10 Sep The Future of Football Analysis: Ball Tracking and Advanced Metrics to Measure Collective and Individual Performance
In modern football, data analysis has become a key tool for optimizing team performance. Traditionally, the focus has been on individual player performance or how the team occupies space. However, the ball is the only constant in the game that connects all elements of play. That’s why new ball tracking techniques allow us to gather invaluable information about both collective performance and individual performance.
Through various spatial analysis tools and advanced metrics, we can break down ball behavior and how it impacts team dynamics. Here, we explore some of the most innovative methodologies for measuring performance in professional football, focusing on how the ball interacts with the team and its opponents.
Ball Metrics: Speed, Distance, and Time
The starting point for any ball-based analysis is measuring basic metrics: ball speed, the distance it covers in different areas of the field, and the time it spends in those areas. These metrics can be applied to various match situations, allowing us to better understand a team’s efficiency in ball movement.
- Ball speed: This metric is useful to evaluate how quickly a team moves the ball. Teams that move the ball faster tend to have a greater ability to break down organized defenses.
- Distance covered by the ball: Measuring the total distance the ball covers in different areas of the field helps to understand which zones are frequently utilized in play construction and whether the team exploits width or verticality.
- Possession time in different areas: Evaluating how long the ball stays in different areas of the field offers a clear view of how the team occupies space and their tactical intentions, both in attack and defense.
Combining Ball Tracking with the Opponent’s Convex Hull
One of the most advanced analysis techniques is the use of the convex hull concept, a geometric tool that defines the defensive shape of the opposing team. The convex hull helps visualize a team’s defensive structure, and through ball tracking, we can measure how the ball behaves in three key scenarios:
- In front of the opponent’s defensive block: When moving the ball in front of the convex hull, we assess the team’s ability to advance the ball quickly and efficiently against an organized defense. This allows us to measure how well compact defensive systems are broken down.
- On the sides of the defensive block: Moving the ball along the sides of the convex hull indicates the team’s ability to exploit the flanks, creating numerical superiority and opening up spaces to create danger from wide areas.
- Inside the defensive block: Measuring ball movement within the convex hull focuses on the team’s ability to penetrate tight defenses. It is key for assessing the quality of through passes and off-the-ball movement by offensive players.
Each of these scenarios can be analyzed by measuring the ball’s speed, distance traveled, and the time it spends in those areas, providing useful technical metrics for coaches and analysts.
Combining Ball Tracking with Voronoi
Another advanced technique involves using Voronoi diagrams to assess individual performance. Voronoi is a tool that divides the field into areas of influence for each player, based on their relative proximity to the ball and other players. By combining Voronoi with ball tracking, we can measure three fundamental aspects:
- Time: How long the ball stays in a player’s area of influence. A high value in this metric indicates that the player is a reference point in the game, both in attack and defense.
- Distance: Measures the amount of ball movement within the player’s area of influence. A high distance suggests that the player is actively involved in ball circulation, which is crucial for fast transitions.
- Speed: Indicates how quickly the ball moves within a player’s area of influence. This can reveal how efficiently the player distributes the ball or applies pressure to opponents.
The Concept of Ball Magnetism
A new concept emerging from the combination of Voronoi and ball tracking is ball magnetism or ball attraction capability. This metric refers to the amount of time, distance, and speed that the ball spends within a player’s area of influence. Unlike simply measuring the distance between a player and the ball, which does not account for the position of other players, ball magnetism measures how often the ball moves toward a player and how they influence the game.
- Time in the area of influence: A player with high ball magnetism tends to attract the ball into their zone, becoming a tactical pivot.
- Distance of the ball in the area of influence: A high value suggests that the player is key in ball circulation and transitions.
- Speed of the ball in the area of influence: A high value indicates that the player makes quick and efficient decisions under pressure, essential for generating offensive play.
Collective vs. Individual Performance: A Comprehensive Approach
The combination of ball tracking with these two tools, convex hull and Voronoi, provides a complete view of performance in football:
- Collective performance: Analyzing ball movement against the opponent’s convex hull helps us understand how the team, as a whole, moves the ball against various defensive systems. This is essential for assessing space occupation and ball movement efficiency.
- Individual performance: Using Voronoi combined with ball magnetism offers a clear metric of each player’s impact on the game. Players with high ball magnetism are not only near the ball but also manage to attract it, having a real influence during critical phases of the match.
Conclusion
Advanced ball analysis, both in terms of individual and collective metrics, is revolutionizing modern football. With tools like convex hull and Voronoi, along with concepts such as ball magnetism, we can break the game down into actionable data that provides coaches and analysts with key insights for decision-making. This approach not only enhances game understanding but also allows for optimizing strategies and maximizing team performance at all levels.