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Market inefficiencies, known as Moneyball effect, have been recently documented in different sports and their scope largely remains an empirical question. This article focuses on football, where fans and club managers seem to value forwards more than defenders. Apparently, football rules imply equally important roles for goals scored and goals conceded in a team win. Economic theory in this case suggests that marginal returns on offensive and defensive efforts should be equal. This prediction can be potentially violated, resulting in labour market inefficiency. To test this hypothesis, we use two separate data sets at team-game and player-season levels (1224 and 772 observations, respectively) from two seasons (2017/18–2018/19) of the German Bundesliga. We compare the relative contribution of the offensive and defensive actions to a team win with the same relative contribution to players' market value and show that defensive actions are relatively underestimated by the market compared to the offensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, there has been considerable increase in scientific knowledge about women's football. However, the tactical and tactical‐strategic aspects have not yet been sufficiently covered in scientific literature. Therefore, this work proposed the following aims: To describe how the offensive phase is produced in women's football, to identify the significant statistical criteria that may be modulating success in attack, and finally to propose different predictive success models, with the ultimate aim of passing this knowledge on to the applied field. The observational methodology was used, one of the most appropriate methodologies for the analysis of motor behaviors in sport. The units of analysis collected and analyzed were 6063 attacks carried out during the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 and France 2019. The available results demonstrate that, on the one hand, offensive team actions are ineffective (almost 70% finish unsuccessfully), but criteria such as the start form of the attack, zone of ball possession, partial match result, or ball possession time are statistically significant criteria that modulate attack success (goal, shot or pass into the area). Lastly, the multivariate results allow us to propose a theoretical model, passing the probability of success from 31% in the absence of a model, to a theoretical auction probability of 52.6%, based on fast attacks with the intervention of few players, and with possession zone in the opposite field. These results could be directly transferred to the practical field where trainers and technical bodies can put this information into practice in training sessions or matches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the relative contribution of offensive and defensive football to success in the UEFA Champion's League, data related to the 513 clubs that have taken part to competition between 1955 and 2019 are analyzed using regression models. After controlling for the number of participations and teams playing in one of the four major European leagues -La Liga, Premier League, Serie A and Bundesliga- it is found that both offensive and defensive football can lead to success in the competition. Indeed, offensive and defensive football both have a significant impact on the number of titles won and their relative contributions are found to be equal. Both tactical approaches also have a significant impact on the number of matches won in the competition; even though the relative contribution of offensive football is bigger. Furthermore, only offensive football is found to have a significant impact on the number of points earned in the competition. Finally, it is found that poor offensive and poor defensive football both have a significant impact on the number of matches lost in the Champion's League; with the relative contribution of a poor defensive performance being more pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of tactical and situational variables on offensive sequences during elite football matches. A sample of 68 games and 1,694 offensive sequences from the Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, English Premier League, and Champions League were analyzed using χ² and logistic regression analyses. Results revealed that counterattacks (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-1.83; p < 0.01) and fast attacks (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.11-1.85; p < 0.01) increased the success of an offensive sequence by 40% compared with positional attacks. The chance of an offensive sequence ending effectively in games from the Spanish, Italian, and English Leagues were higher than that in the Champions League. Offensive sequences that started in the preoffensive or offensive zones were more successful than those started in the defensive zones. An increase of 1 second in the offensive sequence duration and an extra pass resulted in a decrease of 2% (OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.98-0.99; p < 0.001) and 7% (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.91--0.96; p < 0.001), respectively, in the probability of its success. These findings could assist coaches in designing specific training situations that improve the effectiveness of the offensive process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soccer research has traditionally focused on technical and tactical aspects of team play, but few studies have analyzed motor skills in individual actions, such as goal scoring. The objective of this study was to investigate how Lionel Messi, one of the world's top soccer players, uses his motor skills and laterality in individual attacking actions resulting in a goal. We analyzed 103 goals scored by Messi between over a decade in three competitions: La Liga (n = 74), Copa del Rey (n = 8), and the UEFA Champions League (n = 21). We used an ad-hoc observation instrument (OSMOS-soccer player) comprising 10 criteria and 50 categories; polar coordinate analysis, a powerful data reduction technique, revealed significant associations for body part and orientation, foot contact zone, turn direction, and locomotion. No significant associations were observed for pitch area or interaction with opponents. Our analysis confirms significant associations between different aspects of motor skill use by Messi immediately before scoring, namely use of lower limbs, foot contact zones, turn direction, use of wings, and orientation of body to move toward the goal. Studies of motor skills in soccer could shed light on the qualities that make certain players unique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ingeniería e Investigación is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ingenieraia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There has been a lot of research that enabled soccer to improve: its technique, tactics and strategy through analysis and training. Nevertheless, players’ need to interact with each other turns any defending or attacking situation into complex solutions with a wide range of variables to be considered, in which the player is never isolated and must make the move that has the most positive impact on play. Fifty-four sided games played in three different formats (5v5, 7v7 and 9v9) and with two age groups (U9 and U14) were filmed at three soccer clubs in Spain in order to identify the most relevant attacking moves, from a technical and tactical perspective. This study used the observational method; it is descriptive and is applied through well-prepared systematic quantitative observation in a natural environment. A key part of the method involved viewing the match recordings and logging moves that had been categorised beforehand. Cohen’s Kappa analysis showed that the results for the most representative variables presented a substantial degree of concordance (0.61-0.80). The results show that there were significant variations depending on the game format, and the following study will present a description and analysis of the aspects that had considerable influence on attacking moves in different formats of sided games (5v5, 7v7 and 9v9). The study also presents various practical applications for the area of training and analysing both youth and professional soccer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on teaching offensive tactics in soccer. Attacking tactics are a key strategic aspect of play in this sport and, given the number of factors that need to be coordinated, they are highly complex moves. The aim here was to study the way in which attacks were constructed during 8-a-side training sessions at the under 8 level where the coach used a series of drills based on the problem-solving approach to teaching. The results revealed improvements in two techniques that were worked on as part of offensive strategies, namely 1) keeping the ball, and 2) moving the ball and players towards the opponent's goal and, more specifically, the transition from an advanced midfield position to the attacking zone. The first of these techniques was shown to have been learnt prior to the second. Teaching attacking tactics needs to be complemented with a third technique (shooting at goal), and an analysis must be made of the extent to which all these skills are transferred to more complex match situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Homo Sporticus is the property of University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Sport & Physical Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

When facing penalty kicks in football (soccer), goalkeepers frequently incorporate strategies that are designed to distract the kicker. However, no direct empirical evidence exists to ascertain what effect such visual distractions have on the attentional control, and performance, of footballers. Eighteen experienced footballers took five penalty kicks under counterbalanced conditions of threat (low vs. high) and goalkeeper movement (stationary vs. waving arms) while wearing eye-tracking equipment. Results suggested that participants were more distracted by a moving goalkeeper than a stationary one and struggled to disengage from a moving goalkeeper under situations of high threat. Significantly, more penalties were saved on trials when the goalkeeper was moving and shots were also generally hit closer to the goalkeeper (centrally) on these trials. The results provide partial support for the predictions of attentional control theory and implications for kickers and goalkeepers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]