Ball Possession Research Articles

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.
 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.
 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.

Differentiating African Teams from European Teams: Identifying the Key Performance Indicators in the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Despite this global popularity, European teams in contrast to African ones, have dominated the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup tournaments for many decades. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the performance indicators that differentiated between African and European teams in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Thirty matches played by five European (n = 15) and five African teams (n = 15) from the group stages of the World Cup were analysed using the InStat video system. The results showed that European teams had higher averages than African teams on the following performance variables: total shots, shots on target, goals scored from open play and set pieces, ball possession, short passes, medium passes, total passes, accurate passes and corner kicks. Therefore, soccer coaches should take note of these findings as they could serve as a benchmark for African teams to set trends and improve their performance at FIFA World Cup tournaments.

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

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.

Study regarding the main ways of gaining ball possession in Romanian basketball

Abstract Introduction: In basketball, ball possession can begin and end in many different ways, for example, ball possession may begin with an out-of-bounds, a stolen ball, a rebound etc, and may also end with a throw, a turnover or when the attack time has expired. Aim: Starting from the working hypothesis that the backboard rebounds represent an important factor in gaining ball possession, we have proposed to identify and analyze the game parameters recorded in the national basketball leagues. Material and methods: The theoretical documentation included explaining, based on specialized literature, terms related to ball possession. Also, in order to accomplish the purposes of this research, we have used statistical analysis (possession, arithmetic mean, amplitude) and graphical representation. This study focused on all teams participating in the 2019-2020 season of the National Basketball Leagues (16 men’s and 13 women’s teams). Results: Following the analysis and centralization of the game parameters from the 146 games played in the men’s league and 144 games in the women’s league, we have identified the main ways of gaining ball possession. Conclusions: Backboard rebounds represent the main way of gaining ball possession (which confirms the hypothesis).

How Numerical Unbalance Constraints Physical and Tactical Individual Demands of Ball Possession Small-Sided Soccer Games.

This study aimed to explore the effects of playing different unbalanced ball possession small-sided games on external workload (distance covered while walking, running, and sprinting, and max speed), tactical individual actions (number of passes with dominant and non-dominant foot), and internal load (rating of perceived exertion, RPE) in under-23 soccer players. Participants played 4v2, 4v3, 4v4, 4v5, and 4v6 small-sided games (SSGs) on a 30 × 25 m playing area. Data were analyzed under an opponent-based perspective, by fixing one team (4vX), and by cooperation-based perspective according to teammates (4v2+X). Global Position System (GPS) monitors were used to collect and compute external workloads and individual tactical actions, and Borg Scale CR10 was used to evaluate RPE. High-Superiority (4v2), Superiority (4v3), and Very Low-Cooperation (4v2+0) formats allow players in balanced teams to cover more distance while walking; on the other side, Inferiority (4v5), High-Inferiority (4v6), and Very High-Cooperation (4v2+4) allow players to sprint more and practice more tactical individual actions as a resultant emergent behavior; all players in SSG conditions with a lower number of conditions, perceived the exercise as more intense, especially in situations with less than two players. Overall, playing in high inferiority situations (4v2 and 4v6) may be used to increase physical demand for the outnumbered team, while coaches may use low superiority situations to adjust the task complexity when developing the players’ tactical individual actions.

Tiki-taka algorithm: a novel metaheuristic inspired by football playing style

PurposeMetaheuristic algorithms have been commonly used as an optimisation tool in various fields. However, optimisation of real-world problems has become increasingly challenging with to increase in system complexity. This situation has become a pull factor to introduce an efficient metaheuristic. This study aims to propose a novel sport-inspired algorithm based on a football playing style called tiki-taka.Design/methodology/approachThe tiki-taka football style is characterised by short passing, player positioning and maintaining possession. This style aims to dominate the ball possession and defeat opponents using its tactical superiority. The proposed tiki-taka algorithm (TTA) simulates the short passing and player positioning behaviour for optimisation. The algorithm was tested using 19 benchmark functions and five engineering design problems. The performance of the proposed algorithm was compared with 11 other metaheuristics from sport-based, highly cited and recent algorithms.FindingsThe results showed that the TTA is extremely competitive, ranking first and second on 84% of benchmark problems. The proposed algorithm performs best in two engineering design problems and ranks second in the three remaining problems.Originality/valueThe originality of the proposed algorithm is the short passing strategy that exploits a nearby player to move to a better position.

Predicting Wins, Losses and Attributes' Sensitivities in the Soccer World Cup 2018 Using Neural Network Analysis.

