Examining the key performance indicators of all-star players and winning teams in elite futsal

Abstract

Purpose: to identify the key performance indicators that discrimi-nate all-star from non-all-star players; and to differentiate winningfrom drawing/losing teams during the Euro Cup 2018 Futsal(Slovenia). Methods: the sample consisted of all matches(n = 20) played by 12 teams (87 players). Differences betweenboth players and teams were calculated using the Mann–WhitneyU and student-t tests and the binary logistic regression (assessingthe relationship between all-star players or winning teams andseveral match- and contextually based variables). Results:minutesper match,goals,assists,ball recoveries,% shots on target,%keypass accuracy,and%challengeswondiscriminated all-star fromnon-all-star players. However, onlyminutes per match(OR: 1.329),goals(OR: 13.547), andball recoveries(OR: 2.136) per time playedwere determined to differentiate all-star players. Regarding theteam analysis, the following variables discriminated winning fromlosing/drawing teams:goals,assists,% counterattack success,and% set pieces success. However, onlygoals(OR: 2.035) and%setpiece success(OR: 1.076) predicted the match outcome. Conclusions: the currentfindings can help coaches to a betterunderstanding of which key performance indicators are importantout of all data available, contributing to defining priorities whentraining and managing competition in elite futsal.