Football Actions Research Articles

Most modifiable risk factors for hamstring muscle injury in women’s elite football are extrinsic and associated with the club, the team, and the coaching staff and not the players themselves: the UEFA Women’s Elite Club Injury Study

PurposeTo describe the perceived importance of suggested hamstring injury risk factors according to chief medical officers (CMOs) of European women’s professional football clubs. A secondary objective was to compare if these perceptions differed between teams with a lower-than-average and higher-than-average hamstring injury burden.MethodsThe CMOs of eleven European professional women’s football clubs were initially asked to suggest modifiable risk factors for hamstring injury. These risk factors were rated in according with their perceived importance on a 5-graded Likert scale. Participating teams were divided in two groups depending on their hamstring injury burden during the 2020/21 season. The LOW group consisted of six teams that had a lower-than-average hamstring injury burden. The HIGH group consisted of five teams that had a higher-than-average hamstring injury burden.ResultsTwenty-one risk factors were suggested, most of which were extrinsic in nature, hence associated with the coaching staff, the team or the club organization rather than with the players themselves. The risk factors with the highest average importance were: “lack of communication between medical staff and coaching staff” and “load on players” (each with a weighted average of 3.9), followed by “lack of regular exposure to high-speed football actions during training” and “playing matches 2–3 times a week” (weighted average of 3.8 and 3.7). Differently from the LOW group, the HIGH group perceived the coaching factors (style of coach leadership, training/exercise surveillance by coaching staff) as more important.ConclusionIn accordance to the eleven CMOs recruited in this study, most risk factors for hamstring injuries are extrinsic in nature and associated with the club, the team, and the coaching staff, and not the players themselves.Level of evidenceLevel III.

Corrigendum to “Key considerations in the week-to-week forecasting of individual match actions in football”

Corrigendum to “Key considerations in the week-to-week forecasting of individual match actions in football”

Design and Validation of a Test to Evaluate the Execution Time and Decision-Making in Technical-Tactical Football Actions (Passing and Driving).

A quantitative, cross-sectional, and descriptive study of 30 young players. A total of 32 stimuli were programmed, corresponding to 64 responses, from which the total index (TI) was obtained from the division between DMA and ET. The content validity index (CVI = 0.78) showed a high degree of consensus among experts. In the validation process, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess intraclass and interobserver reliability, and a moderate level of agreement was found between subjects for the TA (ICC = 0.593) and ET (ICC = 0.602) and a moderate high level of concordance for DM (ICC = 0.804) and TI (ICC = 0.855). Regarding interobserver reliability, an excellent level of agreement was found for all variables: TA (ICC = 0.998), DM (ICC = 0.998), ET (ICC = 1.000), and TI (ICC = 1.000). For the relationship between intraobserver and interobserver variables, statistical significance was established as p < 0.01. Finally, the intraobserver ETM (5.40%) and interobserver ETM (0.42%) was low compared with the reference value (5.9%). The designed test meets the validity criteria since the variables show sufficient intraclass reliability (test-retest) and reliability among observers.

Key considerations in the week-to-week forecasting of individual match actions in football

Short-term forecasting of performance in football is crucial in week-to-week decision making. The current study presented novel contributions regarding the considerations that should be accounted for in the prediction of match actions performed in competitive matches. First, the study examined whether the quantity and recency of training data used to build a prediction model significantly influenced predictive accuracy. Three prediction models were built with the exponential moving weighted average (EMWA) method, each differing in the quantity of training data used (three, five, and seven preceding match days). Next, the study examined if contextual constraints, such as type of match action being predicted, playing position, or player age, significantly influenced predictive accuracy. Match action data from players in the top five European leagues were collected from the 2014/2015 to the 2019/2020 seasons. The model trained using less but more recent data (three preceding match days) demonstrated the greatest accuracy. Next, within the offensive and defensive phases, match actions differed significantly in predictive accuracy. Lastly, significant differences were found in prediction accuracy between playing positions, whereby actions associated with the primary task of the playing position were more accurately predicted. These findings suggest that in the forecasting of individual match actions, practitioners should seek to train the prediction model using more recent data, instead of including as much data as possible. Furthermore, contextual constraints such as the type of action and playing position of the player must be keenly considered.