Predicting the results of soccer competitions and the contributions of match attributes, in particular, has gained popularity in recent years. Big data processing obtained from different sensors, cameras and analysis systems needs modern tools that can provide a deep understanding of the relationship between this huge amount of data produced by sensors and cameras, both linear and non-linear data. Using data mining tools does not appear sufficient to provide a deep understanding of the relationship between the match attributes and results and how to predict or optimize the results based upon performance variables. This study aimed to suggest a different approach to predict wins, losses and attributes’ sensitivities which enables the prediction of match results based on the most sensitive attributes that affect it as a second step. A radial basis function neural network model has successfully weighted the effectiveness of all match attributes and classified the team results into the target groups as a win or loss. The neural network model’s output demonstrated a correct percentage of win and loss of 83.3% and 72.7% respectively, with a low Root Mean Square training error of 2.9% and testing error of 0.37%. Out of 75 match attributes, 19 were identified as powerful predictors of success. The most powerful respectively were: the Total Team Medium Pass Attempted (MBA) 100%; the Distance Covered Team Average in zone 3 (15–20 km/h; Zone3_TA) 99%; the Team Average ball delivery into the attacking third of the field (TA_DAT) 80.9%; the Total Team Covered Distance without Ball Possession (Not in_Poss_TT) 76.8%; and the Average Distance Covered by Team (Game TA) 75.1%. Therefore, the novel radial based function neural network model can be employed by sports scientists to adapt training, tactics and opposition analysis to improve performance.

Interpersonal interaction during official soccer matches considering the coupling of different playing positions

ABSTRACT We analysed the interpersonal interaction between players during official matches considering the coupling of different playing positions. 2D coordinates and technical actions of 204 male professional football players during eight matches were obtained using a video-based tracking system. Dyads were composed of the nearest opponents and the interpersonal distance and frequency were computed. Dyadic distances were used to estimate the pressure index of defensive teams and the relationship with technical performance. Full-backs presented the greatest distances of their opponents. Dyads between defenders and forwards presented the shortest distances and were more frequent. In moments with ball possession the midfielders and forwards have more than one defensive player as the nearest opponent to them. The pressure index of defensive teams was significantly negatively and positively correlated with tackles performed by them, and successful passes of offensive teams, respectively, suggesting that defensive players more distant from the offensive players performed less tackles and provided better conditions for their opponents to perform passes. Interpersonal interaction is influenced by playing positions and maintaining proximity to the opponents can improve defensive technical performance. Information about the interpersonal interactions in real match situations provides the fundamentals for future research and assists coaches in planning tactical training.

How manipulation of playing area dimensions in ball possession games constrains physical effort and technical actions in under-11, under-15 and under-23 soccer players

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of playing area manipulation (20 × 15 m, 25 × 20 m and 30 × 25 m) on external workloads (total distance covered, distance covered while walking, running and sprinting, number of sprints, maximum sprint speed), internal load perceptions (rating of perceived exertion) and technical actions of passing (number of passes with dominant and non-dominant foot, and maximum passing speed) during 4v4 ball possession small-sided and conditioned games in under-11, under-15 and under-23 soccer players. Results showed higher values in the large playing area for under-11 in the distance covered in different speed zones, sprint number and RPE (all p <.001) for under-15 in sprints number (p <.01) and maximum sprint speed (p =.02), and for under-23 in both RPE and sprint numbers (p <.01). Although no significant differences were found on technical actions, it was still possible to notice some effects through pairwise comparison. High-intensity running was promoted on larger playing areas, where under-11 s were also able to perform more technical actions of passing. Opposite, under-23s were able to perform more passing on smaller playing areas, where under-11 s perceived the exercise more intense. The impact of different playing areas was reduced for the under-15.

The association between visual exploration and passing performance in high-level U13 and U23 football players

ABSTRACT Purpose: The visual exploratory actions (i.e., scanning head movements) used by football players to perceive their surrounding environment have recently gained interest. While this has resulted in important findings relating to visual exploration during natural match-play, often the study designs lacked the experimental control of laboratory-based experimental settings. We aimed to investigate whether visual exploratory action is associated with passing performance for high-level U13 and U23 players in a controlled skill assessment setting. Methods: Fourteen U13 and 13 U23 football players from a Bundesliga club completed a standardised 32-trial sequence in the Footbonaut. Exploratory head movements were recorded with a head-worn inertial sensor, from which the count, frequency and excursion of head movements were extracted before and during ball possession. Ball reception and disposal were coded for each trial, and performance was operationalised as the time taken to complete each trial. Results: Across all players, visual exploratory action was associated with passing performance. The variables that best explained faster performance were 1) a higher number of head turns before receiving the ball, 2) a lower number of head turns when in possession of the ball, and 3) being an U23 player. However, different combinations of variables explained performance for U13 and U23 players. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the value of scanning before receiving the ball to prospectively control passing actions in the Footbonaut. Future research should investigate the shared and contrasting characteristics of scanning actions, as they are observed by players in skill assessment tasks such as the Footbonaut, during training and during match-play.

