The Communication and Passing Contributions of Playing Positions in a Professional Soccer Team

Within the past decade, the acknowledgement of soccer as a dynamic and complex system has brought about a rapid progression of new methods aimed at improving match performance analysis (Low et al., 2019; McLean et al., 2019a; Sarmento et al., 2017). As such, there has been a shift away from analysis of isolated components of soccer performance to a focus on group behaviours that explores the collective movements and cooperative actions of team members and opposition players (Low et al., 2019; Sarmento et al., 2017). Methods such as spatiotemporal analysis and social network analysis (SNA) are now providing a detailed understanding of team functioning and performance in soccer (Low et al., 2019; Sarmento et al., 2017; Wäsche et al., 2017). For instance, analysing group tactical variables, via player tracking technology, such as team dispersion, effective playing areas, synchronisation, and numerical advantages and disadvantages has enabled detailed tactical insights for coaches (Low et al., 2019). In addition, the use of social network analysis (SNA) in soccer match analysis has demonstrated how players interact via their passing connections, which reveals patterns of passing behaviour and identifies prominent players within the passing networks (Wäsche et al., 2017). When using SNA to analyse passing connectivity in soccer, players are seen as a network of nodes that are connected by passes (Grund, 2012). Recent applications of SNA in soccer have analysed entire match passing networks (Clemente et al., 2015; Grund, 2012), goal scoring passing networks (GSPN) (McLean et al., 2017a, 2018a), unsuccessful passing networks (Mclean and Salmon, 2019b), and different playing formations (Clemente et al., 2015; McLean et al., 2018b). Together, these applications of SNA to passing in soccer have enabled a detailed understanding of the relational and interdependent perspectives to understand team coordination and connectivity.

Connectivity between team members in soccer does not, however, only relate to passing, players are also connected via verbal and nonverbal communication (Mclean et al., 2018c). Team members use intra-team communication (ITC) for information exchange during matches in order to optimise performance (Sullivan and Feltz, 2003). In a study modelling soccer performance as a complex system, former professional soccer players with a combined 1190 professional matches in top European leagues and 134 international appearances considered ITC to be an important function of performance in soccer (McLean et al., 2017b). Furthermore, effective ITC influences various team processes including motivation, concentration, strategy, skill acquisition, attitudes, and behaviour (Yukelson, 1993), and better performing teams communicate more, they also use more task related messages (Lausic et al., 2009).

Previous methods of measuring ITC in sporting teams have recorded the verbal communication of players (Lausic et al., 2009; LeCouteur and Feo, 2011). For instance, in tennis doubles matches, situations of verbal communications were recorded during breaks between points, and in netball, verbal ITC was recorded from the side of the court for the four defensive positions (Lausic et al., 2009; LeCouteur and Feo, 2011). A limitation related to recording verbal ITC is that it does not measure the nonverbal communication exchanged between team members or how beneficial the received communication was to playing performance. Even though ITC is an important function of performance in soccer (McLean et al., 2017b), no research exists on how the ITC received in a match directly relates to perceived individual performances during competitive professional soccer matches.

One method that has been used to measure ITC during a match is for players to subjectively rate, post-match, verbal and nonverbal communication they received during a match, and how this was perceived by players to benefit their individual performance (Mclean et al., 2018c). It is now common practice for professional athletes to complete subjective assessments including sleep diaries, perceived effort, and wellness scales in both training and matches (Bishop et al., 2008; Gallo et al., 2017). As such, a subjective rating scale to assess the perceived benefit of ITC to performance is an appropriate method to capture the verbal and nonverbal communication players receive in matches (Mclean et al., 2018c; Salmon et al., 2017). This approach of subjectively rating perceived ITC has been used to assess the communication exchanged by members of an elite women’s cycling team during two National Road Series races (Salmon et al., 2017). In addition, ITC examined for a professional soccer team showed that the team was a highly connected network for ITC, but less connected for passing (Mclean et al., 2018c). Furthermore, ITC was increased in matches won and drawn compared to matches lost, and there was a negative relationship between ITC and passing (Mclean et al., 2018c). The above-mentioned study was designed to investigate verbal and nonverbal ITC networks at a team level, but further investigation is required to determine contributions of individual playing positions to ITC. This would allow coaches to identify which players are the most connected playing positions for beneficial ITC and passing, and how this relates to team functioning.

