Is Football players’ performance influenced by the quality of opposition? Application of the Golden Index formula in Club Atlético de Madrid 2016/2017

Abstract

In this study, we sought to analyze the influence of the quality of opposition on players' performance of Club Atlético de Madrid (ATM) 2016/2017. For that, the Golden Index (GI) formula was applied to identify and rank the Golden Players of ATM when playing against opponents of different quality levels. Methods: GI formula variables were collected through notational analysis and three global adjacency matrices were constructed to record all successful ball-passing actions performed. Next, the matrices were imported to SocNetV to collect the network centrality metrics. To uniformize each variable, the statistical standardization technique was applied to all variables. ATM opponents were classified into three groups: high-level (n=4), medium-level (n=2) and low-level (n=2), according to their classification in La Liga and participation in the final stage of UEFA Champions League 2016/2017. Results: Koke was considered the Golden Player playing against high-level teams, while opposing low-level opponents he was ranked as second. Against medium-and low-level teams, Antoine Griezmann was considered the Golden Player, but was not classified in the three first positions against high-level opponents. Yannick Carrasco and Filipe Luís were ranked in the second and third positions, respectively, when playing against high-and medium-level opponents. Also, Saúl Ñíguez obtained the third higher index against low-level teams. Conclusions: This study evidenced that players' individual performance is influenced by the quality of the opposition. Additionally, the GI formula proved to be a potent tool in analyzing player's performance in attacking plays in Football.

Análisis de la influencia de las variables situacionales en el fútbol profesional (Analysis of the influece of situational variables in professional soccer)

“…La calidad de la oposición ha sido abordada en diversas investigaciones, concluyendo que afecta al resultado, lo que implica la importancia de considerar la calidad de la oposición de los oponentes en los análisis (Gunal Bilek & Efehan Ulas, 2019;García-Rubio et al,2015). Existen evidencias científicas de que el desempeño individual de los jugadores está influenciado por la calidad de la oposición (Pereira, Ribeiro, Grilo & Barreira, 2019). La calidad del equipo rival, fue importante para el tipo y la zona de recuperación del balón, los mejores equipos emplearon estrategias defensivas más proactivas, incluso cuando ganaban intentaban seguir con dichas acciones debido a la intención y el objetivo de ganar el balón a sus oponentes (Peñas, Martínez, Lago, Acero & Vargas, 2010).…”