Analysis of passing sequences,shots and goals in soccer

Early research into how goals were scored in association football (Reep and Benjamin, ) may have shaped the tactics of British football. Most coaches have been affected, to a greater or lesser extent, by the tactics referred to as the “long-ball game” or “direct play”, which was a tactic employed as a consequence of this research. Data from these studies, published in the late 1960s, have been reconfirmed by analyses of different FIFA World Cup tournaments by several different research groups. In the present study, the number of passes that led to goals scored in two FIFA World Cup finals were analysed. The results conform to that of previous research, but when these data were normalized with respect to the frequency of the respective lengths of passing sequences, there were more goals scored from longer passing sequences than from shorter passing sequences. Teams produced significantly more shots per possession for these longer passing sequences, but the strike ratio of goals from shots is better for “direct play” than for “possession play”. Finally, an analysis of the shooting data for successful and unsuccessful teams for different lengths of passing sequences in the 1990 FIFA World Cup finals indicated that, for successful teams, longer passing sequences produced more goals per possession than shorter passing sequences. For unsuccessful teams, neither tactic had a clear advantage. It was further concluded that the original work of Reep and Benjamin (), although a key landmark in football analysis, led only to a partial understanding of the phenomenon that was investigated.     

Reliability and validity of two tests of soccer skill

Abstract

Twenty-four players from the 1st/2nd (elite) and 24 players from the 3rd/4th (non-elite) university football teams were recruited to evaluate the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT) and Loughborough Soccer Shooting Test (LSST) as tools to assess soccer skill. The LSPT requires players to complete 16 passes as quickly as possible. The LSST requires players to pass, control, and shoot the ball to targets on a full-sized goal. Participants completed two main trials each separated by at least one day. During both trials, the participants were given practice efforts before recording the mean of the next two (LSPT) or 10 (LSST) attempts as the performance score. For the LSPT, the mean time taken, added penalty time, and overall performance time were less in the elite players (elite: 43.6 s, s = 3.8; non-elite: 52.5 s, s = 7.4; P = 0.0001). For the LSST, there was no difference in the mean points scored per shot between groups (elite: 1.34, s = 0.46; non-elite: 1.28, s = 0.53). However, the elite players had higher mean shot speed (elite: 80 km · h^?1, s = 4.5; non-elite: 74 km · h^?1, s = 4.2; P < 0.0001) and performed each shot sequence faster (elite: 7.87 s, s = 0.29; non-elite: 8.07 s, s = 0.35; P = 0.037) than the non-elite players. Performance on both tests was more repeatable in elite players. In conclusion, the LSPT and LSST are valid and reliable protocols to assess differences in soccer skill performance.     

对欧洲足球技战术发展趋势的思考

结合欧洲足球技战术的发展特点,就鲁能泰山足球队的体能训练、技术训练、防守阵型、进攻方式、定位球、职业态度、球星培养等诸方面所存在的不足进行了分析,提出相应的改进意见。     

Multivariate analyses of individual variation in soccer skill as a tool for talent identification and development: utilising evolutionary theory in sports science

The development of a comprehensive protocol for quantifying soccer-specific skill could markedly improve both talent identification and development. Surprisingly, most protocols for talent identification in soccer still focus on the more generic athletic attributes of team sports, such as speed, strength, agility and endurance, rather than on a player’s technical skills. We used a multivariate methodology borrowed from evolutionary analyses of adaptation to develop our quantitative assessment of individual soccer-specific skill. We tested the performance of 40 individual academy-level players in eight different soccer-specific tasks across an age range of 13–18 years old. We first quantified the repeatability of each skill performance then explored the effects of age on soccer-specific skill, correlations between each of the pairs of skill tasks independent of age, and finally developed an individual metric of overall skill performance that could be easily used by coaches. All of our measured traits were highly repeatable when assessed over a short period and we found that an individual’s overall skill – as well as their performance in their best task – was strongly positively correlated with age. Most importantly, our study established a simple but comprehensive methodology for assessing skill performance in soccer players, thus allowing coaches to rapidly assess the relative abilities of their players, identify promising youths and work on eliminating skill deficits in players.     

Informational constraints on the emergence of passing direction in the team sport of futsal

Abstract

This study investigated compound spatial and temporal measures of interpersonal interactions purported to constrain the emergence of affordances for passing direction in the team sport of futsal. For this purpose, attacker–defender interactions in 37 sequences of play from a futsal competition in which 24 male professional players participated (M=30.04 years, SD=4.10) were filmed and analysed using TACTO software. Relative angle data were used as measures to study coordination tendencies that emerged between players during performance. Results showed that the direction for a pass emerged from relative angles between: (1) the vector from a ball carrier to ball receiver and the vector from the ball carrier to the nearest defender (70°) (p<0.01) and (2) the vector from a ball carrier to ball receiver and the vector from the ball carrier to a ball receiver's nearest defender (31°) (p < 0.01). Furthermore, passing direction was also constrained by temporal information from the emergence of both angles, since the pass was performed to attacker–defender dyads with the highest velocities of these angles (p < 0.05). Results suggested that decisions on selecting the direction of a pass in the team sport of futsal emerged at critical values of these key compound motion measures.     

Anthropometric assessment of Premiership soccer players in relation to playing position

Abstract

A squad of Premiership soccer players (n=24) provided informed consent to participate in this study. Using ISAK (International Society of Advancement of Kinanthropometry) accredited methods, a total of 39 measurements (sectioned as: skinfolds, girths, lengths, and breadths) were made for each player. The procedure involved three measures at each site to calculate a mean value and an acceptable technical error margin. All data collection was performed by an ISAK level 3 accredited anthropometrist. The data analysis consisted of demographic and anthropometric data, including fractionation of body mass and estimated body fat from sum of skinfolds. Scaling of the raw data was done by using the phantom strategem to obtain calculated data for inter-player comparison. Mean calculated scores for playing position were obtained. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no differences between positions (F _15,41.810=0.783, P=0.688). Previous studies have reported heterogeneity between playing positions. However, in this study, stature and body mass were not different between strikers, midfielders, defenders, and goalkeepers. Research has suggested that a soccer player's anthropometric dimensions can be a major determinant for success within a playing position. In this study, within-position variation was quite large in some cases, which could indicate that a team that does not have the opportunity to hand-pick players, based on anthropometric characteristics, may be at a disadvantage.