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The aim of this study was to quantify the type of offensive sequences that result in goals in elite futsal. Thirty competitive games in the Spanish Primera Division de Sala were analysed using computerised notation analysis for patterns of play that resulted in goals. More goals were scored in positional attack (42%) and from set pieces (27%) compared to other activities. The number of defence to offense "transitions" (n = 45) and the start of offensive plays due to the rules of the game (n = 45) were the most common type of sequences that resulted in goals compared to other patterns of play. The central offensive zonal areas were the most common for shots on goal, with 73% of all goals scored from these areas of the pitch compared to defensive and wide zones. The foot was the main part of the body involved in scoring (n = 114). T-pattern analysis of offensive sequences revealed regular patterns of play, which are common in goal scoring opportunities in futsal and are typical movement patterns in this sport. The data demonstrate common offensive sequences and movement patterns related to goals in elite futsal and this could provide important information for the development of physical and technical training drills that replicate important game situations.

This study aimed to detect and analyse regular patterns of play in football teams during their offensive phase, through the combination of the sequential analysis technique and semi-structured inte...

The aim of this study was to analyse the stability of the breaststroke technique in five elite swimmers in a 200m event using a qualitative analysis. The codification of the behaviour of each swimmer during the execution of 20 cycles was achieved using an ad hoc observational instrument comprised of a system of categories and field formats to detect the behavioural patterns (T-patterns); software was used for identifying the technical behaviour of stable structures. The results showed that the stability behaviour varied depending on the swimmer, as the variations of codes in each round produced distinct configurations to determine the differences between cycles for the same swimmer. It was concluded that the instrument used in this study plays an important role through the existence of stable behaviour in the breaststroke technique. It was also concluded that there are distinct patterns and behaviours between swimmers during each lap of the race. Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a estabilidade da técnica de bruços em cinco nadadores de elite numa prova de 200m usando uma análise qualitativa. A codificação do comportamento de cada nadador durante a execução de vinte ciclos de nado foi alcançado usando um instrumento de observação ad-hoc composto por um sistema de categorias e formatos de campo para detectar os padrões comportamentais (T-patterns); o software foi utilizado para identificar o comportamento técnico de estruturas estáveis. Os resultados indicaram que o comportamento da estabilidade dos nadadores variou de acordo com o nadador, como as variações de códigos em cada ronda produzido configurações distintas para determinar as diferenças entre os ciclos para o mesmo nadador. Concluiu-se que o instrumento utilizado neste estudo desempenha um papel importante, através da existência de um comportamento estável na técnica de nado de peito. Concluiu-se também que existem padrões distintos e comportamentos entre nadadores durante cada percurso de nado.

The main focus of this paper was to review the available literature on match analysis in adult male football. The most common research topics were identified, their methodologies described and the evolutionary tendencies of this research area systematised. A systematic review of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge database was performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. The following keywords were used: football and soccer, each one associated with the terms: match analysis, performance analysis, notational analysis, game analysis, tactical analysis and patterns of play. Of 2732 studies initially identified, only 53 were fully reviewed, and their outcome measures abstracted and analysed. Studies that fit all inclusion criteria were organised according to their research design as descriptive, comparative or predictive. Results showed that 10 studies focused predominantly on a description of technical, tactical and physical performance variables. From all comparative studies, the dependent variables more frequently used were "playing position" and "competitive level". Even though the literature stresses the importance of developing predictive models of sports performance, only few studies (n = 8) have focused on modelling football performance. Situational variables like game location, quality of opposing teams, match status and match half have been progressively included as object of research, since they seem to work as effective covariables of football performance. Taking into account the limitations of the reviewed studies, future research should provide comprehensive operational definitions for the studied variables, use standardised categories and description of activities and participants, and consider integrating the situational and interactional contexts into the analysis of football performance.

Trying to predict future performance on the basis of previous performances is an important goal for notation analysts. Typically, the basis for any prediction model is that performance is repeatable, to some degree. In other words events that have previously occurred will occur again in some predictable manner. This type of prediction is based on the principle that any performance is a consequence of factors like prior learning, inherent skills and situational variables (James, 2012). In order to detect regular structures of behavior, T-patterning has been already been used to establish playing patterns in football. The basic premise here is that the interactive flow or chain of behavior is governed by structures of variable stability that can be visualized by detecting these underlying T-patterns.

The participants in this study were eight expert high-performance Portuguese First League football coaches (denoted C1 to C8) with professional experience (as first coach) ranging from 2 to 30 years (14.9 ± 8.6 years). All of the coaches who were initially selected to participate in the study accepted the invitation, were involved in coaching at the time of the interviews, and worked at some time in their careers as first coaches within the Portuguese First League. Because of the in-depth character of each interview, the interpretational nature of the analysis, and the number of the teams in the First League (n = 16), eight coaches were considered representative and met the objectives of the study, as well as the criteria of expert selection. 2.2.2 Data collection The methodology for collecting data in this study was the semi-structured interview (Bardin, 2008). The advantages of using this type of interview are diverse when compared with other methods of data collection (Ghiglione and Matalon, 2001). All the interviews were done by the first author.