The Effect of Q Angle on Anaerobic Peak Power and Balance in 15-17 Age Group Football Players

Quadriceps angle (QA) is a method that is frequently used in the kinesiological evaluation of the knee joint and lower extremity. In particular, strength has been shown to be important factors for basic football actions such as sprinting or changing direction, passing, jumping, kicking the ball, or stepping fast. In light of these informations, the aim of the study is to examine the effect of QA on anaerobic peak power and balance in youth football players aged 15-17. To measure individuals’ QA, a digital manual goniometer was used, half squat vertical jump test with SmartSpeed Contact Mat to measure anaerobic peak power, and Y balance test to measure balance performance were applied. It was determined that the obtained data were normally distributed, and the Pearson correlation test and simple regression tests were applied to the analysis. The analysis showed no statistically significant relationship between the subjects' QA average values and their anaerobic peak power averages. There was a moderate relationship between left QA and left anterior reach distances (R=0.436, R2 =0.190, p=.048), and a moderately significant relationship between height and right QA and left posterolateral reach distances (R=0.543, R2 =0.295, p=.043). As a result, the subjects' left anterior reach distance variable explained 19% of the total variance in the left QA, while the right QA and left posteromedial reach distance variables explained approximately 30% of the total variance in height.

Moneyball in offensive versus defensive actions in football

ABSTRACT 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.

The touch &amp; go dribbling model

Abstract One of the most relevant actions in football is that of keeping ball possession to progress on the game. To do that players of a team either keep passing the ball around or dribble it. Here we propose a preliminary model to capture instances in which football players dribble the ball around the field. The two-stage model consists of a “touch” event, an end-directed projectile launch, and a “go” phase, during which the ball follows its projectile course and the player performs locomotion toward the moving target of the ball. In this model, control over the general trajectory manifests during the touch phase; during the go phase, the player's movements are dictated by the ball's trajectory alone. Adjusting parameter values such as touch velocity demonstrates how the model can be the entry point for future investigation into how the parameter dynamics of dribbling respond to the context of the game.

Use of visual equipment in teaching children with hearing impairments playing football

The current trend in education in Ukraine is the transition from the education of children with special educational needs in the system of special education to inclusive education in secondary schools. Under such conditions, there is a need to revise, re- evaluate and rethink the methods and techniques of teaching children with hearing impairments in accordance with modern requirements. Mastering the techniques of ball possession can be a powerful tool for correcting and improving coordination of movements in children with hearing loss. Therefore, the methods of teaching children with hearing impairments physical exercises that can be used by the teacher in inclusive classes in physical education classes need to be revised and adapted.&#x0D; The aim of our study is to find an effective combination of different visual aids in teaching children with hearing impairments technical actions in football. It was found that for children with persistent hearing impairments, the use of demonstration and demonstration is insufficient in learning motor actions, and the possibility of using verbal teaching methods is limited. Instead, not only the physical education of the teacher, but also the written speech acquires special significance for this contingent of children. The training method developed by us involves the use of specially designed posters describing the technique of performing elements of football and illustrations of each phase of motor action has shown high efficiency. The described method of teaching technical actions in football for children with hearing impairments and the criteria for evaluating some control exercises can be applied by coaches and physical education teachers working in inclusive classes.&#x0D; The purpose of our study is to find an effective combination of different methods of visual education of children with hearing impairments to perform technical actions in football. It was found that for children with hearing impairments, the use of a teacher's demonstration of motor action and demonstration on the screen is not enough when learning motor actions, and the possibility of using oral teaching methods is limited. At the same time, not only the teacher showing the movement, but also the written language is of particular importance for this contingent of children. The training method we developed involves the use of posters describing the technique of performing football elements and illustrations of each stage of motor actions, and has shown high efficiency. The described method of teaching technical actions in football for children with hearing impairments and the criteria for evaluating some control exercises can be used by trainers and physical education teachers working in inclusive classes.

