New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period |
| title_full | New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period |
| title_fullStr | New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period |
| title_short | New Coach, New Risks? Injury Trends in Elite Football After Coaching Changes During an Eight-Season Period |
| title_sort | new coach new risks injury trends in elite football after coaching changes during an eight season period |
| topic | coaching changes injury incidence muscle injuries organizational instability elite football |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5226 |
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