A review article by Nédélec showed result of 32 practitioners in charge of recovery strategies in french professional soccer teams were questioned on the strategies they implemented; by found that nutrition and hydration were considered as very effective recovery strategies by 97% of the practitioners more than sleep, cold water immersion and contrast water therapy, active recovery, massage, stretching, compression garments, and electrical stimulation.
Furthermore, much evidences prove that adequate nutrition intake in appropriate proportion of carbohydrate, protein, fat, fluid, vitamin, and mineral can reduce post-match fatigue and injury, replenish glycogen, rehydration, and optimize muscle-damage repair. So scientific studies have shown that players who eat a good diet, in relation to quantity (number of calories) and quality (composition of the key nutrients, carbohydrate, fat and protein) can run longer, sprint more, keep their concentration longer, are more successful with passing/crossing accuracy, and are less likely to get injured