Therefore, the aims of the current study were to (1) determine using SNA, the playing positions of a professional soccer team that are perceived to contribute the most to beneficial ITC compared to other team members, and (2) analyse passing contributions of the individual playing positions from a professional soccer team in competitive matches. A further investigative aim was to combine the beneficial ITC and passing data to develop a player connectivity index (PCI) to represent the contributions of playing positions to overall connectivity to the team.

There was a significant (p < .05) main effect and large effect sizes for individual playing position for perceived beneficial communication (p < .001; ɳ_Ƥ² .496; ß 1.000) (Figure. 1), passing (p < .001; ɳ_Ƥ² .523; ß 1.000) (Figure. 2), and for the PCI (p < .001; ɳ_Ƥ² .590; ß 1.000) (Figure. 3). Post hoc pairwise comparisons and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) are presented in Table 3.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

The current study used SNA to determine the individual contributions of playing positions to a team’s connectivity during 22 matches of a competitive professional soccer season. The primary and unique finding of this study was that the individual playing positions within the team contributed differently to team connectivity for the perceived beneficial ITC, and for the player connectivity index.

The passing analysis in this study supports previous analyses, whereby two central defenders and two central defensive midfielder positions provided the highest values for passing compared to the other playing positions within the team. Studies investigating passing networks in soccer have shown similar results to the current study (Clemente et al., 2015; Gama et al., 2014, 2015), whereby the centrally positioned midfield and defensive positions were found to be the most prominent contributors to passing networks (Clemente et al., 2015; Gama et al., 2015). These results could be explained by the fact that, in the build-up of an offensive phase of play, defenders often initiate the attacking phase, and defensive midfielders are positioned to provide the link between defensive and attacking positions (Clemente et al., 2015; Gama et al., 2015). Furthermore, after re-gaining possession in their own defensive areas of the pitch, defensive players often have numerical superiority over the opposition allowing passes to be played with decreased opposition pressure, (e.g. teams may retreat to their own defensive area after losing possession to prepare their own defence, or pressure defenders using a limited number of players). In contrast with the high passing contributions of the RCD, LCD, RDMF, and LDMF were the lower passing contributions by the forward positions of RAMF, LAMF, RWFD, and CFWD. This result could be attributed to these forward playing positions not always being involved in offensive build-ups. For example, attacking players generally become involved in play higher up the pitch where there is a high presence of defenders, subsequently increasing the risk of intercepted or pressured passes in these areas (Clemente et al., 2015). Furthermore, offensive phases of play that commence at the back may not progress to attacking players, due to turnovers of possession in midfield locations (Clemente et al., 2015).

This study is the first to determine the perceived ratings of beneficial ITC to individual playing position performance. The playing positions RCD, LCD, RDMF, and LDMF achieved the highest values, compared to all other positions. This result indicates, that similar to the passing networks, these playing positions provide the majority of beneficial ITC to other team members. It has been suggested that increased ITC is optimal in defensive phases of play (LeCouteur and Feo, 2011; Mclean et al., 2018c), as such central defensive and central defensive midfielder positions may be ideally positioned tactically on the field to share information with the other players. A further explanation is that team members at an elite level share general team knowledge regarding the teams’ playing philosophy and strategies, and team members who interact more regularly than others will share more specific knowledge about each other’s tasks (Cannon-Bowers et al., 1995). The fact that passing interactions were higher for the RCD, LCD, RDMF, and LDMF compared to the rest of the team shows how these positions interact more often with other players, and potentially possess a knowledge of the roles of the other playing positions, which subsequently allows them to provide task relevant information.

