Relationship between pitch size and tactical behavior of soccer player

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine how soccer players' tactical behavior changes according to pitch size. As such, 1,476 tactical actions performed by 12 under-15 soccer players were analyzed. The "GK3-3GK" test was used to collect and evaluate tactical actions. This test aimed to evaluate the actions performed by players (with and without the ball) regarding ten fundamental tactical principles of Soccer game. Additionally, the test considered the place of action and the respective outcome. Based on this information thirteen performance indexes were calculated. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using SPSS for Windows version 17.0. Descriptive analysis, Shapiro-Wilk test, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05) and reliability test were carried out. The results showed 26 significant differences between 76 variables analyzed. Of these, 21 variables registered higher values on the smaller pitch and five variables did so on the bigger pitch. We conclude that pitch size influenced the tactical behavior performed by soccer players, particularly when related with defensive organization of the team.