Geir Jordet Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Norwegian Centre of Football Excellence
The hidden foundation of field vision
in English Premier League (EPL)
soccer players
Johan Heijmerikx University of Groningen
Jonathan Bloomfield Support2Perform
2006 World Cup; Germany vs: 1: Costa Rica; 2: Poland, 3:
Ecuador; 4: Sweden; 5: Argentina; 6: Italy; 7: Portugal (8: final)
Wilbert-Lampen et al. (2008)
Italy vs. Germany, World Cup Semifinal 2006
”There are some
special players who always find openings.”
“Those who see will get you wins. But not many players are able to see like this.”
(Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger, Oct 7, 2010)
Previous research
• All studies on visual search in team sports are carried out in restricted lab settings:
– Film stimuli
– Eye movements only
– Non-relevant movements (joystick, left or right step)
• Urgent need for more ecologically valid paradigms and studies of real-world situations.
Roca et al. (2011)
Frontally positioned eyes
A visual exploration is: “A body and/or head movement in which the player’s face is actively and temporarily directed away from the ball, with
the intention of looking for information that is relevant to perform a subsequent action with the ball.”
Purpose
Learn about the ways expert professional soccer players use visual exploratory
behaviors in real-world games
and
Examine the link between these behaviors and performance.
Method
Sky Sport’s split screen PlayerCam broadcasts: 64 EPL games, 118 players, 1,279 relevant situations
0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0.27
0.33
81%
Not Awarded players
Awarded players
Individual Awards Exploratory Behavior Frequency
(explorations/second)
Mann Whitney U = 155728.00 p < .001
Frank Lampard #1
Exploratory frequency: 0.62 explorations/second
Steven Gerrard #2
Exploratory frequency: 0.61 explorations/second
0
20
40
60
80
100
68% 64%
81%
High frequency
Medium frequency
Low frequency
Exploratory Behavior Frequency Passes Completed
OR=1.18 p=.316
OR=2.46 p<.001
OR=1 Ref.
N = 118 players
Midfielders and Forwards
0
20
40
60
80
100
56%
41%
75%
High frequency
Medium frequency
Low frequency
Exploratory Behavior Frequency Forward Passes Completed
OR=1.84 p=.114
OR=4.38 p<.001
OR=1 Ref.
N = 55 players
Midfielders only
0
20
40
60
80
100
55%
44%
77%
High frequency
Medium frequency
Low frequency
Exploratory Behavior Frequency Forward Passes Completed on Opponents’ Half
OR=1.50 p=.437
OR=4.25 p=.024
OR=1 Ref.
N = 55 players
Midfielders only
Conclusions
• For EPL-players, there is a close relationship between exploratory behaviors and Performance, across roles and locations in the field.
• When players’ eyes are not naturally exposed to relevant info, exploratory behaviors provide a necessary foundation for vision.
• Not a sufficient explanation for vision, as expert players probably also process information more effectively, e.g.:
– Higher Signal sensitivity
– Better Pattern recognition
• However, with increased exploratory behaviors the eyes will be exposed to more information, which will improve ability to effectively process this information.
To what extent can exploratory behavior be developed/trained?
Everyday behavior
Athletes’ deliberate practice
Evolution
Spain vs. Netherlands, World Cup Final 2010