“You Ought to Play Football!” Football Terminology in the Literary Works by Yurii Smolych as Representation of the Ukrainian Football Discourse in the Naddniprianshchna Regional Lexicon in the First Half of the ХХth Century

Diachronic analysis of the football terminology creation in the Ukrainian language does not only allow reviewing its functioning in special contexts which are usual for this layer of vocabulary, but also provides a basis for determining the use of the football nominations in the literary texts. Yurii Smolych is practically the only writer from Naddniprianshchyna region of the interwar period who touched on the football topic in his literary works. That is why the review of his texts is very important for clarifying the specificity of the Ukrainian football nominations development in the Naddniprianshchyna region. The main goal of the research is the analysis of the selected football lexicon from the literary works by Yurii Smolych. Comparison of it with special football nominations which functioned for naming the same football notions in Halychyna before World War II can provide further opportunities for tracing peculiarities of the Ukrainian football discourse in Naddniprianshchyna in the first half of the ХХ century.&#x0D; The analysis of the Ukrainian football vocabulary which was used in Yurii Smolych’s literary texts has revealed that the author uses extremely wide range of special football terms. The analyzed 19 groups of football nominations manifest that the foreign loanwords in names of a football game, its parts and football tournaments, names of a team and unions of teams, names of the game moments dominate. The majority of the original names concern the lines of football players on the playing field, names of fans and their actions. Both the loanwords and genuine Ukrainian nominations are the base of the groups denoting names of football uniform and the results of football games and their quantitative indicators. Ukrainian lexemes and hybrid derivatives form the main part of the nominations regarding football equipment, names of football actions, variety of kicks, training activities, names regarding peculiarities of a football game, whereas foreign loanwords prevail in the nominations of football players and the names of a football field and its parts. Thus, in his literary works Yurii Smolych has involved various lexical units concerning the most important thematic groups of football lexicon in which loanwords and hybrid nominations prevail. It is characteristic of the football discourse in Naddniprianshchyna, unlike the football language in Halychyna, where genuine Ukrainian nominations prevailed over loanwords in the first half of the ХХ century.&#x0D; &#x0D; Key words: Ukrainian football discourse, Yurii Smolych, literary text, football terminology, thematic groups of football names.&#x0D; &#x0D; Sources&#x0D; Smolych, Yurii. «Nashi tainy». Smolych, Yurii. Dytynstvo; Nashi tainy; Visimnadtsiatylitni. Kyiv : Naukova dumka, 1987, pp. 136–377.&#x0D; Smolych, Yurii. «Ia vybyraiu literaturu». Smolych Yu. Tvory. 6 vols. Vol. 6. Kyiv, 1973, pp. 582–602.&#x0D; &#x0D; References&#x0D; Protsyk, Iryna. ““Football Teaches to Defend and Gain”: Thematic Classification of Ukrainian Football Terminology at the end of the ХІХth – Beginning of the ХХth Centuries”. Herald of L'viv Polynechnic National University “Problems of Ukrainian Terminology”, no 842, 2016, pp. 151–7.&#x0D; Protsyk, Iryna. ““He has become Anardent Supporter of Football for All his Life”. Ukrainian Football Terminology in Literary Works in the 30–40-ies of ХХ Century”. Zapyski z ukrains′kogo movoznavstva, iss. 24, vol. 1, 2017, pp. 318–28.&#x0D; Protsyk, Iryna. “Football Terminology of the 1st Half of the 20th Century in the Text”. Terminolohichnyi Visnyk, iss. 4, 2017, pp. 281–8.&#x0D; Struhanets, Yurii. Semantyka, struktura, funktsionuvannia futbolnoi leksyky v ukrainskii literaturnii movi pochatku XXI stolittia. PhD Thesis Abstract. Ivano-Frankivsk, 2016.&#x0D; Struhanets, Yurii. “Funktsionuvannia futbolnoi leksyky u khudozhnii movi”. Vitchyzniana nauka na zlami epokh: problemy ta perspektyvy rozvytku: materialy XX Vseukrainskoi naukovo-praktychnoi internet-konferentsii (30–31 Jan. 2016, Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi), iss. 20, 2016, pp. 122–4.

Flywheel Squats Versus Free Weight High Load Squats for Explosive Actions in Football

Flywheel Squats Versus Free Weight High Load Squats for Explosive Actions in Football

Football Players Do Not Show "Neural Efficiency" in Cortical Activity Related to Visuospatial Information Processing During Football Scenes: An EEG Mapping Study.

