help needed: want to get fit for football

[shadowfox]

Can someone point me in the right direction on how to get really fit for the new football season (soccer for americans). I'am a very good footballer but one of the problems last season was lack of fitness (illness and injuries and a sedentary lifestyle) and thus I could only play one half of a match a game and rarely two and this was in defence rather than my preferred position in central defensive midfield.

I have 6 weeks to really prepare for the new season and I'am really fired up. All I need is the ability to run pretty hard for 120 minutes (games are 60 minutes in length but sometimes we have 2 matches 1 after the other: it's a university 5 a side league thing.)

At the moment I'am running 3 miles for about 24 mins. I can do it in about 20 mins If I really put myself out. This may not seem very good but much of the running is in countryside so you have to dodge holes in the path, uneven terrain and all that. I do this 6x a week. Obviously though this is not enough If I want to get supremely fit for the new football season.

Any tips and thanks in advance!!!?

 

[Bible_Belt]

As you run, combine in intervals of sprints. If you have to play for two hours, go on a very long, very slow jog...and combine a number of sprints into the jog to resemble your typical dual-game day. Sprint until your lungs burn, recover as you jog, and then do it again.

 

[Violent V]

I play semi-pro, and a lot of 5-a-side too.

This website is amazing:

http://www.netfit.co.uk/football-program-webwen.htm

V