In football, a switch of play is a key tactic used to quickly alleviate pressure from the opposition and create opportunities to advance the ball into open space. The effectiveness of this strategy hinges on several factors: the timing of the switch, the accuracy of the pass, and the receiver's ability to progress forward into the newly available space.
This technique has become a cornerstone of modern football, especially when facing teams that employ high pressing or counter-pressing systems. By shifting the point of attack, teams can disrupt defensive pressure and exploit weaknesses in the opposition's structure.
Defining a switch of play
There are multiple ways to define a switch of play using MGP. The standard definition refers to a pass that bypasses at least one vertical third of the pitch.
However, a more customized definition can be applied by specifying the start and end zones of the pass, allowing for greater flexibility in analyzing specific patterns of play.
Currently in the Premier League 2024-2025 season this is the Top 5 of clubs using a successful switch of play.
While this approach tracks the number of switches of play, it does not yet measure their effectiveness or timing. Let’s explore those aspects in more detail.
The Timing of a Switch of Play
In this context, the focus is on whether a switch of play can effectively bypass the opponent's pressing. When the opposing team applies pressure during the build-up phase, we expect our players to execute a switch of play to move the ball away from the pressing players and into open space.
Here we also see different teams in the top 5 of the ranking actually progressing the ball forward when they make a switch of play.
Another efficiency metric is to measure if teams actually reach the final third or get to a shot after the switch of play.
This will give the user a playlist of all the moments where the SOP ended into a shot or not.
MyGamePlan is a Belgian startup founded by Berten Knaepen and Dries Deprest, using their expertise from working experience at different clubs. They help clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, KRC Genk and QPR to reach their targets by connecting different data sources into one tool.
