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World in motion
How the
beautiful
game has
changed
over five
decades
How many people holding forth on the greatest World Cup players have actually
watched Pele’s six appearances for Brazil in 1970 from start to finish, or the
seven games played by Johan Cruyff for Holland in 1974 and by Diego
Maradona for Argentina in 1986? Not many, presumably. But Opta’s video
analysts have — along with the other 520 games played at all World Cups from
1966 to the present day. Each kick of those 11 tournaments has been logged for
the first time, and the treasure trove of data reveals some fascinating trends in
the game as well as allowing for more informed pronouncements on who have
been the finest players. Headers and stoppage time are up, dribbles are down
and a goalkeeper’s job has been transformed. As for the greatest players, don’t
let Pelé hear the verdict . . .
Dribbles reduced to a trickle
Heading for change
Playing it safe
The sight of players taking the ball past
opponents is becoming rarer. One blip in
this trend came in 1994, when a recently
announced crackdown on foul play
perhaps emboldened skilful players
Headers have become a greater part of the
game in the past three World Cups. A
greater proportion of efforts on goal are
headers, while aerial challenges have also
increased. Short corners are less popular as
teams are more inclined to knock high balls
directly into the penalty area
bout six times mo
ore
Goalkeepers are about
more
rds or
likely to knock the ball long (35 yar
yards
ere in the 1970s..
more) than they were
n 1992 of the ban
n on
The introduction in
ng passes from
goalkeepers handling
ave discouraged
d short
team-mates may have
o a nearby defen
nder —
passes or throws to
defender
me under pressu
ure, he
if that defender came
pressure,
mply return the b
all to
could no longer simply
ball
ands
the goalkeeper’s hands
Successful dribbles per game
Proportion of goal attempts headed
22
26
1974
1970
25
1974
1978
30
1982
18
15
2006
19%
1966
1982
41
1998
33sec
1974
1986
1990
41
2002
1978
1994
34
2006
%
30
25
20
15
1min 12sec
66 70 74 78 82 86 90 94 98 02 06
1994
1min 52sec
2002
2006
Teams seem to be sticking to a more
structured, pre-planned approach at
throw-ins nowadays. Players who happen
to be nearest the ball when it goes into
touch tend to leave it to be taken by the
normal thrower — often the full back
3min 23sec
3min 9sec
3min 15sec
17.0%
0%
25.4%
1994
42.1%
1998
48.4%
1966
Referees have increasingly cracked
down on foul play
6.5
1970
6.2
5.6
1974
Bookings per game
5
4
6.0
1978
5.7
1982
5.3
1986
3
1990
2
1994
1
1998
0
2002
2006
4.8
5.4
4.8
4.4
2.21
2006
2.30
4.6%
4.7%
Shoot-outs
1970
5.7%
5.7%
1978
1982
1998: Ortega
%
5.3%
1994
1998
2002
2006
Greatest
World Cup XI
1966-2006
7.1
4.6%
7.0
Lilian Thuram
France, 1998
Marcel Desailly
France, 1998
Diego Maradona,
Argentina
Billy Bremner,
Scotland
Franz Beckenbauer
West Germany, 1966
7.6
Grzegorz Lato
Poland, 1974
Diego Maradona
Argentina, 1986
Ronaldo
Brazil, 2002
6.1
Giuseppe
Galderisi, Italy
2.52
Holland average
touch positions v
West Germany,
1974 final
Rensenbrink
brink
Van
Hanegem
m
7.6
30%
Cruyff
Cru
Rep
Re
R
Neeskens
Neesken
Nee
Ne
en
Jansen
Janse
ge
en
Rijsbergen
Penalty takers in shoot-outs seem
to freeze when they must score to
avoid defeat, according to Castrol
Performance Analysis. Conversely,
the prospect of imminent victory
fills the kicker with confidence
Suurbier
Suurbi
Haan
Haa
aan
40%
Scoring clinches victory
Holland average
touch positions v
Serbia and
Montenegro, 2006
group match
Robben
Sneijder
Cocu
Van Nistelrooy
Van Persie
Van Bommel
Van Bronckhorst
Heitinga
Ooijer
Van der Sar
Touches in opposition half by Holland
centre backs
9
55
1974 match
(Haan, Rijsbergen)
Johan Cruyff
Holland, 1974
Gerd Müller
West Germany, 1970
92%
2006 left back
Van Bronckhorst
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
3
28
1974 left back
Krol
Touches in own half
2006 centre forward
Van Nistelrooy
Words Bill Edgar
8.5
7.2
Touches as far right as centre circle
5.5
5.1
Patricio
Yáñez, Chile
1978
2006 match
(Ooijer, Mathijsen)
5.4
4%
5.4%
6.6
6%
6.6%
1974
36.9
2002
Mathijsen
Andreas Brehme
West Germany, 1990
Márcio Santos
Brazil, 1994
5.9
5.7
7.0
17%
Proportion
missed
Missing means elimination
Most free kicks per 90 minutes, 1966-2006
4.9%
37.8
1986
Kroll
Conversion rate of penalties in
shoot-outs, 1966-2006, when:
Maradona reigns supreme for winning free kicks
4.2%
1978
Penalty takers buckle
Émerson Leão
Brazil, 1978
Master of
the ball
39.6
1990
Jongbloed
JJo
4.7 Pelé, Brazil, 1970
1994: Redondo
%
3.0%
1986
Proportion
missed
4.9 Thomas Hässler,
Germany, 1994
1986: Maradona
Converted
The World Cup has
showcased the invention
of Pelé and Cruyff
5.1 Cruyff,
Holland, 1974
1982: Maradona
4.6%
1974
56
39 saved, 17 off target
Tournaments since 1978 where an Argentina player
recorded the most successful dribbles per 90 minutes
