Home advantage in Greek football

Abstract

Home advantage as it relates to team performance at football was examined in Superleague Greece using nine seasons of game-by-game performance data, a total of 2160 matches. After adjusting for team ability and annual fluctuations in home advantage, there were significant differences between teams. Previous findings regarding the role of territorial protection were strengthened by the fact that home advantage was above average for the team from Xanthi (P =0.015), while lower for teams from the capital city Athens (P =0.008). There were differences between home and away teams in the incidence of most of the 13 within-game match variables, but associated effect sizes were only moderate. In contrast, outcome ratios derived from these variables, and measuring shot success, had negligible effect sizes. This supported a previous finding that home and away teams differed in the incidence of on-the-ball behaviours, but not in their outcomes. By far the most important predictor of home advantage, as measured by goal difference, was the difference between home and away teams in terms of kicked shots from inside the penalty area. Other types of shots had little effect on the final score. The absence of a running track between spectators and the playing field was also a significant predictor of goal difference, worth an average of 0.102 goals per game to the home team. Travel distance did not affect home advantage.     

The football brand dilemma

Brands symbolize our market-dominated, globalizing world. Football brands are particularly well suited for an economy of attention where branded goods are worth more because of their connection to abstract ideas. Football is media friendly, and, in its current incantations, corporate friendly. While football teams are bound to particular places such as Manchester or Madrid, they garner massive global TV audiences that dwarf the in-stadium crowd. The ambivalent relationship between a football team and a place is a hallmark of our times. Football teams are community goods – they require people to give them value and meaning, but what people and where? What happens when fans attempt to go from symbolic to real owners of a team? The mutiny of a group of Lazio fans serves as an illustration of the tension between the performance of fandom and the market logics of branding.     

对足球世界杯赛用球发展历史的回顾——探析足球蕴涵的文化和艺术

足球运动对足球赛事举办国文化的传播和诠释,成为一种让无数球迷为之折服的文化形式。通过对历届世界杯用球的历史回顾,探寻世界杯用球中蕴涵的文化和艺术,以及世界各举办国的文化内涵对足球设计的影响。     

中国足球制度改革之殇

回顾中国足球的改革历程,从"变"的态势和"不变"的脉络中,追寻中国足球制度改革过程中的路径选择。认为中国足球制度构建中价值理性与工具理性的失衡、"工具"与"玩具"本质的错位,是造成中国足球制度之殇的根本原因。未来的中国足球制度应该与中国经济发展模式相匹配,形成政府主导的举国体制培养青少年后备人才;市场主导的职业化发展职业足球联盟;公民自组织社团推广、普及足球运动等多种制度模式系统,协调发展、共同进步的格局。     

论足球运动员足球意识的培养

培养是球运动员的足球意识是提高足球运动竞技水平的关键,本文着重探讨了足球运动员足球意识的培养并对 技战术训练和意志品质的训练方法进行了讨论,提出切实可行的实施方案.     

The polygenic profile of Russian football players

Abstract

Research concerned with predictors of talent in football has highlighted a number of potentially important and partially inherited measures such as body size, anaerobic power, aerobic capacity, agility, psychological profile, game intelligence and susceptibility to injuries. Genotyping for performance-associated DNA polymorphisms at an early age could be useful in predicting later success in football. The aim of the study was to investigate individually and in combination the association of common gene polymorphisms with football player’s status. A total of 246 Russian football players and 872 controls were genotyped for 8 gene polymorphisms, which were previously reported to be associated with athlete status. Four alleles (ACE D, ACTN3 Arg577, PPARA rs4253778 C and UCP2 55Val) were first identified, showing discrete associations with football player’s status. Next, we determined the total genotype score (TGS, from the accumulated combination of the 4 polymorphisms, with a maximum value of 100 for the theoretically optimal polygenic score) in athletes and controls. The mean TGS was significantly higher in football players (52.0 (17.6) vs. 41.3 (15.5); P < 0.0001) than in controls. These data suggest that the likelihood of becoming a football player depends on the carriage of a high number of “favourable” gene variants.     

European football clubs and football betting among the youths in Nigeria

European football clubs are very popular social realities in Nigeria. Their existence and activities shape social relations, process and outcomes of well-being as well as socio-economic and policy orthodoxies. Unfortunately, social trajectories of well-being, economic ramifications and policies remain poorly understood in Nigeria. What some people are aware of is the popularity of the clubs and not the intensification of associated implications and policy remits in existential environments of their social spaces. This is particularly important as the domains of European football clubs’ presence in developing countries, especially Nigeria, are largely nascent and haphazard. Against this background, this article examined the phenomenon of football betting as an ancillary of European football clubs’ presence among the youths in Nigeria. This article makes important contribution to understanding of ways European football identities are interlinked to the increased popularity of betting syndicates especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research questions engaged include; what is the pattern involved in football betting among the youths? What are the factors facilitating football betting among the youths and What are the perceived developmental implications relative to well-being and social health in Nigeria? The Social Exchange theoretical tradition was adopted as theoretical framework. Data collection triangulated quantitative method (questionnaires) and qualitative methods. Relevant findings were made and valid conclusions were reached and presented in this article.     

