Search results for "League"
showing 10 items of 76 documents
The effects of playing tactics on creating scoring opportunities in random matches from US Major League Soccer
2015
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of playing tactics on the creation of scoring opportunities in random matches from US Major League Soccer 2014, taking into account both contextual and defensive variables. The sample included 3253 team possessions corresponding to 30 randomly selected matches. Multidimensional qualitative data from 10 categorical variables was analysed by means of descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis. Contextual variables such as match location (p=0.049), match half (p=0.043) and match status (P=0.032) were associated with creating scoring opportunities. With regards playing tactics, set plays created a higher proportion of scoring …
Association between playing tactics and creating scoring opportunities in counterattacks from United States Major League Soccer games
2016
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of playing tactics on creating scoring opportunities in counterattacks from the United States Major League Soccer (MLS) 2014 season. The sample included 452 counterattack possessions, corresponding to 30 randomly selected matches. Multidimensional data from 14 categorical variables were analysed by means of a descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression. Counterattacks that started in the pre-offensive zone and had initial penetration were more effective in creating scoring opportunities than those that started in the defensive zone (OR=3.825; 95% IC: 1.765 to 8.289; p<0.01), and those without initial penetration (OR=8.689; 95% IC: 1.1…
The creation of goal scoring opportunities in professional soccer. Tactical differences between Spanish La Liga, English Premier League, German Bunde…
2019
The aim of the present study was to compare how goal scoring opportunities emerge in the top four European soccer leagues. The sample included 914 team possessions that led to the creation of goal ...
Skill-related differences between athletes and nonathletes in speed discrimination.
2008
This study examined differences in decision-making time and accuracy as attributes of speed discrimination between participants skilled and less skilled in ball games. A total of 130 men, ages 18 to 28 years ( M = 21.2, SD = 2.6), participated. The athlete sample (skilled group) comprised Estonian National League volleyball ( n = 26) and basketball players ( n = 27). The nonathlete sample (less skilled group) included 77 soldiers of the Estonian Defence Force with no reported top level experience in ball games. Speed-discrimination stimuli were images of red square shapes presented moving along the sagittal axis at four different virtual velocities on a computer (PC) screen which represent…
Practice and play in the development of German top-level professional football players.
2014
This study examined the developmental sporting activities of 52 German football first Bundesliga professionals (including 18 senior national team members) and 50 fourth to sixth league amateur players. They reported their volumes of organised football practice/training, including its "microstructure" (proportions of physical conditioning, skill exercises and playing forms), non-organised leisure football play and engagement in other sports through their career, respectively. Analyses revealed that the Bundesliga professionals performed moderate amounts of organised football practice/training throughout their career. They accumulated 4264 (mean value) hours over ~16 years before debuting in …
Anxiety level and decision-making among Norwegian top-class soccer referees
2013
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of anxiety experienced by Norwegian top-class soccer referees while officiating, and to predict the level of anxiety according to refereeing level and perceived refereeing competence. Also investigated were referees' perceptions of how crowd noise and disturbance from players and/or coaches, failure (i.e. mistakes) in refereeing, and aggressive behaviour by players and/or coaches influence their decision-making when officiating. A total of 83 (response rate: 84.7%) referees (73 men and 10 women) aged 20–46 years (mean = 33.2 years) completed our questionnaire using SurveyXact, a web-based program for conducting electronic questionnaires. Th…
Students Mobility: Assessing the Determinants of Attractiveness Across Competing Territorial Areas
2016
A central question for education authorities has become ‘‘which factors make a territory attractive for tertiary students?’’ Tertiary education is recognised as one of the most important assets for the development of a territory, thus students’ mobility becomes a brain drain issue whenever there are prevalent areas that attract students from other territories. In this paper, we try to identify the most important factors that could affect student mobility in Italy. In doing that we analyse students’ flows across competing territorial areas which supply tertiary education programs. We will consider a wide range of determinants related to the socio-economic characteristics of the areas as well…
Attitudes Toward Professional Foreign Players in Finnish Amateur Basketball
1984
The use of foreign professional players may influence the host country's sport culture. To determine the attitudes toward foreign professionals in various Finnish amateur basketball leagues, all clubs (n = 55) playing basketball in the three highest Finnish leagues were interviewed by mailed questionnaire. The results indicated that recruitment of foreign pros was held to effect negatively the team spirit and the play tactics, the economics of the club, the development of other sport branches in the club and the success of the national team. Positive effects were expected on the number of spectators, public relations of the club and the success of its team. For lower leagues foreign profes…
Child protection in Europe: development of an international cross-comparison model to inform national policies and practices
2015
We report a five-nations project in comparative child protection to provide recommendations on policy and practice to inform the redevelopment of the Swiss child protection system. The Swiss Federal Government and the Optimus and Oak Foundations commissioned the project—collective title: Association Programme National pour la Protection de l'Enfant. We identify the historical developmental trajectories of child protection systems together with common drivers: the evidential basis for the prevalence and effects of child abuse, the co-joining of social and economic policies and practices to promote early investment in children, the influence of children's rights and comparative international …
Can we be satisfied with our football team? Evidence from spanish professional football.
2009
This article assesses the sporting performance of Spanish professional football teams at competition level, namely, League, King’s Cup, and European competitions (Champions League and Union of European Football Associations [UEFA] Cup). Then, the gap between the result obtained by a team at the end of a season and that expected according to its potential is used as a proxy of the degree of satisfaction that fans should feel: the narrower the gap the greater the level of satisfaction. Regarding methodology, Data Envelopment Analysis techniques and directional distance functions are used. Results reveal that most teams perform rather differently across competitions, the lower average performa…