Defensive organization observation system in football (soodf): construction, validation and pilot stud
Abstract
The aim of this study was to design and validate an observation system to analyse the defensive organisation phase of football teams. Additionally, the study sought to identify the main zones and methods of ball recovery, considering contextual variables related to the type of competition, match location, and partial score. The Defensive Organisation Observation System comprises 21 categories and 152 subcategories, all of which were validated for reliability through intra- and inter-observer agreement using Cohen's Kappa test. A pilot study was conducted with ten home matches and ten away matches of two Portuguese teams competing in the Liga Portugal Bwin and the UEFA Champions League. The primary Zones and Methods of Ball Recovery were analysed according to the contextual variables: Match Location, Type of Competition, and Partial Score. A total of 851 defensive actions were coded and examined. The main Zones of Ball Recovery were situated in the defensive and mid-defensive sectors. Conversely, the primary Methods of Ball Recovery were Interception and Static Situations. The results indicated that Partial Score is the contextual variable with the greatest influence on the Zones and Methods of Ball Recovery, particularly when comparing moments of advantage and disadvantage on the scoreboard. The study concludes that the defensive success of teams in terms of the zone and method of ball recovery is associated with consistency and regularity in their actions, enabling them to recover the ball consistently in similar zones and by similar means.
References
-Almeida, C. H.; Volossovitch, A. Home advantage in Portuguese football: Effects of level of competition and mid-term trends. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. Vol. 17. Num. 3. 2017. p. 244-255.
-Andrade, C. A. Análise do Processo Defensivo no Futebol: Ações e comportamentos defensivos associados à recuperação da posse de bola em diferentes contextos do jogo. Master’s thesis, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. Portugal. 2010.
-Anguera Argilaga, M. T.; Hernández Mendo, A. La metodología observacional en el ámbito del deporte. E-balonmano. com: Revista de Ciencias del Deporte. Vol. 9. Num. 3. 2013. p. 135-160.
-Barreira, D.; Garganta, J.; Guimarães, P.; Machado, J.; Anguera, M. T. Ball recovery patterns as a performance indicator in elite soccer. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology. Vol. 228. Num. 1. 2014. p. 61-72.
-Barreira, D.; Garganta, J.; Prudente, J.; Anguera, M. T. Desenvolvimento e validação de um sistema de observação aplicado à fase ofensiva em Futebol: SoccerEye. Revista Portuguesa de Ciências do Desporto. Vol. 12. Num. 3. 2012.
-Casal, C. A.; Andujar, M. Á.; Losada, J. L.; Ardá, T.; Maneiro, R. Identification of defensive performance factors in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. Sports. Vol. 4. Num. 4. 2016.
-Castellano, J.; Álvarez, D. Uso defensivo del espacio de interacción en fútbol. RICYDE. Revista Internacional de Ciencias del Deporte. Vol. 9. Num. 32. 2013. p. 126-136.
-Castelo, J. Futebol: Actividades físicas e desportivas. 2003.
-Cohen, J. A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement. Vol. 20. 1960. p. 37-46.
-Cooper, D.; Pulling, C. The impact of ball recovery type, location of ball recovery and duration of possession on the outcomes of possessions in the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga. Science and Medicine in Football. Vol. 4. Num. 3. 2020. p. 196-202.
-Couto, G. M. M. Efeitos do local do jogo na performance das equipas de futebol de diferente qualidade. Master’s thesis, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. Portugal. 2010.
-Fernández Alquézar, O.; Navarro Guillén, J.; Sánchez Miguel, R.; Zaragozà Biot, M.; Alfaro Royo, M.; Cárdenas Beltrán, C. N. Proposal of a protocol for training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in football. Atena Journal of Public Health. Vol. 1. 2019. p. 4-4.
-Fernandez-Navarro, J.; Fradua, L.; Zubillaga, A.; McRobert, A. P. Influence of contextual variables on styles of play in soccer. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. Vol. 18. Num. 3. 2018. p. 423-436.
-Ferreira, R. B.; Américo, H. B.; Silvino, M. P. F.; Santos, R. D. M. M.; Costa, I. T. Análise de formas de aquisição e recuperação da bola de jogos de futebol profissional europeus e sul-americanos. Revista Brasileira de Futebol. Vol. 13. Num. 3. 2021. p. 29-40.
-Forcher, L.; Altmann, S.; Forcher, L.; Jekauc, D.; Kempe, M. The use of player tracking data to analyze defensive play in professional soccer-A scoping review. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. Vol. 17. Num. 6. 2022. p. 1567-1592.
-Garganta, J. Modelação táctica no futebol. Estudo da organização da fase ofensiva em equipas de alto rendimento. Tese de Doutoramento. Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e de Educação Física, Universidade do Porto. 1997.
