Game interruptions in elite soccer

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to analyse game interruptions of league soccer in detail and the tactical use of game interruptions. Sixteen matches of a German first league soccer team were observed. An observational system was designed to assess interruption types, score, duration of interruption, location of interruption, time of interruption and number of occurrences. Results showed that there is an average of 108 interruptions per match. Throw-ins (40) and free kicks (33) were most frequent. Goal kicks (17), corner kicks (10), substitutions (4), and kick offs (3) occurred less often. Drop balls, penalties, and injuries occurred least often. For 38% of the total match time observed, matches were halted. The mean duration of running and interrupted match parts were 32.1 s and 18.7 s, respectively. The analysis showed significant differences concerning the influence of the location of interruption, score, and time of interruption on the duration of different interruption types (P < 0.05). The results of the study showed the tactical use of game interruptions during league soccer matches, e.g. goal kicks of the leading team take longer towards the end of the match. Examining game interruptions has turned out to be a valuable source of information adding to our knowledge of soccer. We have shown evidence that the durations of many interruptions serve tactical purposes, a well-known hypothesis in practice.

Análisis multivariante en las faltas indirectas de la FIFA World Cup 2014

“…This corresponds to a mean of 29.6 kicks per match, which is similar to figures reported by Siegle and Lames (2012) and Wallace and Norton (2014). Just over a quarter of these kicks (n=506) were regular indirect kicks or direct kicks taken as if they were indirect kicks.…”

Tiros Libres Indirectos en Fútbol De Alto Nivel. Identificación De Variables Explicativas / Indirect Free Kicks in Football High Performance. Identification of Explanatory Variables

“…Este dato coincide con muchos de los trabajos recogidos: Castelo (1986), Ensum et al (2000), Hernández Moreno et al (2011), Olsen y Larsen (1997) y Siegle & Lames (2012), que observan entre 30 y 37 tiros libres por partido, siendo muy pocos los trabajos que se sitúan fuera de este margen. Únicamente es posible describir los trabajos de Arias (1996), Castelo (1999), y Yamanaka et al (2002), que observan porcentajes más elevados, entre 40 y 50 acciones por partido.…”

Modelling game sports as complex systems – application of recurrence analysis to golf and soccer

“…This could be due to several reasons. First of all, soccer matches are usually interrupted for fewer minutes than they are running [49]. Additionally, there are a lot of different reasons for set pieces, in particular free kicks, corner kicks and throw-ins, which take place at different locations on the field of play and cause different player patterns.…”