## 4 Discussion
This suggests that players from lower-ranked teams experience greater cardiovascular strain during matches, possibly due to inferior conditioning [8]. When comparing our cardiac parameter values, it was observed that the average HRmax values for both groups of our football players align with findings from other studies, with 191.3 bpm in Croatia (2019-2020 season) [54], 192.9 bpm in Belgium (2017-2019 seasons) [38], and 193 bpm in Greece (2019-2020 season) [55]. The average heart rate at the anaerobic threshold (HR AT) for both teams was 162.79 bpm for the stronger team and 168.77 bpm for the weaker team. The HR AT values of the weaker team correspond to the 169 bpm reported for Greek players (2019-2020 season) [55] but are lower than those observed in Belgian (178.2 bpm) (2017-2019 seasons) [38] and Croatian footballers (182.96 bpm) (2019-2020 season) [54]. These differences in HR AT values may be attributed to variations in methodology across studies. Our resting heart rate (HR 1\({}^{\prime}\)) values were similar for both teams and slightly lower compared to Champions League football players (91% of HRmax) (2003-04 season) [56] and Scottish players (90% of HRmax) (2009-10 season) [57]. The other resting heart rate parameter (HR 2\({}^{\prime}\)) cannot be compared with recent studies, as no research has investigated this parameter to date. The VO2 max is considered the best single parameter for evaluating endurance performance and depends on age, height, weight, and gender, as well as the type of exercise (bicycle or treadmill). The main criterion for reaching VO2 max is that the intake of oxygen is below the required performance, the formation of a plateau (\"leveling off\") [20]. The determination of VO2 max is reflected by reaching a plateau in VO2 peak by maintaining oxygen consumption at the end stages of an incremental test under optimal exercise conditions [58; 59], while stopping the test when reaching the plateau is considered the current limit of oxygen consumption, but not the maximal [60]. Numerous studies have emphasized the predictive value of an exercise treadmill test aspect, such as heart rate recovery or the base of a decrease in heart rate after a training test [61; 62; 63], heart rate at 1 or 2 min of recovery [63; 64], determining the physiological load [65]. However, exercise testing should be completed within 12-15 min to avoid early muscle exhaustion [66]. The average VO2 max values are 60.06 mL/kg/min and 62.65 mL/kg/min, which align with the recommendations of authors [13; 67], who suggest that VO2 max for elite football players should exceed 60 mL/kg/min to meet the demands of modern football. Our VO2 max values are comparable to those of professional players in other countries, such as England (61.6 mL/kg/min) (1998-1999 season) [39], the United Kingdom (59.4 mL/kg/min) (2001-2004 seasons) [68], the Czech Republic (59.2 mL/kg/min) (2000-2001 seasons) [69], and Greece (58.8 mL/kg/min) (2019-2020 seasons) [55]. It was reported that low-ranked teams had lower VO2 max than the top-ranked teams [4; 52]. The significance of VO2 max in football is evident from its association with team success in the Hungarian 1 st Division Championship. Studies have shown that the top-ranked teams in the league also had the highest average VO2 max values among their players, suggesting a clear link between aerobic fitness and competitive performance [52]. Another study found that the top-ranked club had a higher mean measured VO2 max than another low-ranked club [70]. Significant differences in VO2 max between the top team and the lowest-placed team in the Norwegian Professional Division have been reported. Observations have shown that players from a top-tier Norwegian international team exhibited significantly higher VO2 max levels compared to those from a lower-ranked team within the same league (67.6 mL/kg/min vs. 59.9 mL/kg/min) [4]. Previous research has pointed to a positive relationship between VO2 max and the rank position of the team in the elite football league.