Mathematicians Use Network Theory To Decipher Spain's Champion Style

Maths and Sports have had an elusive relation for long, but sports like football have known to defy statistics with fewer attributes to measure. Mathematicians Javier López Peña and Hugo Touchette of University College and Queen Mary University respectively, aim to change the approach by applying network theory to the unparalleled playing technique of the Euro '12 champions, Spain. A graphical representation of the same was uploaded to the preprint server <em>arXiv.</em>

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The idea is to think of each player as a node, with the lines between two nodes representing  their relationship to one another on the team, the amount of passing that is done between them, the way it is done and to whom. The findings state the obvious, Spain passes the ball a lot, but also highlights the fact that two players on the team are “well connected” i.e. easy for others to get to.

The graph also measures “betweenness centrality,” which within the soccer model measures how much a team relies on an individual player. Spain, when compared to opponents, seems to be less at disadvantage even if a single individual is covered. The graphic also implements Google's PageRank to calculate the player who is passed the ball most often by teammates, which in Spain's case is Xavi.

The graphic suggests that Spain relies on teamwork more than  individual skills.

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