A. (2013). Designing small-sided games for training tactical aspects in soccer: extrapolating pitch sizes from full-size professional matches. Journal of Sports Sciences, 31,[573][574][575][576][577][578][579][580][581] Dette er siste tekst-versjon av artikkelen, og den kan inneholde små forskjeller fra forlagets pdf-versjon. Forlagets pdf-versjon finner du på www.tandfonline.com: http://dx.doi.org/10. 1080/02640414.2012.746722 This is the final text version of the article, and it may contain minor differences from the journal's pdf version. The original publication is available at www.tandfonline.

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The aims of this study were to examine the playing area in female football matches according to the position of the ball. We investigated: 1) the space between the two offside lines (the length), 2) the width, 3) the distance from the least advanced defender to the goal line in defensive activity, 4) the distance from the least advanced attacker to her goal line in attacking activity, 5) the distance between the goalkeeper and her nearest attacking team mate, and 6) the distance between the goalkeeper and her nearest defending team mate. With these measurements we were also able to obtain 7) the individual playing area used during female professional football matches. Data were collected during Spanish matches and notated postevent using the Amisco® system. A total of 2756 game situations were coded from four games. The distribution of players was significantly . While there are obvious differences in playing intensity between the men's and women's games, the nature of football competition, in terms of work-rest ratios, and proportion of time spent in highand very-high intensity running is similar between men and women [2-4]. The playing area is also presented as a tactical factor that might influence an athletes' decision-making in football. Therefore, this playing space should be considered when interpreting the real demands of the game [5]. In matches, the offside rule contributes to a reduction of the space among outfield players because teams tend to advance the position of the back four lines, placing 20 players in a reduced area of the pitch [6]. In female football, the distance between the two offside lines varied between 36.16 and 46.88 metres [7]. It is likely that reductions in playing space can impact an athlete's decision-making. Several studies have reported the effect of changing space and time on football match performance [8][9][10][11][12] with factors such as the playing styles, the ability to counter-attack, and distribution of opponents across the field all influencing the space and time available to attacking players. Thus, knowledge of how playing spaces change under different circumstances in a game can provide useful information to coaches who design training tasks to develop game awareness and tactical skills.The playing space is influenced by the location of the ball on the pitch [13]. Different space areas may be expected depending on whether the ball is in one of the six zones of the 11 v 11 pitch. Bangsbo and Peitersen [14] stated that "build up play" (i.e., the construction of attack, beginning with the first attacking options) and preventing finishing phases occurred near to the player's own goal, establishing play and transitioning occurred in the midfield, whereas penetration and finishing took place near the opponent's goal. There are specific technical-tactical skills linked to each phase of play and each part of the pitch. An analysis of the available space in which players have to perform during match-play would appear to be useful for training purposes. From a speci...

The aims of this study were to examine: (1) the width and length dimensions of the playing 2 area in 4v4 situations during competition, (2) the influence of the pitch zone where the ball is 3 on 4v4 dimensions, and (3) the influence of match status on the dimensions of 4v4 situations. 4 Data were collected from 25 matches from the Spanish La Liga of the 2007-08 season using 5 the Amisco ® system. Length, width and individual playing area of the rectangle that included 6 the nearest four players to the ball fromof each team were collected in a total of 8,727 4v4 7 game situations. The pitch-zone and match status were also considered for these 4v4 8 situations. To determine factors that affect 4v4 game situations, one-way ANOVA was used. 9 The influence of the pitch-zone where 4v4 situations took place showed significant 10 differences (p<0.001) between the zones where different principles of the game apply. The 11 areas of the 4v4 situations ranged from 14.70±4.69 x 17.18±6 m to 17.09±5.16 x 20.34±5.93 12 m, and the individual playing area of the 4v4 playing rectangle ranged from 46.33±20 to 13 35.48±16.95 m 2 , being larger in the central zones of the pitch. The length of the 4v4 rectangle 14 showed a significant reduction in the closer zones to the goal. Match status didseemed not to 15 affect the dimensions of these 4v4 game situations significantly. The findings of this study 16 suggest that the size of 4v4 situations proposed for training should be designed according to 17 the pitch-zone where playing actions take place.

Abstract:The aim of this study was to analyse the reduced space game situations that appear during competition in soccer considering interactions with a small number of players involved. The Amisco system was employed to collect the dimensions of playing areas of different situations from competition in order to extrapolate the results to the appropriate training drills design in reduced space. 8,727 4v4 and 7v7 game situations were collected for the study. Width, length and individual playing area were registered from these situations. The influence of the zone of the pitch in the configuration of these spaces was also considered. The results showed that the dimensions of the areas designed for training drills are larger than those in competition. The influence of the zone of the pitch is also significant, mainly in 4v4 situations. This should be considered to adjust the training drills design depending on the intended tactical aim, directly associated with the zone of the pitch where the training drill is developed.