General network analysis of national soccer teams in FIFA World Cup 2014

AbstractPurpose. The study aimed to compare social network analysis (SNA) general measures and centrality levels of successful and unsuccessful offensive sequences performed by elite national teams in 64 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2014 tournament and to compare the level of centrality between playing positions. Methods. Adjacency matrices of passing sequences within an offensive unit were built and treated in a dedicated SNA software. Results. The main results indicated significantly lower values of total links and network density in successful sequences in comparison with unsuccessful ones in the teams that achieved the round of 8, semifinals, and the final. The comparisons between playing positions revealed that forwards showed the highest values of indegree centrality (balls received) and that midfielders presented the highest values of outdegree centrality (ball passed) in both successful and unsuccessful offensive units. Midfielders also exhibited the highest values of betweenness centrality (intermediation between teammates) in unsuccessful sequences and forwards in successful ones. Conclusions. Greater cooperation among teammates may not be determinant for successful sequences. Forwards are the prominent players to receive the ball and intermediate the passing sequence in offenses that end in a goal.

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“A Tale of Two Croatias”: How Club Football (Soccer) Teams Produce Radical Regional Divides in Croatia’s National Identity

Nationalities Papers ◽

10.1017/nps.2019.122 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Dustin Y. Tsai

Keyword(s):

National Identity ◽

Regional Identity ◽

World Cup ◽

Fifa World Cup ◽

Football Fans ◽

Soccer Teams ◽

North And South

Abstract Croatia’s monumental second-place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup represents the highest football achievement to date for the young nation. This victory, however, masks violent internal divisions between its domestic club football teams. This article examines the most salient rivalry between Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, two teams that have evolved to represent the interests of Croatia’s north and south, respectively. Using interviews with radical football fans, I argue that the two teams act as reservoirs for regional identity-building while violence between their fans is a microcosm for political and economic tensions between Zagreb and Split. More importantly, this rivalry exposes the dividedness of the Croatian state, as it continues to grapple with the complexity of its radical regional identities in the wake of its independence from Yugoslavia. This article contributes to the existing body of literature on sports identity and regionalisms/nationalism as well as how sporting teams shape the geographies of belonging.

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A network analysis of the 2010 FIFA world cup champion team play

Journal of Systems Science and Complexity ◽

10.1007/s11424-013-2291-2 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 21-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Carlos Cotta ◽

Antonio M. Mora ◽

Juan Julián Merelo ◽

Cecilia Merelo-Molina

Keyword(s):

Network Analysis ◽

World Cup ◽

Fifa World Cup

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Midfielder as the prominent participant in the building attack: A network analysis of national teams in FIFA World Cup 2014

International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport ◽

10.1080/24748668.2015.11868825 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 704-722 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Filipe Manuel Clemente ◽

Fernando Manuel Lourenço Martins ◽

P. Del Wong ◽

Dimitris Kalamaras ◽

Rui Sousa Mendes

Keyword(s):

Network Analysis ◽

World Cup ◽

Fifa World Cup

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How do Elite Soccer Teams Perform to Ball Recovery? Effects of Tactical Modelling and Contextual Variables on the Defensive Patterns of Play

Journal of Human Kinetics ◽

10.2478/hukin-2019-0141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 165-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tiago Fernandes ◽

Oleguer Camerino ◽

Júlio Garganta ◽

Raúl Hileno ◽

Daniel Barreira

Keyword(s):

Sequential Analysis ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Contextual Variables ◽

World Cup ◽

Match Analysis ◽

Chi Square ◽

Fifa World Cup ◽

Soccer Teams ◽

Training Exercises ◽

Regression Tests

AbstractResearchers in soccer match analysis have been using limited procedures to express the dynamics of the game and mainly focus on the attack. Therefore, the aims of this paper were to detect the successful teams’ ball recovery defensive patterns of play and study the influence of tactical modelling, halves, match status, opponent quality and stage competition on those patterns. The sample consisted of 1323 situations of defensive ball possession of the semi-finalist teams from the 2014 FIFA World Cup play-offs, which was collected by a valid and reliable observational instrument (Soccer-Defence). The Kruskal-Wallis H, Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square, Z-, multinomial logistic regression tests and sequential analysis (p < .05; z > 1.96) were used accordingly to test the differences and associations among and within teams of tactical modelling, tactical-technical behaviours and contextual variables to ball recovery. We found that among teams ball recovery differed in duration; H(3) = 14.958, p = .002. Germany were more likely to perform ball recovery by the goalkeeper than Argentina (p = .04; OR = 0.47) or the Netherlands (p < .05; OR = 0.50). Nevertheless, Brazil was the least likely to concede a shot off goal. Teams facing lower-ranked opponents were 0.63 times less likely to perform ball recovery by interception (p <.001). Additionally, sequential analysis illustrated that teams varied between central and lateral high-pressure zones before ball recovery in lower zones of the field. Finally, coaches could use such findings to design training exercises, create their own style of play, and set strategies.

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