Journal of Human Sport and Exercise

Moneyball and soccer: An analysis of the key performance indicators of elite male soccer players by position

Mike Hughes, Tim Caudrelier, Nic James, Ian Donnelly, Anthony Kirkbride, Christophe Duschesne

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2012.72.06

Abstract

In most sports, it is found that the important performance indicators (PI’s) vary from coach to coach. Therefore, if sets of PI’s can be identified and clear operational definitions defined, there is significant scope/benefit for consultancy and research, particularly in commercially orientated sports such as soccer. The aim of this study was to use the unique opportunity of a large number of performance analysts coming together to discuss this problem and its application to soccer, and define sets of performance indicators for each position in soccer. In the early spring of 2011, staff from 9 universities, from all over Europe, brought 51 level 3 Sports Science students to Hungary for an Intensive Programme in Performance Analysis of Sport (IPPAS). The 15 staff, all experts in PA, had a total of over 200 years of experience of PA between them. The most experienced ‘experts’ (N=5) acted as mentors, introducing the area, defining the aims and managing the groups. The rest (N=10) and the 51 students were distributed evenly as possible across 7 groups, in which their aim was to define the key PI’s for one of the positions in soccer. The positions used were:- Goalkeepers; Full Backs; Centre Backs; Holding Midfield; Attacking Midfield; Wide Midfield and Strikers. In conclusion, 7 sets of KPI’S, were defined for each of these classifications within 5 category sets: Physiological, Tactical, Technical - Defending,Technical - Attacking, and Psychological. These KPI’s were different from position to position within the team, particularly for the Goal Keeper. The KPI’s for the outfield players were very similar, differing only in their order of importance. This enabled a ‘generic’ set of skills required for outfield players in soccer.

Keywords

Moneyball; Soccer; Key performance indicators; Elite male; Position

References

Cook, M. Soccer Coaching and Team Management. E.P. Publishing Ltd: Leeds; 1982.

Dufour, W. Computer-assisted scouting in soccer. In T. Reilly, J. Clarys, A. Stibble (Eds.). Science and Football II. London: E. & F.N. Spon; 1993, pp.160-166.

Franks, I.M. Use of feedback by coaches and players. In T. Reilly, J. Bangsbo, M. Hughes (Eds.). Science and Football III. London: E. & F.N. Spon; 1997, pp. 267-278.

Franks, I.M., Goodman, D. A systematic approach to analysing sports performance. Journal of Sports Sciences. 1986; 4:49-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640418608732098

Franks, I.M., Mcgarry, T. The science of match analysis. In T. Reilly (Ed.). Science and Soccer. London: E&FN Spon; 1996, pp. 363-375.

Garganta, J. Tactical modelling in soccer: a critical view. In M. Hughes, F. Tavares (Eds.). Notational Analysis of Sport IV. Porto; Centre for team sports studies; 1998, pp. 58-64.

Hughes, M.D. Notational Analysis of Soccer. In T. Reilly (Ed.). Science and Soccer II. London: E. & F.N. Spon; 2004, pp. 245-264.

Hughes, M., Bartlett, R. The use of performance indicators in performance analysis. Journal of Sports Science. 2002; 20:739-754. https://doi.org/10.1080/026404102320675602

Hughes, M.D., Franks, I.M. Notational Analysis of Sport 2nd Edition-better systems for improving coaching and performance. London: E. & F.N. Spon; 2004.

Hughes, M., Meyers, R. Movement patterns in elite men's singles tennis. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. 2005; 5(2):110-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2005.11868331

Hughes, M., Probert, G. A technical analysis of elite male soccer players by position and success . In H. Dancs, M. Hughes, P. O'Donoghue. (Eds.). Notational Analysis of Sport -VII, Cardiff: UWIC; 2006, pp. 76-91.

Lewis, M. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. USA: W. W. Norton & Co; 2003.

Luhtanen, P.H. Reliability of video observation of individual techniques used in soccer. In T. Reilly, A. Lees, K. Davids, W. J. Murphy. Science and Football. London: E. & F.N. Spon; 1988, pp. 356-360.

Partridge, D., Mosher, R.E., Franks, I.M. A computer assisted analysis of technical performance-a comparison of the 1990 world cup and intercollegiate soccer. In T. Reilly, J. Clarys, A. Stibble (Eds.). Science and Football II. London: E&FN Spon; 1993, pp.221-231.

Reilly, T., Holmes, M. A Preliminary analysis of selected soccer skills. Physical Education Review. 1983; 6(1):64-71.

Reilly, T., Thomas, V. A motion analysis of work-rate in different positional roles in professional football match play. Journal of Human Movement Studies. 1976; 2:87-97.

Smith, M. Success in Football. Butler and Tanner: London; 1973.

Van Lingen, B. Coaching Soccer. Reedswain, Spring City: USA; 1997.

Wiemeyer, J. Who should play in which position in soccer? Empirical evidence and unconventional modelling. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. 2003; 3(1):1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2003.11868269

Williams, J.J. An investigation into operational definitions used within performance analysis. Presentation at the International Workshop in Performance Analysis, Lincoln, January; 2009.

Yamanaka, K., Liang, D.Y., Hughes, M. An analysis of the playing patterns of the Japan national team in the 1994 World Cup qualifying match for Asia. In T. Reilly, J. Bangsbo, M. Hughes (Eds.). Science and Football III. London: E&FN Spon; 1997, pp. 221-228.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2012.72.06





Copyright (c) 2012 Journal of Human Sport and Exercise

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.