How do Elite Soccer Teams Perform to Ball Recovery? Effects of Tactical Modelling and Contextual Variables on the Defensive Patterns of Play

Abstract

Researchers in soccer match analysis have been using limited procedures to express the dynamics of the game and mainly focus on the attack. Therefore, the aims of this paper were to detect the successful teams’ ball recovery defensive patterns of play and study the influence of tactical modelling, halves, match status, opponent quality and stage competition on those patterns. The sample consisted of 1323 situations of defensive ball possession of the semi-finalist teams from the 2014 FIFA World Cup play-offs, which was collected by a valid and reliable observational instrument (Soccer-Defence). The Kruskal-Wallis H, Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square, Z-, multinomial logistic regression tests and sequential analysis (p < .05; z > 1.96) were used accordingly to test the differences and associations among and within teams of tactical modelling, tactical-technical behaviours and contextual variables to ball recovery. We found that among teams ball recovery differed in duration; H(3) = 14.958, p = .002. Germany were more likely to perform ball recovery by the goalkeeper than Argentina (p = .04; OR = 0.47) or the Netherlands (p < .05; OR = 0.50). Nevertheless, Brazil was the least likely to concede a shot off goal. Teams facing lower-ranked opponents were 0.63 times less likely to perform ball recovery by interception (p <.001). Additionally, sequential analysis illustrated that teams varied between central and lateral high-pressure zones before ball recovery in lower zones of the field. Finally, coaches could use such findings to design training exercises, create their own style of play, and set strategies.

Observational Methodology in Sport: Performance Key Elements

“…Technical skills assessment also needs to be further developed in the natural contexts of sport, for example, small-sided games in football, by validating observational instruments that permit us to extract data during matches or in other contextualized backgrounds. As the majority of studies emphasize the attacking phase of the game, we also advise authors to, in the future, provide more detail about defending behaviors (Fernandes et al, 2020).…”

“…In other words, it is important to comprehend how teams manage the time and the quality of skills at their disposal simultaneously, and how they gain advantages in the playing space through interrelating positions along with their orientation to the ball (Yi et al, 2020). Defending plays (Fernandes et al, 2020) and set-pieces need to be studied more in the future to better inform practitioners about effective behaviors in phases of the game. The performances of youth teams may also be further explored in future research perspectives.…”

Editorial: Observational Methodology in Sport: Performance Key Elements

“…Technical skills assessment also needs to be further developed in the natural contexts of sport, for example, small-sided games in football, by validating observational instruments that permit us to extract data during matches or in other contextualized backgrounds. As the majority of studies emphasize the attacking phase of the game, we also advise authors to, in the future, provide more detail about defending behaviors (Fernandes et al, 2020 ).…”

“…In other words, it is important to comprehend how teams manage the time and the quality of skills at their disposal simultaneously, and how they gain advantages in the playing space through interrelating positions along with their orientation to the ball (Yi et al, 2020 ). Defending plays (Fernandes et al, 2020 ) and set-pieces need to be studied more in the future to better inform practitioners about effective behaviors in phases of the game. The performances of youth teams may also be further explored in future research perspectives.…”

LINCE PLUS software for systematic observational studies in sports and health

“…This approach to methodological integration has been applied in psychological research on spontaneous behavior in the fields of health (e.g., Casarrubea et al, 2018;Castañer et al, 2017;Puigarnau et al, 2016), physical activity and sport (e.g., Amatria et al, 2017;Fernandes et al, 2020;Fernández-Hermógenes et al, 2021;Gutiérrez-Santiago, 2013;Lapresa et al, 2018;Prieto-Lage et al, 2020;Sastre et al, 2021), and physical education (e.g., Camerino et al, 2019;Castañer et al, 2009Castañer et al, , 2011Castañer et al, , 2020Prat et al, 2019;Valero-Valenzuela et al, 2020). Indeed, there are several software programs to conduct visualization and annotation, but with some weakness related to all the necessary features of viewing, coding, analysis and administration of the results, resulting in scattered data and necessitating the export of these results to other complementary software programs (Hernández-Mendo et al, 2014;Love et al, 2019).…”