Description of the Collective Behavior in Competition of Young Soccer Players Under-16 (U-16), Under-17 (U-17), Under-19 (U-19), and Under-23 (U-23), Considering the Areas of the Pitch and Phases of the Game.

ABSTRACT: Nieto, S, Echeazarra, I, Errekagorri, I, and Castellano, J. Description of the collective behavior in competition of young soccer players under-16 (U-16), under-17 (U-17), under-19 (U-19), and under-23 (U-23), considering the areas of the pitch and phases of the game. J Strength Cond Res 38(4): 714-723, 2024-The objective was to employ an integrated observational-notational record to describe collective behavior (CB) in competition matches of young soccer players from 4 teams, U-16, U-17, U-19, and U-23, playing for a professional soccer club academy. A total of 1,481 possessions were registered. Collective behavior, captured by GPS devices, was described with the variables: depth, surface area, stretch index, length, and width. In addition, from the notational analysis, the behavior depending on the area of the field (Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4) and ball possession (POS), nonball possession (nPOS), and set pieces phases were contextualized. A 2-tailed analysis of variance was applied to compare the CB of the teams. Results show that: (a) in all ages/categories, CB varied significantly in and without the possession of the ball and was conditioned by the area of the pitch where the ball was; (b) CB showed higher values with the ball and greater variability without it; and (c) depending on the age, CB presented differences with larger effect sizes in depth and length, in and without the possession of the ball, in Z1 and Z2. Integrating positional data to the moment of play and areas of the field could help a more accurate analysis of the competition to better understand the CB evolution of young soccer players.

Performance Analysis of the Spanish Men's Top and Second Professional Football Division Teams during Eight Consecutive Seasons.

The present study aimed to analyse the performance of the Spanish men's top (LaLiga1) and second (LaLiga2) professional football division teams for eight consecutive seasons (from 2011-2012 to 2018-2019). The variables recorded were Passes, Successful Passes, Crosses, Shots, Goals, Corners, Fouls, Width, Length, Height, distance from the goalkeeper to the nearest defender (GkDef) and total distance covered (TD). The main results were that (1) LaLiga1 teams showed lower values of Length from 2013-2014, and lower values of GkDef and TD from 2014-2015; (2) LaLiga2 teams showed fewer Passes and lower values of GkDef and TD from 2014-2015, and fewer Goals and lower values of Length from 2015-2016; and (3) LaLiga1 teams showed more Passes, Successful Passes, Shots and Goals and higher values of TD compared to LaLiga2 teams during the eight-season period. This study concludes that LaLiga1 teams showed fewer final offensive actions, LaLiga2 teams showed fewer Passes and Goals and the teams of both leagues played in a space with greater density (meters by player), covering less distance as the seasons passed. The information provided in this study makes it possible to have reference values that have characterised the performance of the teams.

Evaluating Physical and Tactical Performance and Their Connection during Female Soccer Matches Using Global Positioning Systems.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the tactical and physical performance during official matches of a women's soccer league and to correlate both dimensions in periods of 15 min. To do this, eight official matches of a semi-professional soccer team belonging to the Women's Second Division of Spain (Reto Iberdrola) were analysed during the 2020-2021 season. The variables recorded were classified into two dimensions: tactical variables (i.e., Width, Length, Height and Surface Area) and physical variables (i.e., Total Distance Covered (TD), Total Distance Covered in High-Speed Running (HSR) and Total Distance Covered in Sprint). The main results were: (1) there were no differences between the periods in any of the tactical dimension variables; (2) in the physical dimension, a significant decrease in TD and HSR was described at the end of the match (period 60-75); and (3) some positive correlations were found among some variables of the tactical and physical dimension at the beginning and at the end of the match (periods 0-15, 60-75 and 75-90). The findings of the study suggest that connecting the tactical and physical dimension in the interpretation of team performance would allow for a better understanding of player and team performance and during competition.

Different Sampling Frequencies to Calculate Collective Tactical Variables during Competition: A Case of an Official Female's Soccer Match.

The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the sampling frequency on the outcomes of collective tactical variables during an official women's soccer match. To do this, the first half (lasting 46 min) of an official league match of a semi-professional soccer team belonging to the Women's Second Division of Spain (Reto Iberdrola) was analysed. The collective variables recorded were classified into three main groups: point-related variable (i.e., change in geometrical centre position (cGCp)), distance-related variables (i.e., width, length, height, distance from the goalkeeper to the near defender and mean distance between players), and area-related variables (i.e., surface area). Each variable was measured using eight different sampling frequencies: data every 100 (10 Hz), 200 (5 Hz), 250 (4 Hz), 400 (2.5 Hz), 500 (2 Hz), 1000 (1 Hz), 2000 (0.5 Hz), and 4000 ms (0.25 Hz). With the exception of cGCp, the outcomes of the collective tactical variables did not vary depending on the sampling frequency used (p > 0.05; Effect Size < 0.001). The results suggest that a sampling frequency of 0.5 Hz would be sufficient to measure the collective tactical variables that assess distance and area during an official soccer match.

A longitudinal analysis of technical-tactical and physical performance of the teams in the Spanish LaLiga Santander: An eight-season study.

