Technical comparison of positional and inter-positional roles in elite level football

Abstract

Match analysis was used to identify the differing technical responsibilities of elite level footballers, in relation to their position. Performance indicators were selected, in order to analyse executions of technical actions, with skill ratings being attributed to each action. Centre backs, full backs, central midfielders, wingers and forwards were all analysed, with all on the ball executions being noted. Post-match analysis was undertaken, with the games involving Spain (n=5), Germany (n=5), Italy (n=5) and Portugal (n=5) being taken from the 2012 European Championship. Intra-observer reliability was undertaken, to ensure valid and reliable results were obtained. Acceptable levels of agreement were highlighted by good Kappa statistic scores. The results showed that different positions have clear technical responsibilities, to ensure that high levels of performance are reached. Furthermore, passing was seen to be the most important technical variable, being the only action completed in every area of the pitch. The midfield area was the most common area in terms of executions (30.4%), and combined with the high frequency counts that central midfielders had for all technical variables, gave credence to the idea to analyse this area further. Deeper analysis allowed for further breakdown of the actions completed by the CM units, into individual players. It was seen that of the majority of teams analysed, certain players were seen to complete the bulk of the actions for a certain skill, showing that there are differences between players who play in the same position. In conclusion, Spain were seen to be the better technical team, both in terms of execution of technical skills, and positional play. Furthermore, it was theorized that players who operate in the same positional unit do not necessarily play in an identical fashion.