Passes To The Assist Zones And Golden Zones

Carlon Teel Carpenter, Virginia Men’s Soccer Performance Analyst

Introduction/Summary of Linked Study

In a game such as football, goals are at a premium. Thus, the final third and how goals

are scored are of vital importance to understanding the game and winning matches. This work

is a collaboration with Douglas Jakobsen and his report regarding the secondary and primary

assist-locations in the UEFA Champions League. In his report, found here. In this initial report,

Jakobsen looked at two types of passes: secondary (pre-assists) and assist passes. To quote the

report: “Knowing the most prominent specific locations of both secondary and primary assist

passes, and the correlation there between, may be useful information for a football coach in

regard to both offensive and defensive tactical approaches.” In looking at how goals were

scored in the UEFA Champions League (the top level of the professional game), Jakobsen was

able to find a few key elements.

slight edge in these passes came from the central corridor which saw around 24% of chances

coming from this area (see chart below).

The primary assist locations are similarly located, with a substantial amount being

located in the opposition’s penalty area. As with the pre-assists, the central corridor was the

highest (33%) with the percentage of frequency dropping the wider from goal they came (see

chart below).

To further flesh out Jakobsen’s findings, as to be expected, the thirds of the pitch where both

these types of assist locations came from were overwhelming in favor of the offensive middle

third of the pitch for pre-assists and the offensive final third for primary assists. Jakobsen’s

study helped put in indisputable data things that have long passed the eye-test in terms of high-
level chance creation; there is a distinct correlation between proximity to the goal, and the

occupation of central territory near the opponent’s goal. The value of this initial study cannot

be overstated: “As well as providing coaches with information on how what statistically are

good areas to attack or defend collectively, the results of this study can also be used to show

individual players in certain positions the importance of specific areas on the pitch, which may

help them improve their performance.” My study looks to build on this report, and further gain

a better perspective in terms of goal-scoring at the highest levels. Specifically, where the

majority of passes leading into assist zone (wide areas of the penalty box) and the golden zone

(central area of the penalty box) come from. This kind of data is not only applicable those

coaching at the professional levels of the game, but for coaches at all levels of the sport.

Methodology

The teams used in this report were this season’s (2018/19) qualifiers from the UEFA

Champions League into the last sixteen of the competition. The reason these teams were

selected were due to the quality of these teams (hence their entry into the Champions League),

and their relative quality amongst their peers to qualify for the knockout stages. As well, these

sides have differences in tactics/strategies they employ, thus giving this report a broader look

into elite level football. To use some examples, teams such as Barcelona or Manchester City

dominate possession and spend a higher percentage of the match in the opponents third.

Compare that to a team like Atletico Madrid, who thrive off of disorganizing opponents from

wider positions and on the counter. Further qualifications were made to the types of scenarios I

used to judge the essential questions. Only open play passes were considered in this, and only

completed passes into these zones from such situations. In other words, if a team tried to pick
out their center forward in the box and did not win the initial header it was not recorded.

Furthermore, the first completed past was only selected into this zone. If the ball was circulated

by the attacking team to generate a chance it was not recorded. Every club’s six group stage

matches were watched and the data package collected from there (complete findings found

below.) In gathering this data, a total of 526 passes into these zones were completed across the

entire ninety minutes, the averages per ninety each club completed differing greatly. The

average for all the clubs compared together, however, was 6.575 entries per match. This is a

relatively low number and only serves to highlight the importance that gaining a higher level of

understanding into goal-scoring provides.

Raw Data
Club Total Completed Passes Into Zones Average Entries Per 90 Left Outer Corridor Left Inner Corridor Central Corridor Right Inner Corridor Right Outer Corridor
Borussia Dortmund 43 8.6 7 9 12 8 7
Atlético Madrid 29 5.8 3 7 9 6 4
Barcelona 44 8.8 6 6 17 10 5
Tottenham 29 5.8 5 6 10 5 3
Paris Saint-Germain 30 6 5 7 12 5 1
Liverpool 34 6.8 3 6 10 7 8
Porto 22 4.4 5 5 5 3 4
Schalke 04 27 5.4 2 3 8 6 8
Bayern Munich 36 7.2 6 7 12 6 5
Ajax 33 6.6 6 7 12 4 4
Manchester City 38 7.6 5 8 15 5 5
Lyon 33 6.6 5 7 13 6 2
Real Madrid 35 7 5 7 11 8 4
Roma 28 5.6 6 5 6 5 6
Juventus 35 7 5 5 13 4 8
Manchester United 30 6 3 6 9 6 6

Average 32.875 4.85 6.3 10.87 5.875 5

Above is a simple look at the data found, which will be furthered discussed below.

