– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Here's a quick experiment.

Take a look at this clip from one of my

matches last season.

What choice would you

have made in this position?

Would you have played a pass

forward into the midfielder?

Would you have laid it

off to the center back?

Would you have

switched play into the winger?

Or would you have

looked for a ball in behind

for the striker to chase?

All of these options

are completely viable,

but in this situation,

our player seemingly

made the wrong decision.

Chances are, while

you may have considered

at least one of these options,

you definitely won't have seen them all.

And every single second that passes,

new opportunities are created or lost.

When it comes to making a decision

and trying to gain an

advantage over the opponent,

countless factors are influencing

this player's thought process,

from the position of the opponent's

to the tactics covered during training.

But as observers,

it's seemingly impossible

to decipher everything that is happening

in the mind of the player.

So how can we understand

what this player is thinking

in order to beat his opponent?

A recent PhD study aimed

to answer this question,

and by interviewing

professional footballers,

they identified four key elements

that play a vital role in a player's

decision-making process.

No matter the sport,

decision-making is a fundamental skill

that all elite athletes need to possess.

While research on this

topic has grown substantially

over the past few decades,

there's still limited insight

from expert players' own perspective

about what exactly

influences a player's decision.

Initial research used

video-based experiments,

similar to what we saw

at the start of the video,

where athletes were shown clips of match

or training footage that

would pause at certain points,

with the participants then needing to say

what they would do next.

However, the results of these studies

proved to be inconsistent

with in-situ experiments,

noting how the player's gaze behavior

was different in the

two types of setting.

Essentially, it was clear that players

scanned their environment,

but there was little information

on how players used this information

to set up a situation that allowed them

to gain an advantage.

To understand why, I travelled back

to my old university in Portsmouth,

where a recent study

led by Dr. Harry Ramsey,

now a lecturer in skill acquisition,

aimed to fill in the

gap in the literature.

In their research, 15 current

professional football players

who have competed for

their national team,

either at senior or the

way to under-17 level,

were interviewed on what they thought

good decision-making was,

and how they modified their behavior

in order to gain an

advantage over the opponent.

The first theme that emerged

was the idea of being unpredictable.

So a number of the

players actually referred

to trying to make their

actions unpredictable,

or just in general,

trying to be unpredictable,

so that their

opponent didn't find it easy

to know what they were going to do.

Players also referred

to being unpredictable

on a more tactical level.

An example of this

that one of the players

highlighted would be,

if a winger receives the

ball on the touch line,

maybe the first three

times in a row in a game

they received the ball in that situation,

they would just do a simple

pass back inside the pitch,

and then on the fourth scenario,

they would see that their

fullback has anticipated

they were going to make that same pass

back inside the pitch again,

and make it look like they

were going to do that pass,

but then actually turn

and exploit the space

vacated by the defender

and dribble down the line.

So the player here isn't

trying to gain an advantage

or take on the player every

time they receive the ball,

but they're trying to set up a situation

kind of over a series of actions

where they can gain a bigger

advantage over their fullback

and create a better

chance for their team.

This idea of

unpredictability is extremely evident

at the elite level.

Creative dribbles such

as Bergkamp's famous goal

or sneaky free kicks under the wall

that led to a whole change in how teams

look to defend set pieces.

Players like Vinicius Jr

thrive on their ability

to create opportunities

by constantly changing

the types of runs and

dribbles that they make,

depending on the situation

that they find themselves in.

But for a player to trick the opponent,

they first need to

create the right situation

and generate the correct option.

So this theme is all about how players

actively generate options

and then how they select

between those options

that are available to them.

Several players

highlighted that they would

actively influence others around them

in order to generate the

options available to them.

So a number of players

highlighted how they did this

by when they were in

possession of the ball.

Maybe they would take a few more touches

to try and entice the opposition players

out of their positional structure.

And then that would free up

space for one of their teammates

to receive the ball in a

more advanced position.

So they would actively generate the

options available to them

by drawing others out of their position.

A good example of

this concept can be seen

from a player like

Ruben Dias and Man City,

often waiting on the ball for the

opponent to close him down

and creating a gap in

behind for the midfielder

to receive the ball in more space.

This finding emphasizes

that the opportunities

available to a player are not

all present at the same time.

And as a player

performs an action on the ball,

their teammates and

opponents move in response,

which in turn creates new information.

The most important aspect from this theme

was that the professional

players were generally aware

of their technical

skillset and then would aim

to make decisions or

perform actions that would align

with their own unique skillset.

In the case of a ball-playing

centre-back, for example,

if we take the two

Crystal Palace centre-backs,

so first we have Joachim Andersen.

He has that amazing ability to hit a

50-yard diagonal pass

to the wingers.

And then next to him, we have Mark Guehi,

who doesn't necessarily have that same

50-yard pass ability,

but he is really good

at carrying the ball,

driving with the ball into midfield.

So in the same position on the pitch,

these two players might

perform a different action

that aligns with

their own unique skillset.

So we get to the professional level

and to be successful at

the professional level.

Don't necessarily need to

have the biggest skillset,

but if you're able to

make decisions that align

with your own skillset,

you can be a really good decision-maker

and then a really good player

and really valuable to your team.

From personal experience,

this is one of the hardest things

to get youth players and

semi-professionals to understand,

is that while they

might be good at one thing,

they're certainly not

the best at everything.

And so as a coach,

helping your players understand

what their best qualities are

can certainly help them

become much better players.

Playing to one's strength

is certainly a vital skill

to possess, but for a

player to be able to do this,

they first need to be able to

anticipate and read the game.

One way they can do this is

by scanning the environment.

