Assessing and Visualizing Principles of Play in Soccer

Rúben Filipe Rocha, Rui Lopes, Rui Lopes

2025

Abstract

Recent advances in soccer analytics have significantly expanded the use of spatial and temporal data to un-derstand tactical behaviour. However, many visualisation tools remain limited in their ability to contextualize these behaviours according to established principles of play. This paper presents a context-aware visualisation framework that leverages StatsBomb Open Data to identify, illustrate, and interpret tactical patterns in professional soccer. The tool enables analysts to explore match phases through key tactical dimensions such as compactness, pressing, width, support, and penetration, using event-level data enriched with positional data (360 freeze frames). Unlike generic dashboards or statistical summaries, the proposed system integrates spatial relationships and collective movements, offering a more accurate representation of team behaviour across different match contexts. By combining visual methods with tactical theory, the tool supports coaches and analysts in identifying the match principles of play, thereby facilitating a deeper understanding of performance dynamics.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Rocha R. and Lopes R. (2025). Assessing and Visualizing Principles of Play in Soccer. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support - Volume 1: icSPORTS; ISBN 978-989-758-771-9, SciTePress, pages 90-99. DOI: 10.5220/0013716200003988

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icsports25,
author={Rúben Rocha and Rui Lopes},
title={Assessing and Visualizing Principles of Play in Soccer},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support - Volume 1: icSPORTS},
year={2025},
pages={90-99},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013716200003988},
isbn={978-989-758-771-9},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support - Volume 1: icSPORTS
TI - Assessing and Visualizing Principles of Play in Soccer
SN - 978-989-758-771-9
AU - Rocha R.
AU - Lopes R.
PY - 2025
SP - 90
EP - 99
DO - 10.5220/0013716200003988
PB - SciTePress