PART I. The mixed methods approach to research Chapter 1. Mixed methods procedures and designs for research on sport, physical education and dance - M. Teresa Anguera, Oleguer Camerino and Marta Castaner PART II. Team and individual sports Chapter 2. Detecting hidden patterns in the dynamics of play in team sports - Oleguer Camerino, Gudberg K. Jonsson, Pedro Sanchez-Algarra, M* Teresa Anguera, Antonio Lopes and Javier Chaverri. Chapter 3. Optimizing techniques and dynamics in individual sports - Oleguer Camerino, Xavier Iglesias, Alfonso Gutierrez, Ivan Prieto, Jorge Campanico and M* Teresa Anguera PART III. Approaches to kinesics and dance Chapter 4. Extending the analysis of motor skills in relation to performance and laterality - Marta Castaner, Juan Andueza, Pedro Sanchez-Algarra and M.T. Anguera Chapter 5. Appraising choreographic creativity, aesthetics and the complexity of motor responses in dance - Marta Castaner, Carlota Torrents, Gaspar Morey and Toni Jofre PART IV. Assessing coaches, teachers and instructors Chapter 6. Optimizing verbal and nonverbal communication in physical education teachers, fitness instructors and sport coaches - Marta Castaner, Susana Franco, Jose Rodrigues and Catarina Miguel Summary

The purpose of this study was to analyse the different styles of play (counter-attack (CA), fast attack (FA) and positional attack (PA)) in the football teams of Manchester United (MU), F.C.I. Milano (IM) and FC Barcelona (BA). The sample included 36 games (660 offensive sequences) from the 2009/2010 sporting season. The design used in the present study was descriptive and was based on an observational methodology applied to the acquisition of data, using a specific instrument to observe the offensive process (Sarmento et al . Medicina (Kaunas) 2010; 46 :401–7). The study of the data reliability was calculated by the intra and inter observer agreement (Cohen9s κ>0.9). The analysis of the results showed that the teams of IM and BA tended more often to adopt the PA to perform their offensive action, while the MU played significantly more often in CA (X 2 (2)=36.8; p=0.000; n=245). The zones more often used to recover the ball possession are those that belong to the midfielder defensive sector. However, when the teams performed CA, they tended to recover more balls in zone 5 (central) of the field, when compared to other styles of play. In all the offensive styles, the IM is the only team that performed more frequently the last pass and the end action in the same zones (central zones). Curiously, the teams of BA e MU present regular tendencies in the zones more often used to perform the last pass (left hand zones and right hand zones, respectively) and the last action (central zones) in the PA and in the FA, but present different tendencies in relation to the CA. The MU team scored more goals through the CA, and the IM and BA scored more goals through the PA Although some studies tended to prove which is the most efficient style of play, we think that the important thing is not the duration of the offensive sequences, the number of passes, or the velocity of the ball, but the obstacles that a team finds while attacking in its way.

This study aimed to detect and analyse regular patterns of play in the counterattack of football teams, through the combination of the sequential analysis technique and interviews to first League Portuguese coaches. A mixed method design (QUAL/QUAL) was used. In a first stage 36 games (12 per team) of the Barcelona (BA), Inter Milan (IM) and Manchester United (MU) teams were encoded using the observational instrument developed by Sarmento et al . (2010), and the data analysed trough the SDIS-GSEQ software. Based on the detected patterns, semi-structured interviews were carried out to 8 expert high-performance football coaches and data were analysed through the content analysis technique (Nvivo9). In total, 245 counterattack sequences were observed. The MU performed significantly more counterattacks (X 2 (2) = 36.8; p = 0.00). The analysis of the results concerning the start of the offensive process (OP) through ball recovery possession by the goalkeeper has allowed to verify that there is a similar tendency in the MU and BA teams, that developed these sequences through the central (Z ≥1.96) and right side zones of the defensive midfielder, by the execution (MU) of the forward pass (Z = 2.00), or technical actions (BA) such as dribble (Z = 2.47) and conduction of the ball (Z = 2.71). In BA team, the shot with goal scored is activated by the crossing (Z = 2.82) and by the high (Z = 3.05) diagonal pass. Contrary to what happens with the other teams, the goal tends to be activated by the zones 8 and 11. Through the performed content analysis we could observe that coaches interpret these play patterns based their opinions, mainly, in tactical-strategic and tactical-technical aspects, and in the characteristics of the players on those teams. The potential in the combination of these types of analysis are evident because it allows detecting and analysing regular patterns of play which assume a practical application to coaches, but also because the content analysis which resulted from the interviews, has allowed complementing this approach with the know-how of the experts in the field.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of behaviour patterns that repeat seven times Offensive Process in Spanish league 2010/2011 Season. To collect data, we used the instrument validated by Sarmento et al (2010). This instrument consists of a specific notational system to study the offensive process and its variables, based on previous procedures and an exploratory phase of the study, in which we observed video images of several offensive sequences in nine games of Spanish league. To verify the occurrence of patterns, we used THEME 5.0 software, a professional system for detecting and analysing hidden patterns in behaviour by performing intensive structural analysis of behavioural data. It detects complex repeated patterns that otherwise remain hidden. For the detection of the patterns, we only considered the ones repeating seven times. We detected six t-patterns, referring to the whole process from recovering possession of the ball until completing the offensive process (OP) successfully. When analysing the patterns, we found that the area of recovery of possession is the defensive midfield. In all detected patterns the second action happens in another zone of field always in a lateral corridor. After the ball gets to the offensive midfield, there is a rapid and long change of the playing area and then the team tries to quickly end the O.P. This type of studies that focus in quality perspective allows us recognise sequences of game play resulting from the actions that occur during the different phases of the match, and understand them and verify as patterns. The results suggest that collecting a larger volume of data allowed us to detect more temporal patterns and more frequently repeated. The analyses in natural context, the game, allows us to obtain information how to organise the training process so that the team understand ways to enhance the team potential and oppose adversary actions of success.

