Use of the playing systems in Spanish professional football leagues in relation to situational variables
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/riccafd.14.1.2025.21535Keywords:
team sport, elite, formation, contextual variables, interactionAbstract
This study aimed to describe and compare the game systems used in the two Spanish professional men’s football leagues, including the following situational variables: location (home and away), level of the teams (based on the final ranking), final result and time of the season. A total of 5,038 matches were analysed in the LaLiga EA Sports (first division) and LaLiga Hypermotion (second division) leagues, during three consecutive seasons (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22). Eight reference game systems were selected. The results were that: 1) the most commonly used systems were S4-4-2, S4-5-1, and S4-3-3, with significant differences observed; 2) the scoreline and category influenced system usage, with the predominant and significant use of S4-5-1 in LaLiga Hypermotion; 3) location, team quality, and period did not show significant differences in system usage; 4) on average, teams used five different tactical systems per season; and, 5) teams, depending on the league in which they compete and their final league position, adopted specific tactical systems associated with match outcomes. The main conclusion of the study is that, despite teams in each league employing a preferred playing system, they displayed significant variability throughout the season, motivated mainly by the teams' level and score.
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