*The full data Excel file will be linked below*

Results

Just like in Douglas Jakobsen’s initial reports, the top sides in the world generate most of

their entries into the assist zones and the golden zone from central regions, with the frequency

of these passes dropping the wider the corridor. It’s quite obvious that the central corridors are

where the majority of passes into the assist and golden zones come from; either in transition or
in breaking down the opposition. Also, the differences between teams and their spread of

attacks is evident. For example, how do the group winners and group runners-up compare?
 To put these graphs above even clearer, the number of central corridors total for all group

winners averaged out to 12.12 across all six group-stage matches. Compare this to the 9.6 on

average for the runners up. In terms of average entries total per 90 minutes, group winners

averaged 7.9 versus the 6.07 runners up managed. On the surface, these numbers do not seem

that different. However, in a game like football where the margins in the final third are so fine

(plus the lack of scoring making taking advantage of final third opportunities so great), getting

1-3 more balls connected in the oppositions 18-yard box can prove crucial. Parsing through the

data even deeper, the comparisons found between how individual teams attacked was

thoroughly interesting. Take for example, Barcelona and Roma. As shown below, the parts of

the pitch in which they found the majority of their entries into the box widely differed.

Barcelona, with their strength in midfield through players such as Rakitic, Busquets, etc.

attacked centrally often and did so on many occasions. Roma, thanks to Eusebio Di Francesco’s

love of play from fullbacks (Kolarov and Florenzi being involved in 64.9 and 55.5 passing

sequences per 90 minutes last season, according to Opta) got much of their joy through their

width. As well, the average number of successful passes through these zones per 90 minutes

was much, much, less.

Manchester City; two clubs widely touted as the most exciting, attacking, and successful teams

in the world. Notice a similarity? Both have created the vast majority of entries into the golden

zone and assist zones from the center of the pitch. For the full visualization featuring all 18 clubs,

see the final page of this report.

Takeaways

While the top level of football is the top level for a reason, all tiers of the game can take

something from how these teams create chances. What this study has shown is that playing

through central areas of the pitch, the heralded Zone 14, is still the prime and most important

area to dominate and win matches. In short; domination of the center of the park is inextricably

linked with success in chance creation. This data makes that clear. To quote this article from

AmericanSoccerAnalysis.com: “ Zone 14 is, for the attacking team, the most dangerous spot on

the pitch: a player can pass, dribble, or shoot out of it and have options in front of them -- as

well as to their right and left. If you’re defending, you want to keep the ball out of your

opponent’s Zone 14, where a lot of bad things can happen.” Teams which are able to display
the talent and ability to break down teams, in an area of the pitch which is usually incredibly

compact, are usually the ones who are better ability wise and in turn more successful. How can

this be replicated for success in other levels of the game? Like all matters of football, it depends

Diagram of Zone 14 and it's relation to the penalty area

. While playing through the wide areas can be easier in terms of maintaining possession

and getting sheer numbers of passes into the penalty area (crosses into the box, wide service,

etc.) The comparative % of success from these actions is low. According to data pulled from

Soccerment.com, in elite European football, only 1 out of 64 crosses is translated into a goal;

even with high entries attempted from the outer corridors of the pitch, you may not find

reward that often. That is obviously not to say that attacking wide play is a waste of time.

Manchester City (see graph), for example, are masters of the half-spaces (the inner corridors in

this case) and generating high % cutbacks and chances from these opportunities. The key

difference here being the type/quality of delivery, and these corridors relative proximity to the
goal compared to a cross from deep or wide. The beauty of football is that with such a deluge

of tactical schemes, types of players, etc. the way to find success through central regions of the

pitch (and in turn through the assist and golden zones) are many. The teams studied in this

seasons Champions League, as emphasized by the visualization, all possess different strategies

in how they go about their football. Similarly, teams at all level: be it youth level, collegiate, or

professional, do as well. Because of this, the simple takeaway from this study (success centrally

largely = success in a match) can be used and applied anywhere football is played. It is a

concept which has always been held dear in the game, but this data collected helps meet the

eye test with higher levels of objectivity.

For myself, as a performance analyst for a NCAA team, the next stage of my own

personal application of these findings is to work with the other members of my coaching staff,

and strive to develop ways in which our players can replicate this data. Using our own specific

key performance indicators, offensive organization, etc. we can try and generate final-third

chances which give us the best chance to dominate matches and in turn, increase our marginal

gains towards success. I also will strive to try and expand upon this data, perhaps adding in

game state to the occasion, set piece scenarios, and more!

Contact Details

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out and talk to me!

Email: carlon.carpenter@virginia.edu

Twitter: @C_Carpenter14