Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. The game has been in play for nearly 3,000 years and is played on the amateur level by little children and adults alike. Nearly a tenth of the world’s population shows up to view the Soccer World Cup when it takes place every four years.
On a professional level, teams and coaches are in a constant search for ways to enhance team and individual player performance. Soccer is one of the most difficult games to analyze because of the speed and intricacy of play. Teams analyze several metrics to determine the likelihood of success.
Physical Fitness
Soccer is an extremely demanding sport physically. Not surprisingly, fitness is deemed to be one of the most important components of a successful team. Players must have both aerobic and anaerobic strength giving them both speed and endurance. Trainers use a combination of interval training, strength training with a focus on core and legs, and targeted nutrition. Due to physical demand, high-quality supplemental nutrition products are often employed. If you would like to simulate their training you can engage in a simple Google search for interval training workouts and nutritional products such as Le-Vel Thrive reviews.
Ball Possession
One of the most important areas of data that professional trainers analyze is that of ball possession. Although statistics show that the most successful teams consistently rate a higher percentage of time in possession of the ball. It is interesting to note that ball possession does not appear to vary between games won or lost for a particular team. The more impactful data correlates to the particular field zones in which ball possession occurred
Shot Analysis
A thorough shot analysis can offer considerable insight into why a team was successful or not in a particular game. A coach will study the total shots taken. And the percentage of those shots that actually had a good chance of scoring. For example, if a team took many shots in a game but few of them had a good chance of success a coach may decide that he needs to focus on his players’ strategic decision making. On the other hand, many unsuccessful shots on goal could indicate the need to focus on accuracy.
Offense Organization
Whereas both offense and defense are integral to winning in soccer. Data clearly suggests that teams who typically engage in aggressive offense are significantly more successful. An aggressive offense places a team in an optimal scoring position on a more frequent basis and increases their ratio of attempted shots to goal.
Passing Metrics
By looking at the data on a team’s passing style and frequency, coaches can hone in on skills and strategies to increase a team’s win rate. Accuracy in passing is a clear component of scoring success. Analysis has also shown that a more intricate series of passes is a common factor in successful teams. Giving them the advantage of being more difficult to predict to take a shot at the goal and more time in possession of the ball.
One of the reasons that soccer is loved by children all over the world is the fact that all you really need is a ball and an open space to play. On a professional level though, it is a complex and strategic game that requires a high level of fitness. A demanding set of skills and a daunting level of tactical knowledge. Coaches use sophisticated software and analytical tools in order to lead their teams to the win. They analyze fitness, ball handling, accuracy, speed, as well as defensive and offensive tactics. At the end of the day, none of that really matters to the passionate fans who are enamored of the speed. And skill of their favorite players and are content to simply be swept away by the sheer joy of the game.
