Dribble Like Robben: What Determines Successfulness in 1-vs-1 Actions in Elite Soccer?

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractAcademic

Abstract

Competitive interactions are an important phenomenon in most team and individual sports. However, research on competitive interactions is mainly conducted in controlled laboratory-based experiments, which raises the question of generalizability towards more dynamic environments in team sports. While studies in rugby and futsal investigated 1-vs-1 actions in training settings, they did not relate their findings to the successfulness of the actions. We seek to close this gap by studying 1-vs-1 actions in competition. Therefore, using a large-scale observation design, this study aims to identify determinants of successful 1-vs-1 actions in male elite soccer.
1-vs-1 actions from 43 Dutch Eredivisie matches were manually selected and labelled on successfulness by three raters. Using tracking data, 24 variables of the 1-vs-1 actions were obtained, divided into three categories: individual (e.g. velocity of the defender), interaction (e.g. relative velocity between the attacker and the defender), and environmental (e.g. the location on the pitch of the action). Multivariate analysis was used to show which (category of) variables discriminated between successful and unsuccessful 1-vs-1 actions.
In total 734 1-vs-1 actions were selected (Fleiss kappa = 0.76) of which 356 were successful and 378 unsuccessful (Fleiss kappa = 0.89). A MANOVA showed a main effect for successfulness (Wilks' lambda = 0.881, F(23, 710) = 4.178, p < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis with a Bonferroni correction identified five individual variables that differed between successful and unsuccessful 1-vs-1 actions (p<0.03): the minimal distance between the attacker and the defender, the minimal distance between the ball and the defender, the variation in the distance between the attacker and the ball, the pressure on the attacker, and the median directional change of the attacker during the action. All five were variables that related to the interaction between the attacker and his environment, while variables for the individual and environment show no significant results.
In conclusion, only the variables that were related to the interaction between the attacker and the defenders discriminated between successful and unsuccessful 1-vs-1 actions. These findings can be directly applied to talent identification and scouting in team sports. Although it is often thought that individual speed and acceleration are important for successful 1-vs-1 actions, the results show that the interaction between the attacker and the environment is more decisive for successfulness in 1-vs-1 actions than individual variables. Specifically, the successful 1-vs-1 actions differentiated from unsuccessful ones by showing less pressure exerted on the attacker during the action, a higher degree of ball control by the attacker, and a more direct approach during the action.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 3-Jun-2024
Event29th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) - University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: 2-Jul-20245-Jul-2024
https://sport-science.org/index.php/congress/glasgow-2024

Conference

Conference29th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS)
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityGlasgow
Period02/07/202405/07/2024
Internet address

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