Variability of inter-team distances associated with match events in elite-standard soccer

Abstract

In soccer, critical match events like goal attempts can be preceded by periods of instability in the balance between the two teams' behaviours. Therefore, we determined periods of high variability in the distance between the teams' centroid positions longitudinally and laterally in an international-standard soccer match and evaluated corresponding match events. Position data were collected with AMISCO Pro®. Inter-team distance variability was calculated over a 3-s moving window. Out of the 242 match periods that exceeded the variability criterion, 51 were dead-ball situations. Match events identified through longitudinal inter-team distance primarily related to defending players moving forward-backward after a longitudinal pass. Match events identified through lateral inter-team distance mainly corresponded with defending players moving laterally following sideways passing. One of two goals and two of fourteen goal-attempts were preceded by a period of high variability. Together, periods of highly variable inter-team distance were associated with collective defensive actions and team reorganisation in dead-ball moments rather than goals or goal attempts. Inter-team dynamics quantified (mutual) reorganisation of the teams and marked teams' collective defensive ability to respond to attacking explorations.

Dynamical Stability and Predictability of Football Players: The Study of One Match

“…In invasive team sports (e.g., football, basketball and others), players are generally confined to a specific area (tactical region) depending on their role [7]. Nevertheless, the variability of a given player not only depends on his specific actions (i.e., at the microscopic level) but also on the team as a whole (i.e., the specific role in the team's strategy at the mesoscopic level) [12].…”

“…Such variability was studied from a spatio-temporal point-of-view, by understanding the main factors and constraints that affect players' actions [7]. In spite of the regular dynamics of a football game [8], and considering the tactical behavior of players, the variability of players' trajectories can be seen as an interesting indicator in characterising football players within their specific tactical zones.…”

How dots behave in two different pitch sizes? Analysis of tactical behavior based on position data in two soccer field sizes. [¿Cómo se comportan los puntos en dos campos diferentes? Análisis del comportamiento táctico basado en los datos de posición en dos tamaños de campo de fútbol].

“…Other analyses have showed higher degrees of coordination when players/teams became more offensive, and unpredictable movements of the attackers during the attacking phase (Gonçalves, Figueira, Maçãs, & Sampaio, 2014). In the same line, no relationship has been found between teams' longitudinal and lateral centroid distances with goal scoring situations, but space and temporal reorganization became crucial after ball position changes (Frencken et al, 2012).…”

“…Findings suggest strong coordination patterns between opposing teams centroids (Duarte et al, 2013), although they do not have strong relations to score situations (Frencken, Poel, Visscher, & Lemmink, 2012). Other analyses have showed higher degrees of coordination when players/teams became more offensive, and unpredictable movements of the attackers during the attacking phase (Gonçalves, Figueira, Maçãs, & Sampaio, 2014).…”

Tactical interaction of offensive and defensive teams in team handball analysed by artificial neural networks

“…Using non-linear statistical procedures like approximate entropy or relative phase analysis [10][11][12][13], movement patterns regarding the inter-player coordination and the interaction within the teams were examined by centroids of teams or groups of players and their distances among them. Furthermore, centroid positions and the surface area, changes in sub-group behaviour, and relations between groups and between teams were examined [14][15][16][17][18] for a better understanding of the inter-group and inter-team coordination. In another approach, Fonseca et al [19] focused on dominant regions by means of Voronoi diagrams and nearest teammate distances and thereby revealed different patterns of interaction between attackers and defenders.…”