The present study aimed to examine the independent and interactive effects of match location, match status, and quality of opposition on regaining possession, analysed by the type and zone of ball recovery, in matches played in the 2011–2012 UEFA Champions League. Twenty-eight matches of the knockout phase were evaluated post-event using a computerized notational analysis system. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the effects of the previously mentioned situational variables on ball recovery type and zone. Match status and quality of opposition main effects were observed for both dependent variables, while main effects of match location were only evident for ball recovery zone. Additionally, the interactions Match location * Quality of opposition and Match status * Quality of opposition were significant for both type and zone of ball recovery. Better teams employed more proactive defensive strategies, since, even when winning, they tried to sustain their defensive success on actions that aimed to gain the ball from the opponents. Results emphasized the tendency for home and losing teams to defend in more advanced pitch zones. Better-ranked teams were also more effective than worse-ranked teams in applying defensive pressure in more advanced pitch positions. The findings of the study suggest that the defensive strategies used by better teams imply more intense and organized collective processes in order to recover the ball directly from the opposing team. Furthermore, defending away from own goal and near the opponent’s one seems to be associated with success in elite soccer.

The present study aimed to analyze the interaction and main effects of deliberate practice experience and small-sided game format (3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 plus goalkeepers) on the offensive performance of young soccer players. Twenty-eight U-15 male players were divided into 2 groups according to their deliberate practice experience in soccer (i.e., years of experience in federation soccer): Non-Experienced (age: 12.84 ± 0.63 years) and Experienced (age: 12.91 ± 0.59 years; experience: 3.93 ± 1.00 years). The experimental protocol consisted of 3 independent sessions separated by one-week intervals. In each session both groups performed each small-sided game during 10 minutes interspersed with 5 minutes of passive recovery. To characterize the recorded offensive sequences we used the Offensive Sequences Characterization System, which includes performance indicators previous applied in other studies. No interaction effects on the offensive performance were found between both factors. Non-parametric MANOVA revealed that the factor “experience level” had a significant effect (p<0.05) on performance indicators that characterize the development of offensive sequences, especially in 6 vs. 6 + GKs. While experienced players produced longer offensive sequences with greater ball circulation between them, the non-experienced participants performed faster offensive sequences with a predominance of individual actions. Furthermore, significant differences were observed (p<0.05) in the development and finalization of offensive sequences within each group, when comparing small-sided game formats. Evidence supports that small-sided games can serve several purposes as specific means of training. However, the manipulation of game format should always consider the players’ individual constraints.

This study aimed to examine the scoring mode (line goal, double goal or central goal) and age-related effects on the defensive performance of youth soccer players during 4v4 small-sided games (SSGs). Altogether, 16 male players from 2 age groups (U13, n = 8, mean age: 12.61 ± 0.65 years; U15, n = 8, 14.86 ± 0.47 years) were selected as participants. In six independent sessions, participants performed the three SSGs each during 10-min periods. Teams' defensive performance was analysed at every instant ball possession was regained through the variables: ball-recovery type, ball-recovery sector, configuration of play and defence state. Multinomial logistic regression analysis used in this study revealed the following significant main effects of scoring mode and age: (1) line goal (vs. central goal) increased the odds of regaining possession through tackle and in the defensive midfield sector, and decreased the odds of successful interceptions; (2) double goal (vs. central goal) decreased the odds of regaining possession through turnover won and with elongated playing shapes; (3) the probability of regaining possession through interception significantly decreased with age. Moreover, as youth players move forward in age groups, teams tend to structurally evolve from elongated playing shapes to flattened shapes and, at a behavioural level, from defending in depth to more risky flattened configurations. Overall, by manipulating the scoring mode in SSGs, coaches can promote functional and coadaptive behaviours between teams not only in terms of configurations of play, but also on the pitch locations that teams explore to regain possession.

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