2.4%
130
Failed
5.5 Perico Leon,
Peru, 1970
1978: Valencia
25
14 saved, 11 off target
5.2 António Simões,
Portugal, 1966
1990
The fluidity of Holland’s total football in the Cruyff era
can be seen clearly. While their 2006 side’s average
touch positions against Serbia and Montenegro were
spread across the pitch as they stuck broadly to
nominated positions, the 1974 version wandered so
far in the final that all ten outfield players recorded
average positions close to the centre circle
Failed
Maradona has been the pick of a line of great Argentine
dribblers. The triumphant Argentina side of 1978
possessed the four best dribblers of that tournament
1.4%
Most
offsides
Penalty takers are almost twice as likely to miss from
the spot in a shoot-out as in regular play. Shoot-outs
perhaps bring extra pressure and also require many
non-specialist penalty takers to step up
Creating
history
Most chances created per
90 minutes at a
tournament, 1966-2006
Goalkeepers have become
ecome far mor
more
re
likely to choose catching
hing high ballss
over punching them
Ratio of goalkeeper catches to pu
punches
unches
3.5
0
2.7 3.0
2.5 2.5
2.4 2.6 2.1
1.6 1.7
1.1
1966
Most fouls
per game
Totally different
Converted
Aerial threat handled
dled differently
easingly using
g
Goalkeepers are increasingly
their legs to keep the ball out
Fewest goals
per game
Spot of bother in shoot-outs
121
115 6600
Legs prove barrier
er
World Cups 1966-2006
1990
2.9%
2.9%
3.2%
3.2%
3.5%
3.7%
3.8%
Regular play
1994-2006
199
94-2006
1990
5.1
2.1%
2.3%
Penalties at World Cups, 1966-2006
45.0%
45
5.0%
Proportion of saves by
goalkeepers made with
ith legs
Number of throw-in takers per team
per game at World Cup
Yellow a greater peril
66 70 74 78 82 86 90 94 98 02 06
13.6%
1990
For many England fans, the national team’s march
to the semi-finals — to the strains of Pavarotti’s
Nessun Dorma — masked the tournament’s
unattractive fare
*old style ball
*old-style
ball, heavier when wet
**altitude
Throw-ins less shared around
2min 51sec
1998
1986
Matches played on the Highveld in South Africa
(Johannesburg, Pretoria, etc) may feature fewer
long-range goals than at sea level (Cape Town,
Durban, etc) even though balls fly slightly faster at
altitude. The two World Cups played at altitude in
Mexico featured a lower success rate for
long-distance shots. It is said that the higher above
sea level, the less likely the ball is to curve
1966*
1986**
1990
1998
1970**
1974
1978
2002
2006
1982
1994
9.4%
1966-1990
before
back-pass
rule change
35sec
1990
8.0%
Dull and dirty — the
alternative view of 1990
Goals per shots from outside penalty area
Goalkeepers have become
ecome more in
inclined
nclined to
sweep up outside the
he box in the pa
past
ast two
decades. The back-pass
pass rule, estab
established
blished in
1992, means that waiting
aiting for a pas
pass
ss from a
team-mate who is under
nder pressure ffrom
rom an
attacker is a less attractive
ractive option
Minutes per instance
goalkeeper
ce of goalkeep
per
leaving area to clearr ball at World
d Cup
1min 5sec
52sec
1978
Distant efforts at altitude
are a long shot
Keepers are sweepers
eepers
10
1986
7.8%
2006
Proportion of corners hit short
1min 11sec
1970
1970
1974
2002
21 18 33 23
Average second-half stoppage
time per World Cup game
1982
19%
27 18 25 31
Referees have allowed far more stoppage
time in recent years (although usually still
not enough to cover time-wasting). The
increase in substitutions is probably not a
big factor in this change. After none were
allowed in 1966, the allocation has only
increased from two substitutes a team
(1970-1994) to three (1998-2006)
1978
2002
Aerial duels per game
More than a game of 90 minutes
1974
20%
16
2006
by a player during a match is
measured by how it changes the
probability of his team scoring
or conceding a goal. For
example, a successful pass from
a position on the pitch where
possession rarely leads to a goal
(such as his own half) to a
position where possession often
leads to a goal (such as in the
opposition’s goal area) scores
highly. Pelé impressed for Brazil
in 1970 but had shortcomings.
His goals-to-shots ratio was 15%,
compared with 58% for
Jairzinho, his team-mate. Pelé
also committed twice as many
fouls as any other Brazil player
(24; Jairzinho was next on 12)
7.8%
1982
15%
1998
27
2002
1966
18%
1994
1994
1998
15%
1990
17
1990
Diego Maradona and Johan
Cruyff are in the greatest World
Cup XI for the 1966-2006 period
but Pelé misses out, according
to the Castrol Index. The team
were chosen on the basis of
performances at a specific
tournament, rather than across
all World Cups. Every
contribution (pass, tackle, etc)
1970 6.5%
16%
1986
20
1966
15%
1982
22
1986
13%
1978
Moving moments
keeper passes h
it long
Proportion of goalkeeper
hit
35 yards or more
12%
66
19
70
19
74
19
78
19
82
19
86
19
90
19
94
19
98
20
0
20 2
06
1970
14%
1966
19
1966
Pelé eclipsed
1974 centre forward
Cruyff
5
18