How to assess the concentration during the match

Many soccer experts agree that there are certain specific moments in the game when a team’s concentration can be assessed.

“The key moments of a match are right before the end of the first half, right after the beginning of the second half and, depending on the result, even the last 10 minutes of the match. Right before the end of the first half because there might be an element of mental fatigue and not just physical fatigue as you have worked very hard for 40 minutes. If you concede a goal right before the end of the half, you won’t have time to recover it. You feel dejected becausé there is no chancè to come back. So it is a vital phase.

The beginning of the second half is also important. Looking at the England – Brazil game in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. If ever two goals were killers, these two were: one five before the end of the first half and the other five minutes after the start of the second half [1].”

It seems clear from these words that, while it is obvious that concentration must be maintained throughout the entirety of the match, it seems equally clear that there are certain key moments during the course of the 90 minutes when it is necessary to have a particularly effective level of attention. A critical moment for team concentration occurs after the first goal of the match has been scored. It is possible that the players feel somewhat fulfilled and thus reduce their level of concentration for a few minutes. This drop in concentration can be very costly if it is exploited by the opposing team. In fact, to exult in excessive way after a goal, can hinder the maintenance of the correct level of concentration. After the goal it is necessary instead to rifocalizzarsi immediately on the game, maintaining unchanged the desire of success and the same engagement. If, on the other hand, players continue to be complacent about their success or become distracted by the cheers of the fans, they are unlikely to succeed.

According to many coaches, an effective way to counteract this tendency is, at the resumption of the game, to strive to win immediately the first contrast, while those who lead the team on the field should encourage their teammates to have an aggressive behavior, such as to push the opponent team on the defensive instead of letting it attack. Acting in this way maintains a constant level of competitive intensity and sends the message to opponents that you are ready to continue to play your game. The psychological objective, which merges with that of the game, is not to give opponents the advantage of being able to recover thanks to the distraction of the team caused by the goal just scored.

[1] Ray Clemence, English coach, cited in Higham, A., Harwood, C., e Cale, A. (2005). Momentum in soccer: Controlling the game. Leeds: Coachwise Ltd., p. 96.