Home-Field Advantage in Soccer: UEFA Champions League and Europa League Evaluation on the 2021-2022 Season

Year 2024, , 211 - 218, 30.09.2024

Erhan Işıkdemir , Kadir Demir , Sevket Cihat Özer

https://doi.org/10.56639/jsar.1499713

Abstract

Competition analysis in football is an important method to evaluate the success and failure of teams. Home advantage is considered as an important factor in achieving success in competitions. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of home advantage on technical criteria in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, which are organised at club level, played in the 2021-2022 season. In the data collection phase, descriptive survey method was used. Within the scope of the research, a total of 262 football matches, excluding the final matches played at neutral grounds and total of 744 goals scored in these matches were analysed in terms of home and away teams in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. The goals scored were categorised as the goal minutes intervals, the goal scoring areas (Inside the Penalty Area: IPA; Outside the Penalty Area: OPA), the ways goals were scored (Head Kick; Foot Kick), the number of touches on the ball before the goal (1 Touch: 1T; 2 Touches: 2T; 3 Touches: 3T; 4 Touches + >4T), the direction of attack before the goal and the goals scored from set-pieces (Corner Kick; Penalty Kick and Free Kick) for the home and away teams. The images of the analysed goals were accessed on the UEFA official website with open access permission. Frequency (f) and percentage (%) were calculated for the evaluation of the data obtained, and since the data did not show normal distribution according to the Shapiro-Wilk test results, Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to look at the difference between the groups and the significance level was accepted as p<0.05. According to the results of the analysis, when the goals scored in the 01-15 minutes and 90+ sections of the competitions were examined, it was seen that the number of goals scored with a contact, the number of goals scored from inside the penalty area and the number of goals scored with a header were significantly higher in favour of the home team (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in terms of other variables (p>0.05). According to these results, it is thought that the home teams are more advantageous at the point of scoring goals in the competitions, especially in the first and overtime periods of the matches, the percentage of success in the penalty area is higher and this is reflected in the number of goals, therefore being a home team is an important advantage at this point.

Keywords

Football, Home Advantage, Goal, Video Analysis

Futbolda Ev Sahibi Olma Avantajı: 2021-2022 Sezonu UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi ve Avrupa Ligi Değerlendirmesi

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, kulüpler düzeyinde düzenlenen UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi ve UEFA Avrupa Liginde 2021-2022 sezonda oynanan ev sahibi olma avantajının teknik kriterler üzerine olan etkisinin incelenmesidir. Araştırma kapsamında UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi ve Avrupa Liginde tarafsız sahada oynanan final maçları hariç toplam 262 futbol karşılaşması ve bu maçlarda atılan toplam 744 gol ev sahibi ve deplasman takımları açısından incelenmiştir. Atılan goller, golün atıldığı dakika aralığı, golün atıldığı bölge (Ceza Sahası İçi: CSİ; Ceza Sahası Dışı: CZD), golün atılış biçimi (Kafa vuruşu; Ayak Vuruşu), gol öncesi topa temas sayısı (1 Temas: 1T; 2 Temas: 2T; 3 Temas: 3T; 4 Temas + >4T), gol öncesi hücum yönü ve duran toptan kaydedilen goller (Köşe Vuruşu; Penaltı ve Serbest Vuruş) olarak ev sahibi ve deplasman takımı açısından değerlendirilmek üzere sınıflandırılmıştır. İncelenen gollere ilişkin görüntülere, açık erişim izniyle UEFA resmi internet sitesi üzerinde ulaşılmıştır. Elde edilen verilere ilişkin değerlendirilmesi için frekans (f) ve yüzde (%) hesaplanmış, Shapiro-Wilk test sonuçlarına göre verilerin normal dağılım göstermediğinden dolayı gruplar arasındaki farka bakmak için Kruskal-Wallis testi uygulanmış ve anlamlılık düzeyi p<0.05 olarak kabul edilmiştir. Analiz sonuçlarına göre müsabakaların 01-15 dakikaları arasında ve 90+ bölümlerinde atılan goller incelendiğinde; bir temas ile atılan gol sayısının, ceza sahası içinden atılan gol sayısının, kafa vuruşu ile atılan gol sayısının ev sahibi takım lehine anlamlı düzeyde yüksek olduğu görülmüştür (p<0.05), diğer değişkenler açısından anlamlı bir fark olmadığı belirlenmiştir (p>0.05). Bu sonuçlara göre ev sahibi takımların, müsabakaların özellikle ilk bölümünde ve uzatmaya giden müsabakalarda gol bulma noktasında daha avantajlı olduğu, ceza sahası içinde başarı yüzdesinin daha yüksek olduğu ve bununda gol sayısına yansıdığı dolayısıyla ev sahibi olmanın bu noktada önemli bir avantaj olduğu düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

