The influence of situational variables on the attacking process in football

The aim of this study was to identify the influence of situational variables i.e. match venue, opposition quality, match status, key player and interaction of situation variables on the attacking process. Full season match data (n=38) from Premier League Football Club Crystal Palace in 2017/2018 season were analysed. Crystal Palace created more midfield line breaks, zone 14, wide area, penalty box possession and less counter attacks when playing at home compared to away, when playing against bottom teams than middle teams, middle teams than top teams, when drawing than losing, wining than drawing and with key player than without him. These results suggested that different strategy changes, for different levels of situational variables, could have led to more goals being scored. This type of analysis could provide information for better match preparation, where coaches create match strategies for different external situations. However, sample size, pitch area and individual players’ contributions will be necessary considerations for this methodology to provide practically useful information for applied practice. This approach helps close the theory-practice gap but also exemplifies why the gap exists and the difficulty in closing it fully.

Namen študije je bil identificirati vpliv situacijskih spremenljivk, tj. tekme doma in v gosteh, kakovost tekmecev, rezultatski status tekme, igranje ključnega igralca in interakcijo situacijskih spremenljivk s procesi v fazi napadanja. Podatki so bili pridobljeni v sezoni 2017/2018 (n=38) na tekmah ekipe Crystal Palace v angleški Premier League. Ekipa Crystal Palace je večkrat preigrala tekmece skozi srednjo linijo, skozi cono 14, igrala več v širino, imela več posesti žoge v tekmečevem kazenskem prostoru in izvedla manj protinapadov, ko je igrala doma v primerjavi z igro v gosteh. Te razlike so bile ugotovljene na tekmah proti slabšim ekipam v primerjavi s tekmami proti ekipam iz sredine lestvice ter na tekmah proti ekipam iz sredine lestvice v primerjavi s tekmami proti najboljšim ekipam, ko je ekipa igrala neodločeno v primerjavi s porazom, ko je ekipa zmagala v primerjavi z neodločenim rezultatom in ko je v ekipi igral najboljši napadalni igralec oziroma je ekipa igrala brez njega. Ti rezultati nakazujejo, da lahko ekipe s taktičnimi spremembami in ob upoštevanju situacijskih spremenljivk dosežejo ugodnejši rezultat. S tovrstnimi analizami trenerji pridobijo pomembne informacije, ki jih je smiselno upoštevati v pripravah na tekme. Pri tem je potrebno analizirati zadostno število tekem, opazovanim spremenljivkam določiti mesto dogodka na igrišču in ustrezno opredeliti doprinos vseh igralcev. S prikazanim metodološkim pristopom bo možno zmanjšati vrzel med teorijo in neposredno prakso, pri čemer je evidentno, da te vrzeli v popolnosti ni možno izničiti.