-González-Rodenas, J.; Aranda-Malaves, R.; Tudela-Desantes, A.; Nieto, F.; Usó, F.; Aranda, R. Playing tactics, contextual variables and offensive effectiveness in English Premier League soccer matches. A multilevel analysis. PLoS One. Vol. 15. Num. 2. 2020. Art. e0226978.
-Gonzalez-Rodenas, J.; Mitrotasios, M.; Aranda, R.; Armatas, V. Combined effects of tactical, technical and contextual factors on shooting effectiveness in European professional soccer. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. Vol. 20. Num. 2. 2020. p. 280-293.
-Herold, M.; Goes, F.; Nopp, S.; Bauer, P.; Thompson, C.; Meyer, T. Machine learning in men’s professional football: Current applications and future directions for improving attacking play. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. Vol. 14. Num. 6. 2019. p. 1567-1576.
-Kempe, M.; Vogelbein, M.; Memmert, D.; Nopp, S. Possession vs. Direct Play: Evaluating Tactical Behavior in Elite Soccer. International Journal of Sports Science. Vol. 4. Num. 6A. 2014. p. 35-41.
-Low, B.; Rein, R.; Schwab, S.; Memmert, D. Defending in 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 formation? Small differences in footballers’ collective tactical behaviours. Journal of Sports Sciences. Vol. 40. Num. 3. 2022. p. 351-363.
-Maleki, M.; Dadkhah, K.; Alahvisi, F. Ball recovery consistency as a performance indicator in elite soccer. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria & Desempenho Humano. Vol. 18. Num. 1. 2016. p. 72-81.
-Marcelino, R.; Mesquita, I.; Sampaio, J. Effects of quality of opposition and match status on technical and tactical performances in elite volleyball. Journal of Sports Sciences. Vol. 29. Num. 7. 2011. p. 733-741.
-McGarry, T. Applied and theoretical perspectives of performance analysis in sport: Scientific issues and challenges. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. Vol. 9. Num. 1. 2009. p. 128-140.
-Michailidis, Y.; Michailidis, C.; Primpa, E. Analysis of goals scored in European Championship 2012.
-Miranda, C. Defesa "zona pressing" enquanto sistema defensivo precursor do aumento das finalizações: estudo de jogos das finais da Taça UEFA e Liga dos Campeões. 2005.
-Mombaerts, E. Fútbol: del análisis del juego a la formación del jugador. Inde. 2000.
-Oliveira, J. Conhecimento específico em futebol. Contributos para a definição de uma matriz dinâmica do processo ensino-aprendizagem/treino do jogo. Dissertação de Mestrado. FCDEF-UP. 2004.
-Radke, D. T.; Radke, D. L.; Brecht, T.; Pawelczyk, A. Passing and pressure metrics in ice hockey. Workshop of AI for Sports Analytics. Agosto de 2021.
-Rathke, A. An examination of expected goals and shot efficiency in soccer. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. Vol. 12. Num. 2. 2017. p. 514-529.
-Santos, P.; Lago-Peñas, C.; García-García, O. The influence of situational variables on defensive positioning in professional soccer. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. Vol. 17. Num. 3. 2017. p. 212-219.
-Szczepański, Ł.; McHale, I. Beyond completion rate: evaluating the passing ability of footballers. 2016.
-Taylor, J. B.; Mellalieu, S. D.; James, N.; Shearer, D. A. The influence of match location, quality of opposition, and match status on technical performance in professional association football. Journal of Sports Sciences. Vol. 26. Num. 9. 2008. p. 885-895.
-Teodorescu, L.; Curado, J. Problemas de teoria e metodologia nos jogos desportivos. 1984.
-Vilar, L.; Araújo, D.; Davids, K.; Bar-Yam, Y. Science of winning soccer: Emergent pattern-forming dynamics in association football. Journal of Systems Science and Complexity. Vol. 26. 2013. p. 73-84.
-Vogelbein, M.; Nopp, S.; Hökelmann, A. Defensive transition in soccer – are prompt possession regains a measure of success? A quantitative analysis of German Fußball-Bundesliga 2010/2011. Journal of Sports Sciences. Vol. 32. Num. 11. 2014. p. 1076-1083.
-Wallace, J. L.; Norton, K. I. Evolution of World Cup soccer final games 1966–2010: Game structure, speed and play patterns. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Vol. 17. Num. 2. 2014. p. 223-228.
-Young, W. B.; Miller, I. R.; Talpey, S. W. Physical qualities predict change-of-direction speed but not defensive agility in Australian rules football. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. Vol. 29. Num. 1. 2015. p. 206-212.
Copyright (c) 2025 Rúben Constantino Ferreira, Davi Correa da Silva, Fabrício Vasconcellos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License BY-NC which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of the authorship of the work and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are authorized to enter into additional contracts separately for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (eg, publishing in institutional repository or book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (eg, in institutional repositories or on their personal page) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this can bring about productive change as well as increase impact and impact. citation of published work (See The Effect of Free Access).