S235. COGNITION AND SOCIAL BEHAVIORS IN SPORTS FOR PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA ENGAGED IN SPORTS HABITS

BackgroundSeveral studies have reported that team sports are effective for maintaining and improving mental health among patients with schizophrenia. Social behavior, such as adjusting an individual’s motion while reading others’ intentions and predicting others’ motion in team sports, is considered to improve related cognitive characteristics. However, the quantitative evaluation of social behaviors during sports, and the cognitive characteristics of patients with schizophrenia engaging in team sports habits remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify these behaviors and cognitions quantitatively.MethodsTwelve male patients with schizophrenia and 15 male healthy controls with experience playing football participated in this study. We used a 3-vs-1 ball possession task. Three-dimensional coordinates of the landmark points were acquired using a 3D optical motion capture system with 16 cameras (OptiTrack, USA). First, we evaluated group coordination in a previous study using three inner angles of the three attackers’ triangle. Second, we computed four variables for evaluating individual performance: pass-miss rate, pass angle, angular displacement, and additional distance. Third, we used a slalom dribble test to evaluate individual football skill. Meanwhile, we used three cognitive tasks: the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test (ROCFT), Trail Making Test A and B (TMT), as well as RTI (reaction time), IED (intra-extra dimensional set shift) and SWM (spatial working memory) in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). For statistical analysis, we used the Mann-Whitney U-test to compare the variables between groups. We used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient between the variables in 3-vs-1 and cognitive tasks. In addition, we conducted partial correlation analysis between these variables using recent football experience per month and duration of illness as covariates.ResultsIn group coordination during the 3-vs-1 task, the patient group exhibited a slightly wider distribution in the contour plots in the phase plane than the control group. Next, in individual performance in motor tasks, the angular displacement in patients with schizophrenia was significantly smaller than that in the control group (p = 0.043, r = −0.39). Meanwhile, there were no significant differences in the slalom test, pass-miss rate, pass angle, and additional distances (p > 0.05). For cognitive tasks, the reproduction scores of ROCFT after 3-min and 30-min in patients with schizophrenia were significantly smaller than those in the control group (p < 0.006, r < −0.53). Patients’ scores on the TMT (A and B) were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.004, r < −0.56). In RTI on the CANTAB, five-choice reaction time and movement time in the patients were longer than those in the control group (p < 0.049, r > 0.37). Meanwhile, other characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. In the correlation between 3-vs-1 variables and cognitive test performance, EDS errors in CANTAB IED and TMT A were negatively correlated with the pass angle (ρ = −0.62, p = 0.031 and ρ = −0.64, p = 0.026) in patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, the partial correlation in patients revealed that the negative partial correlation between EDS error in CANTAB IED and pass angle remained significant (ρ = −0.64, p = 0.046).DiscussionThe current results demonstrated that patients were not impaired in most domains of cognition and social behavior in the tasks. However, other types of cognition and social behavior for patients with schizophrenia and team sports habits were still likely to be impaired.

Association of match running performance with and without ball possession to football performance

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to determine the relationship between match running patterns with and without ball possession and the number of points earned at the end of the Spanish football league (La Liga). Running distance covered with and without ball possession at speeds ≥21 and <21 km/h were analysed from 4 consecutive seasons (2015–2016 to 2018–2019). The league champion ran a shorter distance per match than the teams that classified for the Champions League (P = 0.05), than the teams ranked in the middle of the ranking (P = 0.02), and the teams that were relegated to the second division (P = 0.04). However, the league champion and the teams that classified for the Champions League ran a greater distance with ball possession than teams in the middle of the ranking (P < 0.01) and relegation teams (P < 0.01). A stepwise multiple regression analysis was able to explain only 37.9% of the total variance in the number of points with match running variables. In conclusion, the best football teams cover a greater distance with the ball than the less successful teams but the contribution of match running performance to overall football success is limited.

