Packing (soccer)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Packing [ ˈpækɪŋ ] is a method used in the analysis of football matches . It serves as the basis for calculating key figures that reflect the skill level of players or teams. It is checked in a game at certain times how many opponents are still between the ball-bearing player and the opposing goal. This number of opponents (who can still defend their own goal) form the essential input variable for the subsequent calculation of the key figure.

The method, which was presented to a broader public for the first time during the 2016 European Championship , was developed in January 2014 by former soccer player Stefan Reinartz and his former teammate Jens Hegeler , who jointly founded Impect GmbH for this purpose.

The application of the method generally assumes that a soccer game is recorded with visual means and can thus be analyzed.

Development and methodology

Stefan Reinartz found that conventional parameters such as possession, corners and shots on goal have little or no significance for the efficiency of a team. As an example, he cites the 2014 World Cup semi-finals between Germany and Brazil . According to traditional analysis, Brazil should have left the field as the winner. In fact, Brazil lost the game 7-1. According to Reinartz's interpretation, Germany scored more goals because the team “simply outplayed more players”.

The starting point for packing is therefore the assumption of an increasing probability of scoring as the number of defenders between the attacker carrying the ball and the defending goal decreases: the fewer opponents there are between the attacker and the opposing goal, the less they can prevent him from completing the goal. Based on this approach, a number of indicators can be derived for both the offensive and defensive performance of teams and individual players.

Derived key figures

Based on the packing method, Reinartz and Hegeler have defined the following key figures, among others:

Opponents taken out of play as passers

For every successful offensive action in a soccer game, it is counted how many opponents can still defend their own goal before and after the action. The difference corresponds to the number of opponents taken out of play by this offensive action, since these are the players who can no longer defend the goal thanks to the offensive action. It does not matter whether the offensive action is a vertical pass , a diagonal ball, or a dribble . The prerequisite is that the offensive action was successful. This means that the ball does not fly out of bounds, that the recipient of the pass is on the same team as the pass giver, and that he can receive the ball in a controlled manner and thus a targeted follow-up action is possible.

The opponents taken out of the game by the passer are added up over the course of the game and form the packing rate of a player or a team. Defenders taken out of the game are also counted in their own key figure - they form the so-called impect . The defenders include the last six players including the opposing goalkeeper.

Opponents removed from the game as pass recipients

For every successful offensive action, a pass giver also needs a pass recipient. Therefore, the opponents taken out of the game by an offensive action are credited to the pass recipient in a second, independent code number. This value is particularly important for offensive players and is an indication of how often a player successfully offers himself, shows himself in free spaces and can assert balls.

Opponents taken out of play by conquering the ball

If a player succeeds in getting his team into possession of the ball, opponents can also be taken out of play. All opponents who are further away from the opposing goal than the player who captured the ball at the time of capturing the ball can no longer defend the opposing goal.

Teammates brought into play by conquering the ball

Capturing the ball can also lead to teammates being brought back into play, as they can defend their own goal again as a result of capturing the ball.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marcus Bark: Sportschau measures the more efficient passes. In: Sportschau . June 2, 2016, accessed June 14, 2016 .
  2. ↑ dsi: "Packing" - the other statistic. Which pass is efficient and which is not? In: n-tv . June 13, 2016, accessed June 14, 2016 .
  3. ^ Christoph Biermann: Reinartz & Hegeler . In: 11 friends . October 2015, No. 168 , November 2015, ISSN  1860-0255 , p. 62 .
  4. ↑ Stefan Reinartz and Jens Hegeler: Impect.com. Retrieved June 15, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Sebastian Weßling: Football fans puzzling: What actually is packing? WAZ, June 15, 2016, accessed June 16, 2016 .

Web links