Aspectos táticos e situacionais dos contra-ataques no Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol masculino

Abstract

Football can be divided into two phases. The offensive phase occurs when the team has possession of the ball and is controlling the action, while the defensive phase occurs when the team does not have control of the ball. Transitions occur between these phases. An offensive transition occurs when the team regains possession of the ball in the defensive phase, and a defensive transition occurs when the team seeks to organise itself to defend after losing control of the ball. A counterattack is a type of attack linked to the offensive transition. It is described as an offensive play involving accelerated advancement immediately after regaining possession of the ball through long, more vertical passes and rapid circulation. The aim is to catch the opposing defence off guard with half or fewer players behind the ball line. This study employed a descriptive-analytical approach to investigate the tactical and situational aspects of counterattacks in the Brazilian Serie A Men's Championship. Special metrics data were extracted manually from the Transfermarkt® (Transfermarkt.com, Hamburg, Germany) and WhoScored® (WhoScored.com, London, United Kingdom) websites. A total of 97 counterattack goals were quantified from a sample of 1,140 games over three seasons (2017 to 2019), accounting for 3.69% of all goals scored. The majority of these goals were scored in the final 15 minutes of the game (43.30%), primarily by home teams (60.62%) against similarly ranked opponents (49.48%), in situations where they had a slight lead (46.39%). Most counterattacks began with a pass interception in the central midfield zone (32.99%) and ended with shots by attackers inside the penalty area (72%). While only 7.22% of goals were decisive for the final result (i.e., determining the winner), the teams that scored counterattack goals were victorious in 80.85% of matches. Therefore, it can be concluded that, although rare, counterattacks are a relevant event with the potential to consolidate victories in the mens Brazilian Football Championship Series A, and the findings allow for the development of more effective strategies and specialised tactical training for competitive matches, as well as improving the effectiveness of this important offensive manoeuvre.