Soccer analytics successful coaching through match analysis

Spectators of a soccer game want to be entertained while observers search for critical information. Needless to say, we all would like to be entertained, but for the coach, watching a soccer game is hard work. Observing playing behaviour is one of the most important tasks a coach has to accomplish, and early research into the process of behavioural observation revealed some interesting findings in the field of social psychology that are relevant when examining the observational skills of soccer coaches. Darren Newtson found that adult observers used breakpoints in action sequences to organize behavioural units of ongoing events for later recall. These units then became units of comprehension and memory. For example, breakpoints in soccer game action for the observer coach could be something as simple as a change in ball possession and each component of memory could be one possession. Unfortunately, due to the length of the game and the myriad of other factors that affect memory recall, most of what the soccer coach observes and remembers about the game is not accurate. This is not surprising since a lot of events (e.g. breakpoints, changes in possession and critical incidents) take place in a 90-minute game.