球员租借在中国球员转会市场上的可行性研究

球员租借在欧洲兴起并得到很大发展，在2003年冬天欧洲的球员转会市场上，交换和租借性质的转会几乎统领了所有交易。由于现代足球在我国发展比较晚，各项体制和制度不尽完善，以租借形式的球员流动在中国转会市场上几乎凤毛麟角。分析球员租借的利弊，结合我国国情，初步探讨了在我国球员转会市场上实施球员租借的可行性。     

冰岛足球奇迹的成因及启示

运用文献资料法,从冰岛民族文化背景、足球制度、足球人才培养、群众体育基础层面分析冰岛足球成功的原因,结果显示:冰岛足球的崛起缘于北欧国家斯堪的纳维亚民族文化对足球文化风格的影响及塑造;以政府为主导的足球发展规划与管理;完备的足球人才培养体制与训练理念;殷实的群众体育及足球基础.建议我国足球发展要转变观念,注重足球文化的塑造,提升足球文化价值;普及社会足球,健全足球基础建设,完善管理制度;加强青少年足球人才体系建设和足球师资队伍建设;使校园足球回归育人本源,健全校园足球体系等.     

The Magnus effect and the American football

The aerodynamics of an American NFL football during an end over end kick were investigated utilizing a custom rotating apparatus and large-scale wind tunnel. Non-rotating lift and drag coefficients were measured and agree well with previous data from other athletic balls and a smooth sphere. The rotation effect on an American football increased both the lift and drag coefficients more dramatically than what has been seen with symmetrical objects over a wide range of rotational rates. The results from this study can be used to more accurately predict the flight trajectory of an end over end kick, and help optimize the balance between kick velocity and rotational speed for a given kicker’s leg strength.     

Ending traditions: football and the study of football in the 1990s

John Williams and Stephen Wagg (eds.), British Football and Social Change: Getting into Europe (Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1991). Pp.258. £13.99 (paper). ISBN 0–7185–1410–6.

Steve Redhead (ed.), The Passion and the Fashion: Football Fandom in the New Europe (Aldershot: Arena, 1993). Pp.205. £29.95 (cloth) and £12.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85628–462‐X; 1–85628–464–6.

Alex Fynn and Lynton Guest, Out of Time: Why Football isn't Working (London: Simon and Schuster Pocket Books, revised edition, 1994). Pp.xiii + 400. £5.99 (paper). ISBN 0–671–85087–3.

John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson (eds.), Hosts and Champions: Soccer Cultures, National Identities and the USA World Cup (Aldershot: Arena, 1994). Pp.323. £35.00 (cloth); £14.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85742–227–9; 1–85742–228–7.

Richard Giulianotti and John Williams (eds.), Game Without Frontiers: Football Identity and Modernity (Aldershot: Arena, 1994). Pp.381 £35.00 (cloth); £14.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85742–219–8, 1–85742–220–1.

Richard Haynes, The Football Imagination: The Rise of Football Fanzine Culture (Aldershot: Arena, 1995). Pp.xi + 169. £29.95 (cloth); £12.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85742–212–0; 1–85742–213–9     

Science and football: a review of applied research in the football codes

Over the last two decades there has been a growth in research directly related to football. Although most of this research is focused on soccer (association football), there has been a steady increase in publications related to the other football codes. There is evidence of more systematic training and selection influencing the anthropometric profiles of players who compete at the highest level. Fitness is being optimized to cope with match demands while accommodating the need for specific requirements of positional roles. There is evidence of work rate being higher in contemporary football games than in previous decades, with consequences for training and dietary practices. Notation analysis of actions during matches is now used regularly to provide detailed objective feedback on performance to players and coaches. Training regimens are designed for game-specific purposes where possible. Sports psychologists working in a football context have a more eclectic body of knowledge to draw from. In the professional soccer clubs, the rewards associated with a successful investment in youth academies have helped to focus attention on talent identification and development models. It is a challenge to those specializing in science and football to contribute to the success of such schemes.     

中西方职业足球俱乐部的比较研究

从中国职业足球俱乐部的性质、组织机构、管理体系、市场经营以及青少年球员的培养等方面,和西方足球发达国家的职业足球俱乐部进行比较研究,找出中国职业足球俱乐部和西方足球发达国家职业足球俱乐部的异同点,发现中国职业足球俱乐部的不足和存在的问题,吸取西方足球发达国家职业足球俱乐部运作的成功经验,借此来促进中国体育职业化的快速良性发展。     

The relative age effect in a professional football club setting

Abstract

The relative age effect is an uneven distribution of birth date favouring subjects born in the initial months of a selection year. This study compared the birth-date distributions between several subgroups of Basque football players to identify whether the relative age effect is influenced by age and/or skill level. The study comprised 13,519 players including 114 senior professionals from the Spanish league's AC Bilbao over 21 seasons; over the season 2005–2006, it comprised elite youth (n = 189) from the same club's academy; regional youth (n = 4382) U11–U14 locally federated players; school youth (n = 8834) U10–U11 locally registered school district players. Differences between the observed and expected birth-date distributions were tested based on data from the general Basque male population. Significant chi-square values were followed up by calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the quartile and half-year distributions to examine subgroup differences in the relative age effect. Birth-date distributions of all groups of players showed a significant bias towards early birth in the selection year compared with the reference population (senior, χ² ₃ = 24.4, P < 0.001; elite youth, χ² ₃ = 59.1, P < 0.001; regional youth, χ² ₃ = 41.4, P < 0.001; school youth, χ² ₃ = 40.9, P < 0.001). Between-group comparison revealed that the relative age effect incidence progressively increased with a higher level of involvement in youth football. This bias represents a significant loss of potential youth football talent.     

我国职业足球俱乐部信用危机与制度约束

市场经济是交换双方以信用作为守约条件,构成的相互信任的经济关系,没有信用就没有交换,没有信用就没有秩序.目前我国职业足球俱乐部出现的信用危机既有内在的原因,也有深层次的社会原因.根据新制度经济学的理论,化解俱乐部的信用危机应从产权约束、正式约束、非正式约束和实施机制四个方面着手.