So this theme was all

about having the ability

to read your direct opponent,

as well as having an ability

to read the game as a whole.

In line with the beliefs

of professional coaches

and researchers, the

players highlighted the importance

of scanning for

supporting their decision-making.

Scanning can also

potentially help to make a player

more unpredictable,

as if they have more

options available to them,

it might be harder for an

opponent to be able to read

what they're likely to do.

Whereas if the player didn't scan

and they only have one option available,

which then could be a

simple bounce pass backwards,

it could lead them to

be a pressing target

for the opposition.

By constantly observing the environment

and taking in new information,

it allows players to gain

a much better understanding

of their surroundings.

For example, take this clip,

notice the midfielder constantly looking

around his environment,

noticing he has space to

receive the ball and gain ground.

From this position,

he is then able to

create a dangerous opportunity

by playing to his strengths.

In this situation, however,

we notice how the midfielder doesn't

observe his surroundings

and is focused on his

teammate on the ball.

As a result of not scanning,

he's unaware that he's

completely surrounded

and tries to dribble

rather than a simple layoff.

Simply by watching

world-class midfielders

like Kevin de Bruyne,

you can see how often

they are observing the game

that is unfolding around them,

allowing them to have more options

and make the right choice for the team.

Finally, the last key theme of the paper

referred to a player's decision

to control and dictate the game.

The general idea within this theme

is that good

decision-making appears to go beyond

what is currently

studied within the literature,

where players aim to not

only make good decisions

that benefit their team

and allow them to gain an

advantage over their opponent,

but where they make

decisions that allow them

to dictate the flow and

the rhythm of the game.

So one player in

particular, a central midfield player,

highlighted how one of his main roles

was to dictate the flow of the game.

So this could be knowing when to speed up

periods of possession

to create an attack,

and knowing when to slow

down periods of possession

to just retain the ball.

So the ability to

dictate the flow of the game

allows a team to apply

their own playing principles

to the game, which in

theory should give them

the best opportunity of being successful

against their opponent.

The main idea behind

this is that when a team

is in control of the

ball, it allows the players

to stick to their

principles and focus on the game.

And so the decision to reset the attack

and adjust the tempo of the game

can be an excellent way

of getting the whole team

on the same page.

An example of how

managers want to control the game

can be seen in a manager like Roberto

De Zerbi at Brighton.

Brighton are a team that

will comfortably complete

10 to 15 passes in their own box,

dragging the opposition out of position

and allowing their players

to stick to their principles

and control the game from buildup.

This finding is also in

line with current research

on team dynamics and work being done

on trying to better understand

how a team can control the game.

Data scientists have

modelled team dynamics

and created pitch control models to

capture how teams control

and dictate the game to

determine if this is a factor

that underpins their success.

So for example, a team's

ability to go from a slow buildup

to a fast buildup might

underpin their ability

to successfully break down the

opposition's defense

and create goal scoring opportunities.

So what exactly can we

learn from these findings?

By using this research, we can

essentially piece together

a timeline of what goes

into an informed decision.

Firstly, good decisions

are made when the players

have a good

understanding of their environment.

And so scanning and being

aware of their surroundings

is crucial.

Secondly, a player should do what's best

for their specific skill set.

If a player is more

comfortable playing shorter passes,

then their decisions

should lead them to a position

where they can best exploit this quality.

Thirdly, if a player makes their game

as unpredictable as

possible by constantly changing

what runs and passes they make,

it will give the

opposing team a much harder job

trying to anticipate

the player's movements.

Finally, a player

should aim to make the choice

that allows the team to

gain control of the match.

After moments of end-to-end football,

resetting the player

and allowing the team

to stick to their game plan

can be an excellent choice

that benefits the whole team.

But I'm curious to know

how you help your players

make informed decisions.

Leave your thoughts in

the comments down below.

Thank you to the University of Portsmouth

and Dr. Harry Ramsey for

giving me the opportunity

to explore groundbreaking research

in the world of football.

If you want to know

more about the research

that we covered in today's video,

then there are links to everything

in the description down below.

If scientific research and

the best coaching methods

is something you're interested in,

then make sure to

subscribe to the channel

so you never miss an update.

Thanks for watching.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
viable /ˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ C1	adjective - capable of working successfully; feasible
decipher /dɪˈsaɪ.fər/ C2	verb - to succeed in understanding, interpreting, or identifying something
fundamental /ˌfʌn.dəˈmen.təl/ B2	adjective - forming a necessary base or core; of central importance
substantially /səbˈstæn.ʃəl.i/ C1	adverb (functioning as modifier) - to a great or significant extent
exploit /ɪkˈsplɔɪt/ B2	verb - to make full use of and derive benefit from a resource or situation
entice /ɪnˈtaɪs/ C1	verb - to attract or tempt by offering pleasure or advantage
unpredictable /ˌʌn.prɪˈdɪk.tə.bəl/ B2	adjective - not able to be foreseen or known beforehand
dictate /dɪkˈteɪt/ B2	verb - to control or decisively affect
acquisition /ˌæk.wəˈzɪʃ.ən/ C1	noun - the learning or developing of a skill, habit, or quality
vacated /vəˈkeɪ.tɪd/ C1	verb - to leave a place or position that one previously occupied
underpin /ˌʌn.dəˈpɪn/ C2	verb - to support, justify, or form the basis for
perspective /pəˈspek.tɪv/ B2	noun - a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something
inconsistent /ˌɪn.kənˈsɪs.tənt/ B2	adjective - acting at variance with one's own principles or former actions
groundbreaking /ˈɡraʊndˌbreɪ.kɪŋ/ C1	adjective - innovative; pioneering
rhythm /ˈrɪð.əm/ B2	noun - a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound