Biomechanical Characteristics for Identifying the Cutting Direction of Professional Soccer Players

Abstract

(1) Background: To understand the movement characteristics of soccer players when cutting in two directions (45° for the right and left cutting movements) through biomechanical analysis of the lower limbs to identify the cutting direction of the attacker; (2) Methods: A motion analysis system was used to capture the movements of 12 male professional soccer players dribbling to the left and right. Kinematics of the players’ cutting were analyzed, and the paired t-test was used for statistics, with a significant level of α = 0.05; (3) Results: When cutting towards the right, the height of the hip joint during the run-up was low (effect size, ES = 0.41, p = 0.031) at 91.8 ± 7.0 cm. When cutting towards the left, the value was 94.6 ± 6.7 cm. While cutting, the front foot was abducted by 4.3 ± 4.0° at landing when cutting towards the right and adducted by 2.7 ± 5.1° when cutting towards the left (ES = 0.38, p = 0.003); (4) Conclusions: When the attacker carries out the cutting action while approaching the defender, the cutting direction may be predicted by observing the attacker’s hip and foot movements.

Keywords

• football
• attack
• defense