Futbol, Ev Sahibi Avantajı, Gol, Video Analiz

Ethical Statement

Within the scope of the research, permissions were obtained from Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee (Ethics Committee Document No: 2400002188; Meeting No: 01; Decision No: 02 Meeting Date: 22/01/2024). During the data collection phase, actions were taken in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration.

References

• Almeida, L. G. d., Oliveira, M. L. d., & Silva, C. D. d. (2011). Home advantage in the two main divisions of the Brazilian professional soccer. Revista Brasileira de Educação Física e Esporte, 25, 49-54.
• Anwar, M. Q. H. K., Jamaludin, M., Razali, M. R. M. D., Talip, N. K. A., & Ismail, Z. (2022). Offensive and defensive team performances: relation to successful and unsuccessful participation in the UEFA Champions League 20/21. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 22(11), 2649-2654. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2022.11336
• Arı, E., & Apaydın, N. (2022). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF) 1. Lig’i İlk 6 Sırada Tamamlayan Takımların Analizi. International Journal of Sport Exercise and Training Sciences-IJSETS, 7(4), 138-147.
• Armatas, V., & Pollard, R. (2014). Home advantage in Greek football, European Journal of Sport Science, 14(2): 116-122.
• Ehrlich, J., & Potter, J. (2022). Estimating the effect of attendance on home advantage in the National Basketball Association. Applied Economics Letters, 1-12.
• González-Rodenas, J., Aranda-Malaves, R., Tudela-Desantes, A., Nieto, F., Usó, F., & Aranda, R. (2020). Playing tactics, contextual variables and offensive effectiveness in English Premier League soccer matches. A multilevel analysis. Plos One, 15(2), e0226978.
• Goumas, C. (2014). Home advantage in Australian soccer. J Sci Med Sport, 17(1), 119-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2013.02.014
• Guérette, J., Blais, C., & Fiset, D. (2021). The absence of fans removes the home advantage associated with penalties called by National Hockey League referees. Plos One, 16(8), e0256568.
• Gürkan, O. (2023). Futbolda Bazı Teknik Parametrelerin Maç Konumu, Maç Sonucu ve Lig Sıralamasına Göre İncelenmesi (2021/2022 Sezonu Türkiye Futbol Süper Ligi Örneği) [Examınatıon of Certaın Technıcal Parameters in Football Accordıng to Match Locatıon, Match Result and League Rankıng: Example Of 2021/22 Turkısh Football Super League]. Akdeniz Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 6(1), 326-340. https://doi.org/10.38021/asbid.1199512
• Işıkdemir, E. (2020). Futbolda puan ve eleme usulüne göre oynanan karşılaşmalarda ev sahibi olmak bir avantaj mıdır?: 2018-2019 Şampiyonlar ligi analizi. Spormetre Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 18(2), 157-165.
• Işıkdemir, E., Özkürkçü, S., & Özer, S. C. (2023). Technical Analysis of Goals Scored in 3 Different European Leagues in The 2020-2021 Football Season [2020-2021 Futbol Sezonunda 3 Farklı Avrupa Liginde Atılan Gollerin Teknik Analizinin Yapılarak İncelenmesi]. Spor Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8(3), 458-472. https://doi.org/10.25307/jssr.1292528
• Lago-Peñas, C., Gómez-Ruano, M., Megías-Navarro, D., & Pollard, R. (2016). Home advantage in football: Examining the effect of scoring first on match outcome in the five major European leagues. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 16(2), 411-421. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2016.11868897
• Leite W.S.S (2017). Home Advantage: Comparison between the Major European Football Leagues. Athens Journal of Sports - Volume 4, Issue 1 – Pages 65-74. DOI: 10.30958/ajspo.4.1.4
• Leite, W., & Pollard, R. (2018). International comparison of differences in home advantage between level 1 and level 2 of domestic football leagues. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 48(2), 271-277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-018-0507-2
