Performance analysis in soccer: applications of player tracking technology

The aim of this thesis was threefold, firstly, to compare current player tracking technology in a single game of soccer. Secondly, to investigate the running requirements of elite women’s soccer, in particular the use and application of athlete tracking devices. Finally, how can game style be quantified and defined. Study One compared four different match analysis systems commonly used in both research and applied settings: video-based time-motion analysis, a semi-automated multiple camera based system, and two commercially available Global Positioning System (GPS) based player tracking systems at 1 Hertz (Hz) and 5 Hz respectively. A comparison was made between each of the systems when recording the same game. Total distance covered during the match for the four systems ranged from 10 830 ± 770 m (semi-automated multiple camera based system) to 9 510 ± 740m (video-based time-motion analysis). At running speeds categorised as high-intensity running (>15 km⋅h-1), the semi-automated multiple camera based system reported the highest distance of 2 650 ± 530 m with video-based time-motion analysis reporting the least amount of distance covered with 1 610 ± 370 m. At speeds considered to be sprinting (>20 km⋅h-1), the video-based time-motion analysis reported the highest value (420 ± 170 m) and 1 Hz GPS units the lowest value (230 ± 160 m). These results demonstrate there are differences in the determination of the absolute distances, and that comparison of results between match analysis systems should be made with caution. Currently, there is no criterion measure for these match analysis methods and as such it was not possible to determine if one system was more accurate than another. Study Two provided an opportunity to apply player-tracking technology (GPS) to measure activity profiles and determine the physical demands of Australian international level women soccer players. In four international women’s soccer games, data was collected on a total of 15 Australian women soccer players using a 5 Hz GPS based athlete tracking device. Results indicated that Australian women soccer players covered 9 140 ± 1 030 m during 90 min of play. The total distance covered by Australian women was less than the 10 300 m reportedly covered by female soccer players in the Danish First Division. However, there was no apparent difference in the estimated "#$%&', as measured by multi-stage shuttle tests, between these studies. This study suggests that contextual information, including the “game style” of both the team and opposition may influence physical performance in games. Study Three examined the effect the level of the opposition had on the physical output of Australian women soccer players. In total, 58 game files from 5 Hz athlete-tracking devices from 13 international matches were collected. These files were analysed to examine relationships between physical demands, represented by total distance covered, high intensity running (HIR) and distances covered sprinting, and the level of the opposition, as represented by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ranking at the time of the match. Higher-ranking opponents elicited less high-speed running and greater low-speed activity compared to playing teams of similar or lower ranking. The results are important to coaches and practitioners in the preparation of players for international competition, and showed that the differing physical demands required were dependent on the level of the opponents. The results also highlighted the need for continued research in the area of integrating contextual information in team sports and demonstrated that soccer can be described as having dynamic and interactive systems. The influence of playing strategy, tactics and subsequently the overall game style was highlighted as playing a significant part in the physical demands of the players. Study Four explored the concept of game style in field sports such as soccer. The aim of this study was to provide an applied framework with suggested metrics for use by coaches, media, practitioners and sports scientists. Based on the findings of Studies 1- 3 and a systematic review of the relevant literature, a theoretical framework was developed to better understand how a team’s game style could be quantified. Soccer games can be broken into key moments of play, and for each of these moments we categorised metrics that provide insight to success or otherwise, to help quantify and measure different methods of playing styles. This study highlights that to date, there had been no clear definition of game style in team sports and as such a novel definition of game style is proposed that can be used by coaches, sport scientists, performance analysts, media and general public. Studies 1-3 outline four common methods of measuring the physical demands in soccer: video based time motion analysis, GPS at 1 Hz and at 5 Hz and semiautomated multiple camera based systems. As there are no semi-automated multiple camera based systems available in Australia, primarily due to cost and logistical reasons, GPS is widely accepted for use in team sports in tracking player movements in training and competition environments. This research identified that, although there are some limitations, GPS player-tracking technology may be a valuable tool in assessing running demands in soccer players and subsequently contribute to our understanding of game style. The results of the research undertaken also reinforce the differences between methods used to analyse player movement patterns in field sports such as soccer and demonstrate that the results from different systems such as GPS based athlete tracking devices and semi-automated multiple camera based systems cannot be used interchangeably. Indeed, the magnitude of measurement differences between methods suggests that significant measurement error is evident. This was apparent even when the same technologies are used which measure at different sampling rates, such as GPS systems using either 1 Hz or 5 Hz frequencies of measurement. It was also recognised that other factors influence how team sport athletes behave within an interactive system. These factors included the strength of the opposition and their style of play. In turn, these can impact the physical demands of players that change from game to game, and even within games depending on these contextual features. Finally, the concept of what is game style and how it might be measured was examined. Game style was defined as "the characteristic playing pattern demonstrated by a team during games. It will be regularly repeated in specific situational contexts such that measurement of variables reflecting game style will be relatively stable. Variables of importance are player and ball movements, interaction of players, and will generally involve elements of speed, time and space (location)".

