A network theory analysis of football strategies

Javier López Peña, Hugo Touchette
2012 arXiv   pre-print
We showcase in this paper the use of some tools from network theory to describe the strategy of football teams. Using passing data made available by FIFA during the 2010 World Cup, we construct for each team a weighted and directed network in which nodes correspond to players and arrows to passes. The resulting network or graph provides a direct visual inspection of a team's strategy, from which we can identify play pattern, determine hot-spots on the play and localize potential weaknesses.
more » ... g different centrality measures, we can also determine the relative importance of each player in the game, the 'popularity' of a player, and the effect of removing players from the game.
arXiv:1206.6904v1 fatcat:j7og5g52wfe2ri3crirnxtdfe4