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What Performance Analysts Need to Know About Research Trends in Association Football (2012–2016): A Systematic Review

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Abstract

Background

Evolving patterns of match analysis research need to be systematically reviewed regularly since this area of work is burgeoning rapidly and studies can offer new insights to performance analysts if theoretically and coherently organized.

Objective

The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic review of published articles on match analysis in adult male football, identify and organize common research topics, and synthesize the emerging patterns of work between 2012 and 2016, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Methods

The Web of Science database was searched for relevant published studies using the following keywords: ‘football’ and ‘soccer’, each one associated with the terms ‘match analysis’, ‘performance analysis’, ‘notational analysis’, ‘game analysis’, ‘tactical analysis’ and ‘patterns of play’.

Results

Of 483 studies initially identified, 77 were fully reviewed and their outcome measures extracted and analyzed. Results showed that research mainly focused on (1) performance at set pieces, i.e. corner kicks, free kicks, penalty kicks; (2) collective system behaviours, captured by established variables such as team centroid (geometrical centre of a set of players) and team dispersion (quantification of how far players are apart), as well as tendencies for team communication (establishing networks based on passing sequences), sequential patterns (predicting future passing sequences), and group outcomes (relationships between match-related statistics and final match scores); and (3) activity profile of players, i.e. playing roles, effects of fatigue, substitutions during matches, and the effects of environmental constraints on performance, such as heat and altitude.

Conclusion

From the previous review, novel variables were identified that require new measurement techniques. It is evident that the complexity engendered during performance in competitive soccer requires an integrated approach that considers multiple aspects. A challenge for researchers is to align these new measures with the needs of the coaches through a more integrated relationship between coaches and researchers, to produce practical and usable information that improves player performance and coach activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Hugo Sarmento & António Figueiredo

  2. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Escola Superior de Desporto e Lazer, Melgaço, Portugal

    Filipe Manuel Clemente

  3. Instituto de Telecomunicações, Delegação da Covilhã, Covilhã, Portugal

    Filipe Manuel Clemente

  4. Complexo Desportivo e Lazer Comendador Rui Solheiro, Melgaço, Portugal

    Filipe Manuel Clemente

  5. CIPER, Spertlab, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Duarte Araújo

  6. Centre for Sports Engineering Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    Keith Davids

  7. The Football Exchange, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Allistair McRobert

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  1. Hugo Sarmento
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Correspondence to Hugo Sarmento.

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Hugo Sarmento, Filipe Clemente, Keith Davids, Duarte Araújo, Allistair McRobert and António Figueiredo declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this review.

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Sarmento, H., Clemente, F.M., Araújo, D. et al. What Performance Analysts Need to Know About Research Trends in Association Football (2012–2016): A Systematic Review. Sports Med 48, 799–836 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0836-6

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