Primerjava delovanja nogometnih branilcev pri kakovostno različnih ekipah v angleški Premier ligi : magistrsko delo

Jarh, Matjaž (author), Vučković, Goran (mentor), Pocrnjič, Marko (comentor)

Na vzorcu 9 tekem angleške Premier lige v sezoni 2021/22 smo želeli ugotoviti razlike, ki se pojavljajo v delovanju branilcev v fazi branjenja pri kakovostno različnih ekipah. Ekipe smo razdelili v 3 kakovostne range. Postavili in testirali smo pet hipotez. Pri štirih smo uporabili chi-kvadrat test in razlike med posameznimi rangi ugotavljali s pomočjo standardiziranih rezidualov, pri četrti hipotezi smo za razliko od ostalih uporabili neparametrično obliko testa ANOVA (Kruskal-Wallisov test). Pri tem smo posthoc testiranje izvedli z Mann-Whitney U testom. Ugotovili smo, da obstajajo statistično značilne razlike v razporeditvi branilcev v fazi branjenja glede na rang ekipe. Ekipe višjega ranga pogosteje uporabljajo razporeditev branilcev »1varuje«, kjer je aktivno odvzemanje v bolj centralnih conah, medtem ko ekipe nižjega ranga pogosteje uporabljajo »varuje 2«, kjer varuje igralec na nasprotni strani žoge. Rezultat, ki se ni skladal z ugotovitvami drugih avtorjev, je bil, da ekipe višjega ranga pogosteje uporabljajo hitre napade, medtem ko ekipe nižjega ranga kontinuiran napad. Povezanost med vrsto podaje in delovanjem v fazi branjena je pri ekipah v vseh kakovostnih rangih pokazala, da igralci pri podajah v globino delujejo v smeri odvzema žoge ali prekrška, medtem ko v primerih podaje v širino branilci zgolj ožijo prostor in pokrijejo nasprotnika. Ugotovili smo, da se ekipe višjega ranga branijo z manjšim povprečnim številom igralcev na napadalno akcijo nasprotnika. Razmerje med številom branilcev in napadalcev neposredno vpliva na možnost zaključka napada s strelom na gol. V primeru večjega števila napadalcev, glede na branilce, je možnost za izvedbo strela večja. Rezultati v našem delu kažejo na to, da delovanje branilcev v fazi branjenja ni naključno, ampak je močno odvisno od kakovosti ekipe, igralne situacije (vrsta podaje) in cone, v kateri se igralna situacija odvija, kar ponuja pomembne usmeritve za analitiko in trenersko prakso v sodobnem nogometu.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: delovanje v obrambi, razmerje branilcev in napadalcev, nogometna analitika
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Year: 2025
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-172872
• COBISS.SI-ID: 255833091
• Publication date in RUL: 12.09.2025

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Comparison of defensive actions of football defenders in teams of different quality in the English Premier League

Abstract

Based on a sample of 9 matches from the English Premier League in the 2021/22 season, we aimed to identify differences in defenders' behavior during the defensive phase among teams of varying quality. We divided the teams into three quality tiers. We proposed and tested five hypotheses. For four of them, we used the chi-square test and examined differences between the tiers using standardized residuals, while for the fourth hypothesis, unlike the others, we used a non-parametric form of the ANOVA test (Kruskal-Wallis test). Post hoc testing was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. We found statistically significant differences in defenders' positioning during the defensive phase depending on the team's tier. Higher-tier teams more frequently used the "1 cover" setup, where active ball recovery (regaining) occurs in more central zones. In contrast, lower-tier teams more often used the "2 cover" setup, where the player on the opposite side of the ball provides cover. A result that did not align with findings from other authors was that higher-tier teams more frequently used fast attacks, while lower-tier teams preferred continuous attacks. Across all quality tiers, the relationship between the type of pass and defensive behavior showed that players tend to attempt to intercept or commit a foul when facing through passes, while in cases of lateral passes, defenders typically just close space and mark the opponent. We also found that higher-tier teams defend with a lower average number of players during the opponent’s attacking actions. The ratio of defenders to attackers directly affects the likelihood of finishing an attack with a shot on goal. When there are more attackers than defenders, the chance of a shot increases. The results of our study indicate that defender behavior during the defensive phase is not arbitrary but is strongly influenced by team quality, the type of playing situation (type of pass), and the zone in which the action takes place, providing important insights for analytics and coaching practice in modern football.

• Keywords: defensive actions, defender-to-attacker ratio, football analytics