Here are some important facts and tips about nutrition that soccer players need to be aware of in order to enhance performance. 

 1.      Depending on your position and the type of match you’re involved in, your average heart rate for 90 minutes can be as high as 80-90 percent of your maximum.

2.      The average distance you cover can be about 10km (6.2 miles), with an all out sprint every 90 seconds. The average calories burned will be in the 1600-1800 range, and most likely all of those calories burned will come from stored glycogen. The body makes that glycogen primarily from the carbohydrates you eat. 

3.      The glycogen you use during a match is stored mainly in muscle, and some in the liver. Typically, you will use all the glycogen stored by the end of a match. 

 4.      If you train properly and take in carbs optimally, you can influence your muscles to store more glycogen, therefore pushing the limits of when you’ll run low or run out of energy (hit the wall). 

5.      Muscle biopsy studies in soccer players have shown that less well trained athletes run out of muscle glycogen well before a typical match is over. Well-trained athletes, on the other hand will either run out very close to the end or not at all. Not only are you better off by training and eating in ways that induce your muscles to store more glycogen, if you take in readily usable crabs (sports drinks) just before a match and during halftime, your body will burn that material right away, thus putting off until later the burning of your muscle glycogen.

6.      Another major issue that dictates on field performance is hydration. More athletes run out of gas more frequently due to dehydration rather than low muscle glycogen. In other words, dehydration is the leading cause of deteriorating on- field performance.

7.      Under typical conditions, you can easily lose 2 liters of fluid, even if it’s hot. Dry, desert heat is especially treacherous because you don’t realize how much you are losing, it evaporates away so quickly. You lose water not only by sweating (which is a cooling mechanism), but also, unnoticed water vapors, with each breathe. Airplanes have very low humidity, and you lose lots of water during flights without realizing it. You should assume after a multi hour air flight you’re dehydrated and make special efforts to rehydrate. 

8.      If you want to accurately monitor how much water you actually lose in practice or a match, simply weigh yourself before and after. There’s an old saying, “a pint is a pound the world around,” so you are down a quart for every two pounds you lose.  

Carbohydrates are important in providing energy when exercising. They provide fuel. Simple carbohydrates have little to no food value. Simple carbs (sugars) provide a quick fix. Complex carbs are longer lasting and have more nutritional value. They are great sources of energy. They are excellent food for the recovery process.

Examples of Complex carbs.

Grains: bread, cereal, rise, pasta

Fruits: all

Vegetables: up to 80 percent are carbs.

Milk: Fifty percent is carbs, fifty percent protein. Milk also contains important mineral, calcium.   Calcium is responsible for muscle contraction and relaxation: also, fast twitch muscle productivity.

Examples of simple carbs: 

Fructose, lactose, sucrose and glucose – some fruits, juices, soft drinks and candy. 

Protein is the primary source from which muscle is made. It plays a role in cell growth and, therefore, is a factor in developing muscle. Protein should be somewhere between 15 and 20 percent of your daily calories. Sources of protein are: meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, milk (dairy), nuts, legumes, and whole grains.

Vitamins and minerals have specific functions in the body. Your body cannot make vitamins, and therefore, they need to be in your diet. Vitamins, although necessary, are not sources of energy (a,c,e,d, and b complex). Minerals regulate many processes in the body. Some of them play a part in the ability of your muscles to work for the periods of time. Examples of minerals are, calcium, potassium, iron chloride and sodium.

1.      Off the field and before any match, you need to be sure you are eating a good, balanced diet with enough carbs to replenish the glycogen that you repeatedly burn when you train and play matches.

2.      In general, 2/3 of what’s on your plate should be carbs. Of the carbs, 80 percent should be complex (grains, veggies, and fruits) and 20 percent should be simple (sugars). Approx. 500 grams of carbs per day would be a good target. Remember, this is a lot of carbs and assumes you’re training hard and burning up roughly that amount. Don’t ever forget that nutritional guidelines for elite athletes are different than for normal people.

3.      There is a window of time during which you body is especially efficient at replenishing the glycogen that you burn, within two hours of the exercise. If you ingest usable carbs during this time, they get converted quickly to glycogen and then go straight to your muscles. You can still replenish muscle glycogen hours later, but not as efficiently. Feeding your muscles during this two hour window becomes especially important when you are training hard, day in and day out and when you are in the midst of tournaments with matches every two or three days. What should u eat and or drink during the 2-hour window? Glucose containing drinks (like Gatorade, etc.) and complex crabs (bagels, cereal, crackers, power bars, etc.) How much? Basically, reasonable amounts and whatever you can tolerate. Something is better that nothing. You can’t take advantage of this two-hour window if you don’t have the material to eat or drink. So take it upon yourself to have your own stash of the appropriate food.

4.      The whole science behind glucose drinks (like Gatorade) is that the carbs they contain are absorbed very quickly and become usable virtually immediately as energy sources. There is no longer any debate about it. If you drink these drinks before a match and during halftime, you give your body’s energy resources a measurable boost. The more you take in, the more the boost.

5.      There is nothing magical about Gatorade. Basically 6-8 percent glucose solutions. For comparison, most sodas are about 11 percent glucose solutions. Typical orange juice is about 12. The sports drinks do have some added electrolytes aimed at replacing small amounts of them. But the real important stuff, especially from a soccer player’s standpoint, is the simple carbs (glucose, fructose, or sucrose) that they contain.

6.      Any carbs that you get makes you better off. If you just drink water, you’re working on the dehydration issue (that’s good) but you do nothing to boost your energy stores. You really need both water and glucose.

7.      You have to balance how much you can drink with how it makes you feel. Its counter productive to take in so much Gatorade (and or water) that you feel terrible. On the other hand, these materials are absorbed very quickly, and a full feeling for a few minutes should be gone rather quickly.

8.      Your body absorbs water a little more efficiently if there’s a little glucose to go along with it, so the water that Gatorade contains (major ingredient is water, not glucose) actually gets in a little better.

9.      In order to gain maximum edge, you should use practice and every match to assess your own experience with how much water and how much carb drink you can tolerate and still feel ok. Get a clear understanding on how your body reacts to different doses and under different conditions.

Do whatever you can to ensure that you always have adequate supplies of a) water, b) carb drinks c) complex carb snacks at training, matches, and in hotels afterwards.

Meal is designed to prevent you from experiencing hunger while playing, and should maximize your performance by providing the optimal amounts of energy stores in your body. Carbs are ideal in the pre game meal because they are digested quicker and absorbed faster into the bloodstream.

It’s ok to have small amounts of protein. Small portions of broiled chicken, for example, are fine. Large quantities of protein or foods high in fat may take longer to digest and therefore remain in the stomach during competition. If you eat too much fat or protein, or if you eat too close to the event, you may divert blood flow to your stomach and not to your muscles, possibly influencing your performance.

Sample Day of Game Meal Routine 

Game time: 4pm 

8:30-9am                 Breakfast options: cereals, milk, juices, fruit, bagels, toast, water 

12pm:                             Pre game meal options: Pasta with sauce on the side, chicken, fruit, peanut butter and jelly, maybe plain rice, rolls, a vegetable, milk, juices, water. 

4pm:                                 Game: All sport, Gatorade, water, power bars, dry cereal in locker room.

6pm:                                 Two-hour window begins. Snacks should be available after the game en route home – bagels, cereals, fruits, Gatorade, water.

7pm                                 Post game meal: Varies but always includes carb choices, some protein option (chicken), a vegetable, plenty to drink; water, juices, electrolyte drinks (all sport, PowerAde, Gatorade).