Having four main contributors to communication (RCD, LCD, RDMF, LDMF) may be an effective method for optimal team functioning. Given that the demand for cognitive resources increases with team size (Eccles and Tenenbaum, 2004), reducing the number of major contributors to communication may reduce cognitive demand on the players. This could allow for more cognitive resources of individual players to be applied to primary task performance (Eccles and Tenenbaum, 2004). It is not known whether the team consciously decided for these players to be the main communicators or whether the results were driven by self-organisation and the demand of the playing positions (Silva et al., 2013). Nonetheless, this finding has implications for coaches, talent identification, player development, and future research. Players could be coached communication techniques, such as the use of cue words, which removes ambiguity within ITC (Eccles and Tran, 2012; Mclean et al., 2018c). The ITC scale itself could be used in talent identification to determine the players best suited to provide beneficial communication to the team members. To gain a more detailed understanding of ITC, future research could potentially remove all communication or communication from specific playing positions and investigate the effect on team functioning.

Appendix 1

In the current study, beneficial ITC and passing were considered the variables that comprised team connectivity, and the PCI represented the coupling of passing and beneficial ITC. The results for the PCI indicated that the RCD, LCD, RDMF, and LDMF were the major contributors to team connectivity, compared to the other playing positions. This result is consistent with these positions also being identified as the prominent passers and beneficial communicators in the independent analysis of these variables. This finding has potential implications for match analysis and team strategy. Calculating the PCI for matches would allow coaches to determine whether changes occur for individual positions across different match outcomes, across a season, a tournament, and in matches of high or low possession, and how these changes relate to team functioning. One contribution of this research is the PCI, a novel metric designed to support assessment of player connectedness within their team during matches. The development of the PCI advances upon the typical independent analysis of passing by providing a metric that integrates two performance analysis metrics deemed important by coaches (McLean et al., 2017b). The PCI metric could be used in other team sports to understand team functioning and assist the coaching process.

Given that this is first-of-a-kind research in soccer, there are potential limitations to the current study including the subjectivity of the ITC rating scale. However, players were familiar with other subjective scales such as ratings of perceived exertion and wellness scales, and players were given instructions of how to complete the ITC rating scale. It was not possible to formally test the reliability of the ITC rating scale across matches, as performances in soccer are different from match to match, and player ratings would potentially change (Mclean et al., 2018c). Furthermore, the external factors influencing player’s behaviour in soccer, including match status, different opposition, and playing home/away means that no two matches are identical. The ITC rating scale was developed by experienced researchers, soccer coaches, and sport scientists, and the progressive refinement prior to being used for data collection provides face validity (Mclean et al., 2018c). The findings also provide an indication of validity, as the ITC scale was sensitive enough to detect significant differences between playing positions across 22 matches when using a conservative pairwise comparison adjustment. A further potential limitation is the global rating of perceived beneficial ITC for the match, which does not measure single pieces of information which could have been crucial in deciding the match outcome. Lastly, instances where players switched positions during a match were not recorded, players were instructed to complete their ITC scales for the playing position in which they started the match.

In conclusion, the current study is the first to investigate, using SNA, the contributions of beneficial ITC and passing by the individual playing positions in competitive professional soccer. Central defensive and central defensive midfield positions were the most prominent contributors to beneficial ITC and passing, and subsequently achieved the highest PCI scores, compared to all other positions. The tactical strategy related to where these players are positioned may be optimal for information sharing, and for playing and receiving passes in the build-up of offensive phases, compared to all other positions. The findings of this study have implications for practice and for future research. For example, coaches could incorporate aspects of ITC in the design of training e.g. ensuring that players in the key positions for information exchange are aware of the match related tasks of other positions. The ITC scale is the first-of-its-kind to assess ITC in team sport and research could be extended to other sports to understand how players are connected via verbal and nonverbal communication.