This study tested the hypothesis of cortical neural efficiency (i.e., reduced brain activation in experts) in the visuospatial information processing related to football (soccer) scenes in football players. Electroencephalographic data were recorded from 56 scalp electrodes in 13 football players and eight matched non-players during the observation of 70 videos with football actions lasting 2.5 s each. During these videos, the central fixation target changed color from red to blue or vice versa. The videos were watched two times. One time, the subjects were asked to estimate the distance between players during each action (FOOTBALL condition, visuospatial). Another time, they had to estimate if the fixation target was colored for a longer time in red or blue color (CONTROL condition, non-visuospatial). The order of the two conditions was pseudo-randomized across the subjects. Cortical activity was estimated as the percent reduction in power of scalp alpha rhythms (about 8–12 Hz) during the videos compared with a pre-video baseline (event-related desynchronization, ERD). In the FOOTBALL condition, a prominent and bilateral parietal alpha ERD (i.e., cortical activation) was greater in the football players than non-players (p < 0.05) in contrast with the neural efficiency hypothesis. In the CONTROL condition, no significant alpha ERD difference was observed. No difference in behavioral response time and accuracy was found between the two groups in any condition. In conclusion, a prominent parietal cortical activity related to visuospatial processes during football scenes was greater in the football players over controls in contrast with the neural efficiency hypothesis.

Stepovers and Signal Detection: Response Sensitivity and Bias in the Differentiation of Genuine and Deceptive Football Actions.

The ability to differentiate genuine and deceptive actions was examined using a combination of spatial and temporal occlusion to examine sensitivity to lower body, upper body, and full body sources of visual information. High-skilled and low-skilled association football players judged whether a player genuinely intended to take the ball to the participant’s left or right or intended to step over the ball then take it in the other direction. Signal detection analysis was used to calculate measures of sensitivity (d′) in differentiating genuine and deceptive actions and bias (c) toward judging an action to be genuine or deceptive. Analysis revealed that high-skilled players had higher sensitivity than low-skilled players and this was consistent across all spatial occlusion conditions. Low-skilled players were more biased toward judging actions to be genuine. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves revealed that accuracy on deceptive trials in the lower body and full body conditions most accurately classified participants as high-skilled or low-skilled. The results highlight the value of using signal detection analysis in studies of deceptive actions. They suggest that information from the lower body or upper body was sufficient for differentiating genuine and deceptive actions and that global information concurrently derived from these sources was not necessary to support the expert advantage.

The influence of refereeing experiences judging offside actions in football

In this study we assessed the influence of previous embodied refereeing experience on perceptual strategies used for judging offside events in football. For this purpose, 11 assistant referees and 11 players watched a video-projected image of 24 offside sequences on a screen (5 × 3 m) in a laboratory. All participants, who were experienced in football at an amateur level, were required to decide when they perceived a player to be offside during observed sequences, viewed from an assistant referee's perspective. An ASL SE5000 eye tracker was used to analyze participants' visual behaviours. Our interpretation of the results is that the specific previous officiating experiences of the assistant referees may have attuned their visual search strategies, such that they displayed a higher number of fixations and greater percentage viewing time on the last defender. In contrast, the players fixated for longer on areas of no interest. Despite these variations in visual search behaviours, no differences were detected in the percentages of correct offside decisions, yet differences did emerge in the incorrect decisions made. Specifically, the assistant referees achieved similar rates of false alarms and misses, and the players showed a bias towards calling offside when it was not offside. The assistant referees also missed more offside events and the players falsely flagged more events as offside in error. Further work is needed to clarify effects of these embodied officiating experiences in decision-making when participants with different experiences (e.g., player or match official) are asked to judge offside events in football.

Mechanical Player Load™ using trunk-mounted accelerometry in football: Is it a reliable, task- and player-specific observation?

ABSTRACTThe aim of the present study was to examine reliability and construct convergent validity of Player Load™ (PL) from trunk-mounted accelerometry, expressed as a cumulative measure and an intensity measure (PL · min–1). Fifteen male participants twice performed an overground football match simulation that included four different multidirectional football actions (jog, side cut, stride and sprint) whilst wearing a trunk-mounted accelerometer inbuilt in a global positioning system unit. Results showed a moderate-to-high reliability as indicated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (0.806–0.949) and limits of agreement. Convergent validity analysis showed considerable between-participant variation (coefficient of variation range 14.5–24.5%), which was not explained from participant demographics despite a negative association with body height for the stride task. Between-task variations generally showed a moderate correlation between ranking of participants for PL (0.593–0.764) and PL · min–1 (0.282–0.736). It was concluded that monitoring PL® in football multidirectional actions presents moderate-to-high reliability, that between-participant variability most likely relies on the individual’s locomotive skills and not their anthropometrics, and that the intensity of a task expressed by PL · min–1 is largely related to the running velocity of the task.