The aim of this study was to describe in the way teams played for the last eight seasons (from 2011-12 to 2018-19) in the Spanish Football First Division (Spanish LaLiga Santander), taking into account team match performances (n = 5,518). Ten technical-tactical and physical variables grouped into five dimensions were used: final behaviour (shots and crosses), set piece (corners and fouls), match volume (passes), physical performance (total distance covered) and collective use of the space (team width, team length, team defence height and distance from the goalkeeper to their defence). The main results were that the number of passes and team width showed a stable trend as the seasons passed. Nevertheless, the number of shots, crosses and corners, total distance covered, team length and distance from the goalkeeper to their defence showed a descending trend. The main conclusion was that over the seasons studied, the Spanish LaLiga Santander teams were characterized by an indirect style of play that, being the usual in this league, presented some evolution. The trend in the evolution of the game is that defence is put before attack. The findings of the study may be of interest to professional football staff to know more about the particular way teams play in competition, as well as its evolution, so as to focus on the training process according to the trend that is taking place in the game.

Tell me how and where you play football and I'll tell you how much you have to run.

The aim of this study was to describe the team accumulated physical response per minute considering only the effective playing time (EPT) attending to different contextual and strategic variables in the Spanish Football First Division (LaLiga Santander). A sample of 2,959 performances was included in the analysis, considering a 4-year period of analysis (from 2016-17 to 2019-20). The physical variables were: total distance covered with (DTminPOS) and without (DTminNOpos) possession of the ball, and distance covered at > 21 km·h-1 with possession (DT21minPOS) and without (DT21minNOpos). Two contextual variables, i.e. Place (Home/Away) and Score (Lost/Draw/Win), and two strategic variables, i.e. level of effective playing time (LevelETP) and level of possession of the ball (LevelPOS), were analysed. The teams ran more without possession of the ball than with possession; nevertheless, the teams that had less possession of the ball had higher values in the distance covered at > 21 km·h-1 with possession of the ball and vice versa. Furthermore, the strategic variables also had influence on the physical response (DT and DT21) of the teams,LevelETP and LevelPOS, although with interactive effects: longer playing time, less accumulated distance, and greater possession, greater accumulated distance in the defensive phase, both per min. The findings of this study may offer important practical implications to practitioners in order to assess physical performances of the players in matches, because it is crucial to integrate in the analysis the different contextual and strategic variables where the match has taken place to assess performances of the teams.

Very high-speed running (VHSR) profile in elite female football: An update.

The aim of the present study it's a providing an update of the profile of very high-speed running (VHSR) of professional female football players. In this study 23 official matches of the Spanish First Division of Women´s Football were analysed. A total of 15 players participated, who were classified according to their location on the matches played: central-corridor (CCP, n = 7), and lateral-corridor (LCP, n = 8). The variables recorded were: 1) Very High-Speed Running (VHSR), considering the accumulated distance, duration, and frequency, and the individual characteristics of the efforts (distance and duration); 2) Recovery between efforts (VHSRe) and; 3) VMAX. The results show that LCP described higher values in accumulative VHSR and VHSR by distance bands, with greater distances, durations and VMAX of VHSRe, with less recovery between efforts. There seems to be an evolutionary trend in the distribution of the efforts, with a higher % of efforts in the 10-20 m band. The results provide useful information that coaching staff of professional women's football teams could use to design specific very high-speed running training to optimize performance in competition.

An eight-season analysis of the teams' performance in the Spanish LaLiga according to the final league ranking.

This study aimed to analyse the performance of 5,518 collective observations of the Spanish LaLiga teams for eight consecutive seasons (from 2011-12 to 2018-19), considering the final league ranking. The teams were divided into four groups: Europe (from 1st to 6th), Upper-Middle (from 7th to 11th), Lower-Middle (from 12th to 17th) and Relegation (from 18th to 20th). The variables recorded were: Passes, Successful Passes, Crosses, Shots, Goals, Corners, Fouls, Width, Length, Height, distance from the goalkeeper to the nearest defender (GkDef), total distance covered (TD) and number of points accumulated. The main results were that: 1) Europe, being superior to the rest of the groups, showed lower values of Length from 2015-16, and lower values of GkDef from 2014-15; 2) Upper-Middle showed lower values of Length from 2015-16; 3) Lower-Middle showed fewer Shots from 2013-14, and lower values of Length, GkDef and TD from 2014-15; and, 4) Relegation barely showed significant differences between seasons in any variable. The study concludes that the teams of the Europe, Upper-Middle and Relegation groups showed quite stable performance, while the teams of the Lower-Middle group presented a worsening in different dimensions as the seasons progressed. The information provided in this study makes it possible to have reference values that have characterized the performance of the teams for each group.

Comparison of the External Load in Training Sessions and Official Matches in Female Football: A Case Report.

The objective of this study was to compare the external load of training sessions using as a reference an official competition match in women's football in order to find if the training sessions replicate the competition demands. Twenty-two semi-professional football players were analyzed during 17 weeks in the first phase of the competitive period of the 2020-2021 season of Spanish women's football. In addition to the competition (Official Matches, OM), four types of sessions were distinguished: strength or intensity (INT), endurance or extensity (EXT), velocity (VEL), and activation or pre-competitive (PREOM). The external load variables recorded were total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), sprint (Sprint), accelerations (ACC2), decelerations (DEC2), player load (PL), distance covered per minute (TDmin), high metabolic load distance (HMLD), and total impacts. The main results were that the external load demanded was different according to the type of session, being, in all cases, much lower than OM. The variables referring to the neuromuscular demands (ACC2 and DEC2) were higher in the INT sessions, the TD variable in the EXT sessions and the velocity variables (HSR and Sprint) in the VEL sessions. We can conclude that there was an alternating horizontal distribution of training loads within the competitive micro-cycle in women's football, although the order was not the usual one for tactical periodization.