Fundamental Tactical Principles of Soccer: a Comparison of Different Age Groups

Abstract

The fundamental tactical principles of the game of soccer represent a set of action rules that guide behaviours related to the management of game space. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of fundamental offensive and defensive tactical principles among youth soccer players from 12 to 17 years old. The sample consisted of 3689 tactical actions performed by 48 soccer players in three age categories: under 13 (U-13), under 15 (U-15), and under 17 (U-17). Tactical performance was measured using the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT). The Kruskal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, Friedman, Wilcoxon, and Cohen’s Kappa tests were used in the study analysis. The results showed that the principles of “offensive coverage” (p = 0.01) and “concentration” (p = 0.04) were performed more frequently by the U-17 players than the U-13 players. The tactical principles “width and length” (p < 0.05) and “defensive unit” (p < 0.05) were executed more frequently by younger soccer players. It can be concluded that the frequency with which fundamental tactical principles are performed varies between the gaming categories, which implies that there is valuation of defensive security and a progressive increase in “offensive coverage” caused by increased confidence and security in offensive actions.

TacticUP Video Test for Soccer: Development and Validation

“…We would like to acknowledge that the TacticUP video test for soccer used the same theoretical background of the FUT-SAT ( Teoldo et al, 2011b ), which scientific knowledge has been produced since 2009. Among the studies carried out with FUT-SAT, there are empirical data that support the important role and relationship of tactical skills with: (i) sport development according to age ( Teoldo et al, 2010 ; Américo et al, 2016 ; Borges P. H. R. et al, 2017 ); (ii) relative age effects, which are (dis)advantages between players born in different quartiles within a sport season ( Teoldo et al, 2010b ; Machado and Teoldo, 2016 ); (iii) players’ positional role ( Machado et al, 2016 ; Rechenchosky et al, 2017a ); (iv) training intervention programs ( Souza et al, 2014 ; Aquino et al, 2015 ); (v) affective decision-making ( Gonzaga et al, 2014 ; Andrade et al, 2016 ); (vi) training constraints (e.g., numerical superiority) ( Bredt et al, 2016 ; Padilha et al, 2017 ); (vii) motor and technical skills ( Praça et al, 2015 ; Aquino et al, 2016 ); (viii) peripheral perception ( Gonçalves et al, 2017 ); (ix) maturation ( Borges P. et al, 2017 ; Gonçalves et al, 2017 ); and (x) mental fatigue ( Kunrath et al, 2018 ). Therefore, both TacticUP video test and FUT-SAT measure complementary constructs of tactical concept (i.e., perceptual-cognitive skills and perceptual-motor skills) based on the same theoretical and pedagogical foundations (i.e., the core tactical principles).…”

Defensive interactions in soccer small-sided games: an integrated approach between the fundamental tactical principles and the social network analysis

“…This result corroborates other studies that did not show differences on players' tactical behavior regarding defensive principles of defensive coverage and delay after a period of 20 training sessions in U-14 players 23 . Another study also showed no differences in the frequency of the abovementioned principles between U-13 and U-15 players 11 . These results suggest that a longer time (e.g., two years or more) of deliberate practice may be necessary to promote significant differences in players' collective defensive patterns in youth athletes.…”

“…Furthermore, previous studies showed different tactical behaviors in soccer SSG played by athletes of different ages 11,12 . These differences resulted from the deliberate practice and represent the evolution of the understanding of the soccer game logic.…”

An Exploratory Data Analysis on the Influence of Role Rotation in a Small-Sided Game on Young Soccer Players

“…These results are in line with previous research in SSGs that suggests the beneficial effects of experience in performing technical actions more accurately. A comparative study between age groups (under 15 vs. under 17) revealed that older players presented more individual actions than younger ones [ 50 ], and both attacking and defensive tactical behaviors tended to be more accurate as players become older [ 51 ]. In fact, older players tend to play wider than younger ones, although with large variability that seems to be functional for attacking [ 52 ].…”