• Lepschy, H., Wäsche, H., & Woll, A. (2018). How to be Successful in Football: A Systematic Review. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 11, 3-23. https://doi.org/10.2174/1875399X01811010003
• Magni, M., Zago, M., Vago, P., Vandoni, M., Carnevale Pellino, V., & Lovecchio, N. (2023). Technical Differences over the Course of the Match: An Analysis of Three Elite Teams in the UEFA Champions League. Sports, 11(2), 46. https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/11/2/46
• Marek, P., & Vávra, F. (2020). Comparison of Home Advantage in European Football Leagues. Risks, 8(3), 87. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/risks8030087
• Mateus, N., Gonçalves, B., & Sampaio, J. (2021). Home advantage in basketball. In Home Advantage in Sport (pp. 211-219). Routledge.
• Modric, T., Malone, J. J., Versic, S., Andrzejewski, M., Chmura, P., Konefał, M., Drid, P., & Sekulic, D. (2022). The influence of physical performance on technical and tactical outcomes in the UEFA Champions League. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil, 14(1), 179. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-022-00573-4
• Nevill, A. M., & Holder, R. L. (1999). Home advantage in sport: An overview of studies on the advantage of playing at home. Sports Medicine, 28, 221-236.
• Njunge, C., Hilton, B., Olfman, L., & Hilton, J. (2020). Home Field Advantage in Major League Soccer. Pollard, R., & Gómez, M.A. (2014). Components of Home Advantage in 157 National Soccer Leagues Worldwide. Int. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol, 12, 218–233. DOI: 10.1080/1612197X.2014.888245
• Pollard, R., & Pollard, G. (2005). Long-term trends in home advantage in professional team sports in North America and England (1876–2003). Journal of Sports Sciences, 23(4), 337-350.
• Pollard, R., Armatas, V., & Zamani Sani, S. H. (2017). Home Advantage in Professional Football in Iran-Differences between Teams, Levels of Play and the Effects of Climate. International Journal of Science Culture and Sport, 5, 328-339. https://doi.org/10.14486/IntJSCS696
• Pollard, R., Prieto, J., & Gómez-Ruano, M. A. (2021). Home Advantage in Minor Sports. In Home Advantage in Sport (pp. 310-320). Routledge.
• Rampinini, E., Impellizzeri, F. M., Castagna, C., Coutts, A. J., & Wisløff, U. (2009). Technical performance during soccer matches of the Italian Serie A league: effect of fatigue and competitive level. J Sci Med Sport, 12(1), 227-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2007.10.002
• Seckin, A., & Pollard, R. (2008). Home Advantage in Turkish Professional Soccer. Perceptual and motor skills, 107, 51-54. https://doi.org/10.2466/PMS.107.5.51-54
• Stafylidis, A., Michailidis, Y., Mandroukas, A., Gissis, I., & Metaxas, T. (2022). Analysis of goal scoring and performance indicators in the 2020-2021 Greek soccer league. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 22(1), 91-99. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2022.01011
• Staufenbiel, K., Lobinger, B., & Strauss, B. (2015). Home advantage in soccer–A matter of expectations, goal setting and tactical decisions of coaches? Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(18), 1932-1941.
• Tokul, E. (2017). Avrupa futbol şampiyonasında atılan gollerin ve şutların teknik ve taktik kriterler açısından incelenmesi Yüksek Lisans Tezi.
• Tütüncü, O., & Yolgörmez, A. C. (2021). Futbolda Ev Avantajı mı, Deplasman Dezavantajı mı? COVID-19 Pandemi Süreci Örneği. Gazi Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 26(1), 137-149.
• Yi, Q., Gómez-Ruano, M.-Á., Liu, H., Zhang, S., Gao, B., Wunderlich, F., & Memmert, D. (2020). Evaluation of the Technical Performance of Football Players in the UEFA Champions League. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 604. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/604