Differences in strength and speed demands between 4v4 and 8v8 small-sided football games

ABSTRACTThe aims of this study were (i) to characterise the acceleration demands of two different formats of small-sided game (SSG), i.e., 4v4 + goalkeepers (4v4 + GK) and 8v8 + goalkeepers (8v8 + GK); (ii) to analyse the correlation between performance in power-based tests and acceleration-based physical loading during the two different SSG formats and (iii) to analyse the neuromuscular-induced fatigue. Eighteen adult male footballers participated in the study (20.7 ± 1.0 years, 178 ± 5 cm and 71.4 ± 2.1 kg). Baseline measurements were obtained from countermovement jumps, 15 s repeated jumps and 5 and 15 m sprints. A total of 36 min was analysed for each SSG (4v4 + GK: two sets of 3 × 6 min, and 8v8 + GK: 2 × 18 min). Heart rate, blood lactate, perceived exertion and movement pattern (GPS) were analysed. Distances covered by very-high-intensity activities and very-high-speed running were lower in 4v4 + GK than in 8v8 + GK (effect sizes (ES) = −0.69 ± 0.67 and −1.04 ± 0.67, respectively; very likely), while accelerations and decelerations were higher in 4v4 + GK than in 8v8 + GK (ES = 1.13–1.52; almost certainly). Blood lactate concentrations were higher (ES = 1.40 ± 0.58; almost certainly) and players perceived themselves to be more tired (ES = 0.80–2.31; almost certainly) after 4v4 + GK than after 8v8 + GK. Sprint ability in 5 and 15 m tests decreased (ES = 0.87 ± 0.58 and 0.89 ± 0.58, respectively; almost certainly) only after 4v4 + GK. This SSG format appeared more demanding in relation to repetitions and fatigue development of muscle power-based actions than 8v8 + GK. It may therefore be logical to use the former type of SSG to target development of power-related football actions.

Team activity recognition in Association Football using a Bag-of-Words-based method

In this paper, a new methodology is used to perform team activity recognition and analysis in Association Football. It is based on pattern recognition and machine learning techniques. In particular, a strategy based on the Bag-of-Words (BoW) technique is used to characterize short Football video clips that are used to explain the team’s performance and to train advanced classifiers in automatic recognition of team activities. In addition to the neural network-based classifier, three more classifier families are tested: the k-Nearest Neighbor, the Support Vector Machine and the Random Forest. The results obtained show that the proposed methodology is able to explain the most common movements of a team and to perform the team activity recognition task with high accuracy when classifying three Football actions: Ball Possession, Quick Attack and Set Piece. Random Forest is the classifier obtaining the best classification results.

Does Motor or Visual Experience Enhance the Detection of Deceptive Movements in Football?

This study addressed the question of whether motor and visual experiences enhance the detection of deceptive and non-deceptive actions in football. Using a pre–post–retention test design, we conducted an intervention study with 40 football players, manipulating specific motor and visual experiences through a training intervention, with the motor group learning to fake fouls and the visual group watching the training. Prior general motor and visual experiences were also assessed via a questionnaire. Referee-like decision-making performance, involving the detection of deceptive actions, was measured using a video test. Separate 4 × 3 (Group × Video Test) repeated-measures analyses of variance were calculated, with decision accuracy and decision time as the dependent variables, representing decision-making performance. The results revealed only slight effects of the intervention, with the motor group reporting long-term effects, as reflected by the greater performance enhancement from post- to retention test. Prior general visual experience in football was shown to enhance deception detection for all three groups. Sport associations could use these results in their referee education programs by including prior general experiences as well as motor and visual training in deceptive and non-deceptive actions to enhance accurate judgments of these situations on the field.

Biomechanic and physiological factors providing the technique of goal-oriented shot actions in football

Biomechnic peculiarities of the technique of shots in football have been studied. With the aid of electromyography and stabilography, 45 men aged from 18 to 27 were examined. It has been shown that stabilographic and electromyographic characteristics of ball shooting can serve indicators of technical development of sportsmen. The technique of direct kick is formed at the stage of perfection of basic skills, while that of lateral kicks is formed at the stage of top sport mastering. In football players of high qualification, the role of the visual analyzer in equilibrium control is insignificant, while in low- and moderate-qualified players, the equilibrium function works worse without visual control.