Background: The increasing compression of the pre-season period due to congested calendars may induce significant neuromuscular fatigue, potentially compromising player readiness for competition. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the variation in neuromuscular performance in elite professional Brazilian male soccer players throughout the pre-season and at the end of the first competition of the year. Methods: Thirteen outfield soccer players (3 defenders, 5 midfielders and 5 forwards) from a single Brazilian first-division team were included in the study. Neuromuscular performance was evaluated using a comprehensive set of countermovement jump (CMJ) variables and isometric hip adduction/abduction strength at three time points: the start of the pre-season (T1), the end of the pre-season (T2), and following the end of first competition of the season (T3). Results: In T2, CMJ values significantly decreased compared to T1 for jump height, RSI modified, take-off peak force, peak power, and concentric peak velocity (p < 0.05). In T3, peak power and concentric peak velocity remained reduced, while eccentric duration increased compared to T1 (p < 0.05). Regarding hip strength, no significant changes were observed for adduction or abduction peak forces across the assessed time points (p > 0.05), indicating a maintenance of isometric strength levels. Conclusion: The findings indicate that an intensive and short pre-season induced a state of neuromuscular fatigue in elite soccer players, and the subsequent competitive period resulted in an incomplete recovery for most of the CMJ neuromuscular variables.
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