Game style in soccer: what is it and can we quantify it?

Hewitt, Adam; Greenham, Grace; Norton, Kevin

doi:10.1080/24748668.2016.11868892

Cited by 137 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…In addition to tactical variables, recent research highlighted the importance of styles of play for analyzing soccer performance (Tenga and Larsen, 2003). Styles of play are characteristics playing patterns demonstrated by a team during games (Hewitt et al, 2016), and are useful to describe the general tactical behavior of the team in competition. Previous studies identified different styles of play in the Spanish and English leagues (Fernandez-Navarro et al, 2016;Gollan et al, 2018;Castellano and Pic, 2019), Chinese league (Lago-Peñas et al, 2017), and Greek league (Gomez et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tactical Variables Related to Gaining the Ball in Advanced Zones of the Soccer Pitch: Analysis of Differences Among Elite Teams and the Effect of Contextual Variables

et al. 2020

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Attacking tactical variables have been commonly studied in soccer to analyze teams' performance. However, few studies investigated defensive tactical variables during match-play and the influence of contextual variables on them. The aims of the present study were (1) to examine the defensive behaviors of soccer teams when gaining the ball in advanced zones of the pitch and (2) to evaluate the effect of contextual variables on these defensive behaviors. A sample of 1,095 defensive pieces of play initiated in the opposing half of the pitch obtained from 10 matches of the season 2010/11 of La Liga and involving 13 teams was collected using the semiautomated tracking system Amisco Pro. Five defensive tactical variables, the outcome of defensive pieces of play, and contextual variables (i.e., match status, venue, quality of opposition, and match period) were recorded for every defensive piece initiated in the opposing half of the pitch. Results showed that there were significant differences among teams in the outcome of defensive pieces of play originating from the opposing half (χ 2 = 111.87, p < 0.01, ϕ c = 0.22), and in the outcome of offensive pieces of play following ball gains (χ 2 = 49.92, p < 0.001, ϕ c = 0.22). Cluster analysis revealed four groups describing different defensive behaviors from high-pressure to a defense close to their own goal. Match status (χ 2 = 25.87, p < 0.05, ϕ c = 0.11) and quality of opposition (χ 2 = 21.19, p < 0.05, ϕ c = 0.10) were the contextual variables that showed a significant effect on defensive pieces of play initiated in the opposite half of the pitch. Teams winning gained more balls in the zone close to their own goal, and losing teams gained more balls in advanced zones of the pitch. Moreover, the greater the quality of the opponent the lesser the chance of gaining the ball in advanced zones of the pitch. Neither venue or match period influenced the defensive pieces of play analyzed. Soccer teams could employ a similar analysis to improve their performance and prepare for opposition teams in competition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tactical Variables Related to Gaining the Ball in Advanced Zones of the Soccer Pitch: Analysis of Differences Among Elite Teams and the Effect of Contextual Variables

et al. 2020

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“…Valuing the performance of the teams from procedural variables, indicators of third order [11], allows for a better interpretation of their performances, distinguishing it from the final result due to the fact that the latter could be more "contaminated" by chance or arbitral decisions with which to misinterpret bad performances despite having won or having lost unfairly after a good team performance. In this sense, it might be interesting to know the team's game style [12] to design the tasks with greater precision in order to optimize their performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and Preference of Game Styles in LaLiga Associated with Match Outcomes

Castellano

Pic

2019

IJERPH

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The objective was to model the teams' styles of play (SoPs) in elite football and relate them to the match result. For this, the twenty Spanish first division teams in the 2016-2017 season were analysed, using nine interaction performance indicators (IRi). A principal component (PC) analysis was applied. From two PCs four SoPs were established: deep or high-pressure defending, and elaborate or direct attack. The SoPs were distributed according to average performance obtained throughout the championship. The connection between the preferred SoP and the final result was estimated. Teams with elaborate offensive styles and teams defensively minded got better results. In addition, most of the teams showed variability in their SoP. The applications of the study are (1) the IRi have served to identify SoP and can be used as a reference to optimize team performance;(2) teams should have a varied SoP repertoire, as well as being prepared to deal with different SoPs;(3) particular player profiles should be connected with the desired SoP when creating the squad and (4) clubs should develop a varied range of SoPs at their academies.

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“…collective tactical efficiency during a match contributes to better performance as much for the player as for the team. the way in which each principle appears will depend on the game style proposed by the coach [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of tactical principles efficiency among soccer players from different game positions

Rechenchosky¹,

Borges²,

Menegassi³

et al. 2017

Human Movement

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Purpose. the aim of the study was to analyse the execution efficiency of core tactical principles in young soccer players and compare them among different game positions. Methods. the sample included 54 Brazilian young soccer players. tactical performance was measured by the System of tactical Assessment in Soccer with the Gr3-3Gr test in 3770 tactical actions. Friedman followed by Wilcoxon tests were used to analyse differences between tactical principles. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to compare tactical efficiency between defenders, midfielders, and forwards (p < 0.05). Results. Offensively, the results indicated that young players demonstrated less efficiency in executing the principle 'depth mobility' compared with 'penetration,' 'offensive coverage,' 'width and length,' and 'offensive unity.' regarding the defensive aspects, 'concentration' was performed more efficiently than other principles. comparisons between positions proved that midfielders and forwards executed 'offensive unity' more efficiently than defenders. Defenders tended to present high 'defensive coverage' efficiency when compared with 'midfielders.' Conclusions. High efficiency in the execution of 'concentration' represents an obstacle to make deep passes and hinders offensive movements between the last defender line and goal, given low efficiency of 'depth mobility.' Midfielders and forwards performed 'offensive unity' more efficiently than defenders. As for defensive principles, defenders presented better performance in 'defensive coverage,' giving support to the first defender. In practical applications, it is suggested that coaches of young regional soccer players carry out activities which allow depth passes to teammates as well as games to promote 'offensive unity' for defenders and 'defensive coverage' for midfielders.

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Game style in soccer: what is it and can we quantify it?

Cited by 137 publications

References 55 publications

Tactical Variables Related to Gaining the Ball in Advanced Zones of the Soccer Pitch: Analysis of Differences Among Elite Teams and the Effect of Contextual Variables

Tactical Variables Related to Gaining the Ball in Advanced Zones of the Soccer Pitch: Analysis of Differences Among Elite Teams and the Effect of Contextual Variables

Identification and Preference of Game Styles in LaLiga Associated with Match Outcomes

Comparison of tactical principles efficiency among soccer players from different game positions

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