QPass: a Merit-based Evaluation of Soccer Passes

TL;DR

QPass is a new quantitative method for evaluating soccer passes that considers players' contributions to team strategy, revealing insights like the potential benefits of losing possession.

Contribution

The paper introduces QPass, a novel approach to assess the intrinsic value of passes, incorporating game context and player contribution beyond traditional statistics.

Findings

Losing possession can sometimes increase winning chances.

QPass effectively ranks players based on pass contribution.

The methodology uncovers counterintuitive strategic insights.

Abstract

Quantitative analysis of soccer players' passing ability focuses on descriptive statistics without considering the players' real contribution to the passing and ball possession strategy of their team. Which player is able to help the build-up of an attack, or to maintain the possession of the ball? We introduce a novel methodology called QPass to answer questions like these quantitatively. Based on the analysis of an entire season, we rank the players based on the intrinsic value of their passes using QPass. We derive an album of pass trajectories for different gaming styles. Our methodology reveals a quite counterintuitive paradigm: losing the ball possession could lead to better chances to win a game.