During the Lockdown period, like so many others, I have used this time to try to learn and develop as many new skills as possible. After attending a few of their webinars, I decided to sign up for Nacsports's Soccer Starter Course as an opportunity to upskill myself in another video analysis software, after having previous experience with Hudl.
Firstly, I would have to say that it was a great course, challenging and interactive. The software is relatively simple to use, but can also have more advanced uses to fit in with the standards necessary for any organisation. With the growth in video analytics this will no doubt be extremely beneficial lower down the pyramid, as coaches are likely to be carrying out their own analysis rather than specific practitioners.
During the final exam of the course, I was given the thirty minute period at the start of the second half of the Celta Vigo vs Levante game in La Liga on 19th May 2018. I analysed Celta Vigo's performance and created a presentation using the Nacsport Basic Software to assess their set pieces, shooting and defensive actions during the video.
Whilst I watched the game, I used my buttons template to create short videos for specific actions from my 'categories' and was also able to add 'descriptors' to this, such as whether a shot (category) was good or bad (descriptors). From here, we can look at what videos we have produced either in our matrix or timeline. Then, moving to create a presentation, the length of videos can be changed in order to include all relevant information associated with the play, as well as adding further detail through the notes section and by using tellestration.
Whilst working with a club, there may be a clear workflow over what the coach would like the presentations to include - specific phases of the game which may allow them to assess how well the team executed the game plan and the coach's philosophy. In this scenario, I kept in line with the requests of the exam and made three distinct presentations relating to Celta Vigo; set pieces, shots and defensive actions. To display the skills necessary to pass the exam there were certain requirements, for example separating the shots presentation by player, with a dividing image for each player. Within an actual workflow I would hope to have more time and the specific club resources available to make these look more professional. If these are reoccurring presentations this should be expected as they will constantly be using the same format.
Set Pieces
Firstly, corners; Gomez's 63rd minute goal came from an excellent corner routine. You can see arm signals for each corner signifying where it goes. Usually, Maxi Gomez is the 6'1" target and the players around him move to isolate his position to give him a one-on-one challenge for the ball with the player marking him. With this goal, the forward movement of the main groups of players leaves Gomez isolated at the back post and he times his run well to run onto the ball and win the header to score.
Next, the short corner move doesn't come off with as much success as their balls into the box. The idea behind the move is good, by sticking to the goal line, it prevents anyone straying offside, however Levante get out well and it is a tight space to play 3-on-3 successfully. If the second pass did come off, Celta Vigo would have had a good opportunity to drive the ball in from the goal line.
Celta Vigo's playing philosophy appears to be typical of what we think of Spanish football, short passing play building up from the back, moving left to right to wait for an opportunity to easily break through the lines. This is apparent both in quick free kicks, short goal kicks and throw ins, as they often go backwards and look for an outlet to change the direction of attack.
Shots
Celta Vigo created several high quality opportunities throughout the period, so unsurprisingly came out eventual 4-2 winners. They set up in a low block when defending and attacked the final third at speed making it difficult for Levante to track the midfield runners, shown excellently through Wass' headed opportunity. The low block allows Celta Vigo to break at pace when Levante over-commit to attacks, as shown through Aspas' 48th minute goal. They can also maintain the shape of the low block when they transition into attack, as they begin their build up play in similar positions, moving the ball left-to-right.
Defensive Actions
I tried to group together similar situations here so that they can be assessed in relation to one another.
Firstly, we see Levante attacking the front post space on several occasions and although it does not end in a goal, Celta Vigo do not defend the situation well, allowing the forward to get to the ball first. Levante also had the right midfielder coming in free at the backpost who could have had an equally dangerous opportunity had there been a cross towards him played. Only on one occasion do we see the Celta Vigo player stick closely to his man and follow the movement to the front space post and win the header.
The low block is apparent with the positioning of the players, happy to move backwards until the defence is sitting on the 18 yard box, with the midfield four just sitting 10 yards in front, and Aspas and Gomez up front split across the Levante defence. Both the defence and midfield keep fairly narrow to not allow space for a pass inbetween the lanes, and shuffle as one to maintain this with the movement of the ball. They let Levante play freely and are quite passive in their pressure, until they see the opportunity to press as one, and do so when they see certain 'trigger' opportunities, such as when a wide player dribbles inside, which increases the likelihood of them winning the ball and playing the counter.
Their regimented positioning is shown through good communication on some occasions to pass on the player moving through the midfield, however, later on in the game after going 4-1 up the intensity drops and Levante were able to get two big opportunities, with one being chalked off for offside and the other to make it 4-2 in the 74th minute.
These video presentations can also be given further context through other statistics that we can show through the use of dashboards, for example. Coaches may also want these produced as part of opposition analysis or scouting as well as retrospective analysis of their own performances. Here, information can be used to make many decisions by key stakeholders within the club.
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