The Origins and Legacy of a Currency Board in Argentina

This is a qualitative case study of the adoption of a currency board in Argentina in 1991. It presents a discursive analysis and intellectual history of four overlaying and mutually influencing stories of Convertibility’s adoption. It is (1) the story of how Menem aligned himself to the Washington Consensus as a means to win a Presidential election. This ideological alignment influences and is influenced by a (2) reconstitution of the Peronist Party’s historically entrenched identity. This in turn re-fashion the whole system of interest articulation and relative power of interest groups in Argentina. The adoption of a currency board also marks the pace of (3) the entrenchment neoliberal interests across a domestic network of neoliberal think-tanks, technocrats, politicians, and “technopoles” articulating neoliberal interests outside of the Washington Consensus, within an International Neoliberal Network. Argentina’s adoption of a currency board falls in line with the Corner Solutions, a neoliberal doctrine promoted to influence developing countries to adopt two forms of exchange rate regimes that allow for less government involvement, including a currency board. Argentina starts as a test country and then becomes (4) an ideological stepping stone to help promote the creation of currency boards across more “developing” countries. These stories are not sequential but concurrent, and they help advance an alternative critique of neoliberalism that focuses on specifics to induce case-specific lessons versus a theory claiming to provide any universal truth.

Early Warning System Potential for Single Sourcing Risk Mitigation

Part 17: Risk Analysis

Making sense of a transnational merger: Media texts and the (re)construction of power relations

In this study of symbolic power relations in a transnational merger, we suggest that the popular media can provide a significant arena for (re)constructing national identities and power in this kind of dramatic industrial restructuring, and are an under-utilized source of empirical data in research studies. Focusing on the press coverage of a recent Swedish-Finnish merger, we specify and illustrate a particular feature of discursive (re)construction of asymmetric power relations; superior (Swedish) and inferior (Finnish) national identities, which, we argue, are embedded in the history of colonization and domination between the two nations. The findings of the present study lead us to suggest that a lens taken from post-colonial theory is particularly useful in understanding the wider symbolic power implications of international industrial restructuring.

Network integration for international mergers and Acquisitions

Business activities are increasingly taking place across geographical and ownership boundaries. Post-Merger & Acquisition Integration (PMI) processes are more challenging in network organisations due to the extra complexity and interdependency associated with networks. However, network integration issues are not well addressed in the traditional M&A literature or the network organisation literature. Based on ten in-depth case studies across key industry sectors, this research identifies the essential network integration issues for international M&As with a configuration concept, and demonstrates different network integration patterns according to M&A objectives for growth and efficiency. This paper extends the theoretical understanding of PMI for network organisations. It can also provide practical guidance for managers to assess the feasibility of an M&A transition or to go through the PMI process successfully. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Zon-Optimus merger: Case study

The present Work Project was performed as a Case Study, analysing the merger between Zon, a leading Portuguese Pay TV operator and Optimus, the third largest mobile company in Portugal. The Case Study was developed with the purpose of understanding the value creation of the Zon-Optimus merger, being analysed the: (i) industry trends, (ii) parties’ contribution, (iii) pre-merger events, (iv) merger rationale, (v) deal structure and valuation, (vi) competition authority decision and (vii) competitive advantages and future strategy. Was also attached a Teaching Note where synergies, implied valuations, exchange ratios, shareholder agreements, swot analysis, among others, were duly analysed.

The relevance of import competition to merger assessment in Australia

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been criticised for failing to take due account of the impact import competition has on domestic firms when assessing whether or not a proposed merger will be likely to substantially lessen competition. This article reviews the approach taken by the ACCC to import competition in its merger assessments. Consideration is given to both the policy adopted by the ACCC and the statistical relevance that has, in fact, been placed on import competition in merger assessment. A conclusion is then drawn as to the appropriateness of the ACCC's current policy and practice.

Current issues in merger law

This collection of global perspectives will be of great interest to scholars and students of competition law, microeconomics, and regulatory studies.     This collection of global perspectives will be of great interest to scholars and students of competition law, microeconomics, and regulatory studies.
The globalization of markets, combined with the extraordinary expansion of merger control laws over the past two decades, has resulted in an increasing number of mergers inviting multiple regulatory responses. This has had a significant impact on the complexity, time and cost associated with transnational mergers and has highlighted the differences in law, policy and procedure employed by more than 70 jurisdictions now adopting targeted merger regimes. By contrast with other areas of competition law and policy, the treatment of mergers involves a significant regulatory component, with most jurisdictions adopting ex ante notification and suspension obligations for mergers exceeding defined thresholds. The justification for this lies in the structural change to the market affected by the merging of assets, personnel and intellectual property, which are difficult to reverse. However, ex ante regulation also has the consequence of subjecting the vast majority of benign or beneficial mergers to the cost and delay associated with administrative scrutiny. This cost and delay has the potential to jeopardize time-sensitive transactions or postpone expected efficiency gains. Where markets extend beyond domestic borders, these costs are multiplied and the slowest and most prescriptive jurisdiction will influence or determine the time at which the merger can close, if at all, and on what conditions.                 

The international competitiveness of the Costa Rican clothing industry

Includes bibliography