An Automated System for Generating Tactical Performance Statistics for Individual Soccer Players From Videos

The world of sports intrinsically involves fast and complex events that are difficult for coaches, trainers and players to analyze, and also for audiences to follow. In fast paced team sports such as soccer, keeping track of all the players and analyzing their performance after every match are very challenging. Current scenarios for identifying the best talents in soccer involve word-of-mouth and coaches/recruiters scouring through hours of manually annotated videos. This is a very expensive and laborious process and also biased by the nature of the recruiters. To alleviate these problems, this paper proposes an automated system that can detect, track, classify the teams of multiple players and identify the player controlling the ball in a video. The system generates three very important tactical statistics for a player: 1) duration of ball possession, 2) number of successful passes and 3) number of successful steals. This is done by training Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to (a) localize and track the players on the field, (b) classify the team of a detected player, (c) identify the player controlling the ball and (d) pooling all the information extracted from (a), (b), and (c) to generate the statistics of players. To overcome the problem that the features learned from specific soccer matches do not necessarily generalize across different soccer matches, the paper proposes minimal amount of match-specific annotation and data augmentation, using a variant of Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Networks (DCGAN) to improve the accuracy. Experimental results and ablation studies show that the proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches in terms of accuracy and processing speed.

Match Performance Indicators that Discriminated Between Winning, Drawing and Losing Teams in the 2017 AFCON Soccer Championship.

The purpose of this study was to examine match performance indicators that discriminated between winning, drawing and losing teams in the 2017 Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer championship. Data were collected from 32 matches during the AFCON soccer tournament using the InStat® system. The studied variables included the number of goals scored, the time period in which a goal was scored and the impact of the first goal on the match outcome, as well as total shots, shots on goal, total passes, accurate passes, corners, ball possession, fouls, offsides as well as yellow and red cards. The results showed that goals scored (1.80 ± 0.83), total shots (11.05 ± 4.83), shots on target (4.70 ± 2.62), fouls (18.60 ± 5.19), offsides (2.35 ± 1.76), yellow cards (1.55 ± 1.10), and red cards (0.05 ± 0.22) were discriminative performance indicators of winning teams. In contrast, losing teams yielded higher mean values in total passes (260.30 ± 49.10), accurate passes (69.28 ± 5.74), corners (5.10 ± 2.95), and ball possession (51.20 ± 5.52). In conclusion, these results have practical implications for coaches in planning and implementing team tactics for successful performance.

The Influence of Match Status on Ball Possession in High Performance Women's Football.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the situational match status variable on the ball possession of the teams that participated in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The 52 games played during the championship have been collected, and 3,740 ball possessions made by the teams were analyzed. The teams have been divided into successful and unsuccessful. Three types of analysis have been carried out: a univariate analysis for both groups with the categorical and continuous variables selected; a bivariate analysis, using chi-square tests and the exact Fischer test; and finally, a multivariable technique such as the decision trees was incorporated. The available results show significant differences between the two groups considered. Specifically, there are significant differences between winning and losing teams in terms of match status. The results of the post hoc test have shown that unsuccessful teams make few ball possessions with a winning match status, most of the possessions are performed when they are losing. Instead, successful teams make more possessions when they are winning than when they are losing. Also, spend more time keeping the ball in their offensive zone, and completing a greater number of passes in it. The results of the decision tree identified that the unsuccessful teams have more ball possessions in forward and middle lines with a draw during the first half, while in the second, a large percentage of possessions are made with an unfavorable match status. Instead, the successful teams have more ball possessions in the first part with a draw, while in the second it happens with a favorable match status.

Examining offensive tactical actions performed by youth soccer players with different competitive contexts

The study examined offensive tactical actions performed by U-15 soccer players with different competitive levels. 34 matches played by three different levels of U-15 soccer clubs were used; brazilian national (BN), brazilian regional (BR), and italian national (IN). Five categories where used to analyze the soccer offensive actions: "number of players involved" (NJ), “ball touches” (NT), “passes” (NP), “corridor changes” (NTC), and “duration of ball possession” (TRA); the results were coded using Match Vision Studio® software. The BN presented higher values in all five offensive categories (p &lt; 0.05) when compared to the IN. Multinomial regression evidenced relative contributions of NJ and NP on the chances of results in the BN. The increase of one player involved in the offensive action decreases by 84% the chances of “total success” with respect to “unsuccessful” (p &lt; 0.05). The performance of each additional pass increases 4.9 times the chance of the play ending in “total success” and 4.7 times (p &lt; 0.05) in “partial success” when compared to the “unsuccessful” category. The NJ in the action and the NP have a direct influence on the outcome of the offensive actions of the BN.

