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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Center backs almost always play the entire game. I rarely see a center back subbed out. That was the case when my youngest played center back (and hated it) for 3 years.

Very few of the other positions play 100% of the game on my kids' teams.[/quote]

My son is a defensive midfielder and usually plays 100 percent of the game, but that may be because no one else is interested in doing it.  Seems like kids either want to be forwards or center backs.[/quote]

It is pretty common for a CDM to play the entire game.  They normally log the most miles during a game or close to it, so endurance is a big asset.[/quote]

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What Soccer Position Runs the Most?
Soccer players walk, jog, run and sprint in the course of the 90 minutes of a typical outdoor game. A player at the older youth or adult level may cover five miles per game. And an elite, energetic player such as Kyle Beckerman of Real Salt Lake can manage nearly 10 miles per game. Familiarity with the demands of soccer by position can help you figure out where your skills fit best.

Distance Leaders
Midfielders, who as the name suggests play behind the forwards and in front of the defenders, run the most in a soccer game. Their role is to link the defense and offense. This requires them to run back to make themselves available for passes out of the back, to dribble with the ball up the field and to dish the ball off to forwards or take a shot themselves if they can carry the ball into the penalty area. Thus if your fitness is exceptional, you may well find yourself playing in midfield.

Case Study
Players themselves on teams at the youth and amateur level are well aware that midfielders run the most in soccer. Plenty of scientific data backs up this observation as well. For example, tracking technology at the 2009 Major League Soccer Cup followed midfielder Beckerman. He occupied a defensive center midfielder position and roamed from side to side of the field as well as forward and back to stifle the offense. In the 120-minute game including overtime, Beckerman covered 9.5 miles. The opposing team, the LA Galaxy, featured David Beckham as a right midfielder. He ran an economical 3.3 miles, contributing more with astute passing and an assist than by covering ground.

Surveys
Motion analyses in English, Swedish, Danish and Brazilian soccer leagues have confirmed that midfielders cover the greatest distance. Goalkeepers cover the least distance, unsurprisingly, at about 2.5 miles. Central attacking and holding midfielders such as Beckerman cover the most distance, followed by wing midfielders and wing defenders like Beckham, then strikers and central defenders, notes exercise physiologist Donald Kirkendall in “Soccer Anatomy.” Thus midfielders need tremendous aerobic fitness, especially at the elite level, as measured by the VO2 max test of maximal oxygen uptake.

Sprint Leaders
If you look at the question a different way, while midfielders cover the greatest distance, strikers equal midfielders in time spent at a full sprint, notes pioneering soccer sports scientist Thomas Reilly. Next are center fullbacks, not a surprise since they must defend against the fastest strikers on the opposing team who get past the defense. Teams that emphasize the “direct to goal” style of play expect hard running by all players. And teams that follow the Dutch “total football” style, with all players able to play all positions, may also have a leveling effect on players, such that they show less difference in total amount of running by position, Reilly observes.[/quote]

Former midfielder.  Yes, long known midfielders cover the most ground.

It's no coincidence that I started running marathons after I finished playing college soccer.  My two boys are also center mids.  They have endurance for days.  They are fast, but not as fast as the wings-outside backs.  I was always better at middle distance than sprinting.  My brother that was a star "9", set records in sprints for our HS track team.[/quote]

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