The purpose of this study was to observe and to characterise the tactical performance in the counter-attack (CA) of the Football Club Barcelona (FCB) in the 2009/2010 sporting season, using sequential analysis. Sixty-two sequences of CA, resulting from twelve games, were encoded using the observational instrument developed by Sarmento et al ( Medicina (Kaunas) 2010; 46 :401–7). The reliability of the data was calculated by the intra- and inter-observer agreement, and values above 0.90 for all criteria were achieved. Observational methodology was used, with special reference to the sequential analysis. For the treatment of the data SDIS-GSEQ software was used. There is a probability that the recovery of the ball possession (RBP) by disarm is followed by a dribble (Z=2.24) and, when the RBP is due an intervention of the goalkeeper, there are a tendency to the sequence to keep going by the right side of the field, in a controlled way, performing actions like the dribble (Z=2.47) and the conduction of the ball (Z=2.71). The execution of the “long pass” is related with ends of the offensive process (EOP) without efficacy, like the EOP due the rules of the game (Z=2.21). In the other hand, the results showed that have behaviours, as the dribble (Z=3.32), the crossing (z=2.82), and the intervention of the opponent without efficacy (Z=3.32), that induce the shot with the goal. The detection of behaviour patterns in the CA of the FCB proves to be particularly interesting. The study of these regularities made it possible, in a phased way, to characterize the observed offensive actions and provide important information for coaches that can be used in the training process.

Soccer is a game with a random intermittent nature, whereby critical elements of the game are sometimes determined by chance. Research on match analysis in this sport has been mainly focused on the description of physical, physiological and technical game actions as an attempt to quantify the activity of players. Less work has been carried out on the match activities of soccer players, particularly the quantification of fundamental movement patterns of players during offensive sequences of play (for review see Sarmento et al. (2014)). Objectives: This study aimed to detect and analyse regular patterns of play in the counterattack of football teams, through the combination of the sequential analysis technique and interviews to first League Portuguese coaches.

Our study aimed to understand which aspects are most important by coaches in the characterization of the three best European Football Leagues (English Premier League, Spains La Liga and Italýs Seri...

The following paper introduces a new approach to the analysis of sports and motor skill performance. The approach, known as T-pattern detection, is explained and preliminary data analyses from soccer, boxing, basketball, swimming and motor skill analysis are presented. The data show that specific temporal patterns can be identified within sports performances. The temporal patterns can relate to performance of specific actions (e.g. passes) or movement patterns. Further analysis showed a significant correlation between coaches' ratings' of performance with the number of temporal patterns exhibited by athletes.

The following paper introduces a new approach to the analysis of offensive game in football. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to create an instrument for collecting information for the analysis of offensive action and interactions game. The observation instrument that was used to accomplish the main objective of this work consists of a combination of format fields (FC) and systems of categories (SC). This methodology is a particular strategy of the scientific method that has as an objective to analyse the perceptible behaviour that occurs in habitual contexts, allowing them to be formally recorded and quantified and using an ad hoc instrument in order to obtain a behaviour systematic registration that, since they have been transformed in quantitative data with the necessary reliability and validity determined level, will allow analysis of the relations between these behaviours. The codifications undertaken to date in various games of football have shown that it serves the purposes for which it was developed, allowing more research into the offensive game methods in football., Motricidade, Vol 5 No 3 (2009)

The most striking change within football development is the application of science to its problems and in particular the use of increasingly sophisticated technology that, supported by scientifi c data, allows us to establish a “code of reading” the reality of the game. Therefore, this study describes the process of the development and validation of an ad hoc system of categorization, which allows the different methods of offensive game in football and the interaction to be analyzed. Therefore, through an exploratory phase of the study, we identified 10 vertebrate criteria and the respective behaviors observed for each of these criteria. We heard a panel of five experts with the purpose of a content validation. The resulting instrument is characterized by a combination of fi eld formats and systems of categories. The reliability of the instrument was calculated by the intraobserver agreement, and values above 0.95 for all criteria were achieved. Two FC Barcelona games were coded and analyzed, which allowed the detection of various Tpatterns. The results show that the instrument serves the purpose for which it was developed and can provide important information for the understanding of game interaction in football.