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. 2021 Aug 12:12:695853.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695853. eCollection 2021.

Differences in Technical Development and Playing Space in Three UEFA Champions Leagues

Mario Amatria  1 , Rubén Maneiro  1 , Claudio A Casal  2 , Sophia Papadopoulou  3 , Hugo Sarmento  4 , Antonio Ardá  5 , Xavier Iglesias  6 , José Luís Losada  7
Affiliations

Differences in Technical Development and Playing Space in Three UEFA Champions Leagues

Mario Amatria et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The analysis of football grows exponentially, with many researchers adopting it as an object of study. The thematic range that addresses it, as well as the different methodologies used, are of a very different nature-physical, psychological, technical, tactical-enriching every day the knowledge, and understanding of the game itself. The objective of this study has been to identify the differences between the different styles of play that lead to becoming the champion of the UEFA Champions League in the last 3 years of the pre-COVID stage, by analyzing the spatial performance developed, the association between the players that make up the different lines of the game system and the analysis of the various technical actions that are developed to carry out the offensive phase of each team. For this, the Observational Methodology and two types of analysis have been used: quantitative, by calculating X 2, and qualitative, by applying the Polar Coordinates technique. The results obtained show the relationship that is established between the different lines that make up the offensive systems of the champion teams of this competition, as well as the relationship of significance that is established between the use of space-width and depth-and the technical means used to achieve success, the goal.

Keywords: analysis performance; density of players; observational methodology; orientation change; polar coordinates; soccer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Division into sectors to assess depth. Source: Garganta (1997).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Division into sectors to assess width. Source: Maneiro et al. (2020), adapted from Garganta (1997).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Representation of the behavioral maps establishing the different categories as focal behavior, in relation to the lines that structure the team for the 2016–2017 season. *FB, focal behavior.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Representation of the behavioral maps establishing the different categories as focal behavior, in relation to the lines that structure the team for the 2017–2018 season. *FB, focal behavior.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Representation of the behavioral maps establishing the different categories as focal behavior, in relation to the lines that structure the team for the 2018–2019 season. *FB, focal behavior.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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