Pressing Intensity: An Intuitive Measure for Pressing in Soccer

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel, intuitive metric for measuring pressing intensity in soccer by integrating positional data, player velocities, and reaction times, enabling detailed analysis of pressing strategies at the frame level.

Contribution

It introduces a new framework that combines movement data and probabilistic modeling to quantify pressing intensity more accurately than existing metrics.

Findings

Provides a dynamic, interpretable pressing measure at the frame level

Enhances analysis of pressing strategies for coaches and analysts

Facilitates advanced situational analysis in football

Abstract

Pressing is a fundamental defensive strategy in football, characterized by applying pressure on the ball owning team to regain possession. Despite its significance, existing metrics for measuring pressing often lack precision or comprehensive consideration of positional data, player movement and speed. This research introduces an innovative framework for quantifying pressing intensity, leveraging advancements in positional tracking data and components from Spearman's Pitch Control model. Our method integrates player velocities, movement directions, and reaction times to compute the time required for a defender to intercept an attacker or the ball. This time-to-intercept measure is then transformed into probabilistic values using a logistic function, enabling dynamic and intuitive analysis of pressing situations at the individual frame level. the model captures how every player's movement influences pressure on the field, offering actionable insights for coaches, analysts, and decision-makers. By providing a robust and intepretable metric, our approach facilitates the identification of pressing strategies, advanced situational analyses, and the derivation of metrics, advancing the analytical capabilities for modern football.