Contribution of team positional data to the successful transitions during ball recovery in soccer. (Analysis of official matches of J-League professional soccer players)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the factors that make transitions efficient using the positional information of the players. The independent variable in this analysis was the positional data gathered from the Vector X7 system (10 Hz) during 20 official matches of the second division of the Japan Professional Soccer League for the 2022 season. The positional data included metrics such as team convex area, length, width, foremost position, rearmost position, rightmost position, and leftmost position. Statistical analysis revealed that the team convex area, foremost position, rearmost position, and width were significantly higher during successful transitions than failed transitions (p = 0.032, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.030, respectively). Conversely, the leftmost position was significantly lower during successful transitions than failed transitions (p = 0.012). Moreover, the results obtained from the decision tree analysis demonstrated that the rearmost team position emerged as the most influential factor determining the success or failure of transitions. The results of the present investigation demonstrated that the positional information of the players at the time of ball recovery is an explanatory factor for efficient transitions. The novel contribution of this study is that the factor that determines efficient transitions was found to be the rearmost position and the leftmost position of the team at the time of ball recovery.

Keywords

• soccer
• global navigation satellite system (gnss)
• positional data
• ball recovery
• transition