Nutrition for Top Performance in Soccer

Nutrition plays a crucial role in the match performance and recovery of the athlete. To apply the principles of sports nutrition in soccer, this book provides nutrition basics as well as insight into the physiological demands of the game itself by looking into what elite players eat and drink. Appropriate food choices and timing are also important for a player to perform hard, avoid illness, and recuperate from injury. This book uses the UEFA 2020 Expert Group Consensus Review on Nutrition in Elite Football to give evidence-based guidelines for optimizing soccer performance through appropriate nutrition and the latest comprehensive information on nutrition guidelines for professional players—also relevant to the amateur player. Included are the specific needs of female players and match officials and relevant issues such as eating during travel and food hygiene. Finally, the book provides some sample meal plans for training, match, and recovery days, including recipes by two top performance chefs who regularly prepare meals for elite players. The science behind sports nutrition is evolving fast. Knowing what the top professional players are eating and drinking can help amateur players improve their own performance, recovery, and health.