Discriminant analysis of soccer tactical elements in the phases of attack and defense determined by cluster analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the differences between groups of tactical elements in the phases of attack and defense in soccer. It was defined 117 tactical elements of soccer game whose importance was estimated with 30 variables that indicate the basic segments of the football game. The sample of entities in this study is represented by 93 offensive and 24 defensive tactical elements that are described with 15 variables for the phase of attack and 15 variables for the phase of defense. For the determination of entities through a total of 30 variables, it was used an expert knowledge of ten competent soccer experts. Relying on their own experience and using the assessment system with grades ranging from 0 to 5 the experts graded the impact of tactical techniques on the properties (attributes) of soccer, attack and defense. In the phase of the attack there were identified three homogeneous groups of tactical elements, and several subgroups at a lower level and in the phase of defense, four groups were identified. The first discriminant function had a higher discriminative power in relation to the second discriminant function. The results have shown statistically significant difference between groups of entities (tactical elements of attack) at the level of significance p<0.01, with high canonical correlation coefficients (Rc1-0.93 and Rc2-0.75). Discriminant analysis for defined group of tactical elements indicates to the posibility for differentiation of potential programs and sub-programs of the tactical preparation for players and economization of training.