Time of ball possession and visual search in the decision-making on shooting in the sport of futsal

ABSTRACT This study investigated how futsal players deal visually with information in interpersonal coordination scenarios when making decisions on shooting. The sample consisted of thirty-two sequences of play, ranging from 0.36 to 5.28 seconds in length, in which 32 experienced players – men (M = 19.36, SD = 1.32) – performed a shot wearing Tobii Glasses 2 eye-tracking, across 18 futsal games. Relative angles formed by the interaction of a shooter to the defender closest to him/her and the goalkeeper were used to capture interpersonal coordination for shooting. Variability in visual search was calculated on the basis of the number of times “quiet eyes” changed over the course of the sequence of play. The results showed that variabilities in the third (2.80) and fourth (5.37) quartiles of ball possession time were higher than those of the first (1.55) and second (1.70) quartiles. They also revealed that variabilities in visual search did not differ in relation to the magnitude, velocity and variability of the relative angles. It was concluded that the longer the ball possession time, the greater the variability in visual search. It would appear that through visual search, players look for the same – optimal – angular interpersonal relationship.

Analysis of headers in high-performance football: evidence from the English Premier League

ABSTRACT This study aimed to gather information about game situations where headers in high-performance football were performed and to characterise how headers were executed in different game situations. A multidimensional observational system was designed to characterise the header situation and technical execution. A sample of 920 headers were randomly collected from the English Premier League 2017–2018 season, using InStat Scout® website platform. Frequency analysis of headers showed that (1) most led to ball losses; (2) almost half was performed during set plays, especially in goal kicks and throw-ins; (3) a substantial amount was executed to prevent spatial progress of opponents when employing direct attacks with long passes. Chi-square analyses revealed significant associations (p < 0.05) between the following variables: header purpose and player position (large effect size – ES), movement and jump type (medium ES), game state and player movement, game state and jump type, space of occupation and opponent players as well as header type, header purpose and jump type, header purpose and opponent players, pass and jump type, pass and opponent players, and pass and player position (small ES). Based on the current findings, coaches are strongly encouraged to design representative training environments for headers considering position-specific needs, and to promote practice tasks and game strategies for maintaining/regaining ball possession after a player’s intentional header.

Match Situations Leading to Head Injuries in Professional Male Football (Soccer)-A Video-Based Analysis Over 12 Years.

To identify risk situations promoting head injuries in professional male football (soccer) and to investigate the impact of a rule change in 2006 punishing elbow-head contacts. Analysis of video sequences of head events leading to head injury. Professional football players of the first male German Bundesliga. Observational criteria of head impacts on video recordings (players' actions preceding head injuries, foul play-referee's decision and assessment of rater, ball possession, on-pitch medical treatment, and consequences of head impact). Three hundred thirty-four head injuries were reported in kicker Sportmagazin corresponding to an incidence rate of 2.25 (95% confidence interval 2.01-2.51) per 1000 player match hours. The injured player predominantly jumped (60%), headed the ball (36%), or ran forwards (20%); the noninjured players mainly jumped (64%), headed the ball (27%), or raised the elbow to the head (23%). Free ball situations (2 players challenge for the ball) caused most of the head injuries (81%). The players' action "raising the elbow" during a head injury seemed to be lower after the rule change. Jumping for the ball with the intention of heading is the predominant action associated with head injury risk. Head injuries occur most often when players challenge for the ball in a header duel. As head injuries bear the potential risk of long-term health sequelae, the identification of situational circumstances is essential to develop preventative means in the future.

Success factors in football: an analysis of the German Bundesliga

ABSTRACT Knowledge of success factors in professional football is critical. However, the identification of the success factors primarily focused on English and Spanish leagues. In this paper, three seasons of the German Bundesliga (2014/2015 until 2016/2017) with a total of 918 matches were analysed. To facilitate a more precise analysis of success factors, only close matches were included and the home and away team perspective was analysed separately. Therefore, 29 variables were included in a generalised ordered logit approach. The results showed that defensive errors, market value, goal efficiency, shots from counter attacks, shots on target and total shots have the greatest impact. Furthermore, crosses showed a negative relationship with success. Besides, the opponent and home advantage are important contextual effects. Overall, 11 and 12 variables are significant, respectively. Duel success is only significant for away teams and a higher market value seems to have a more positive impact for them. This study provides novel data and contributes to prior results from other European leagues. Future research should further investigate the impact of ball possession and distance covered. Coaches should focus on accuracy rather than on quantity as well as train fitness (physically and mentally) to lower the risk of errors.