Hugo Sarmento1,2, M Teresa Anguera3, Antonino Pereira4, Duarte Araújo5. 1. Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. hugo.sarmento@uc.pt. 2. Spertlab, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal. hugo.sarmento@uc.pt. 3. Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. 4. Centro de Estudos em Educação, Tecnologias e Saúde (CI&DETS), Escola Superior de Educação, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal. 5. CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Spertlab, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Expertise has been extensively studied in several sports over recent years. The specificities of how excellence is achieved in Association Football, a sport practiced worldwide, are being repeatedly investigated by many researchers through a variety of approaches and scientific disciplines. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review was to identify and synthesise the most significant literature addressing talent identification and development in football. We identified the most frequently researched topics and characterised their methodologies. METHODS: A systematic review of Web of Science™ Core Collection and Scopus databases was performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. The following keywords were used: "football" and "soccer". Each word was associated with the terms "talent", "expert*", "elite", "elite athlete", "identification", "career transition" or "career progression". The selection was for the original articles in English containing relevant data about talent development/identification on male footballers. RESULTS: The search returned 2944 records. After screening against set criteria, a total of 70 manuscripts were fully reviewed. The quality of the evidence reviewed was generally excellent. The most common topics of analysis were (1) task constraints: (a) specificity and volume of practice; (2) performers' constraints: (a) psychological factors; (b) technical and tactical skills; (c) anthropometric and physiological factors; (3) environmental constraints: (a) relative age effect; (b) socio-cultural influences; and (4) multidimensional analysis. Results indicate that the most successful players present technical, tactical, anthropometric, physiological and psychological advantages that change non-linearly with age, maturational status and playing positions. These findings should be carefully considered by those involved in the identification and development of football players. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the need for coaches and scouts to consider the players' technical and tactical skills combined with their anthropometric and physiological characteristics scaled to age. Moreover, research addressing the psychological and environmental aspects that influence talent identification and development in football is currently lacking. The limitations detected in the reviewed studies suggest that future research should include the best performers and adopt a longitudinal and multidimensional perspective.
BACKGROUND: Expertise has been extensively studied in several sports over recent years. The specificities of how excellence is achieved in Association Football, a sport practiced worldwide, are being repeatedly investigated by many researchers through a variety of approaches and scientific disciplines. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review was to identify and synthesise the most significant literature addressing talent identification and development in football. We identified the most frequently researched topics and characterised their methodologies. METHODS: A systematic review of Web of Science™ Core Collection and Scopus databases was performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. The following keywords were used: "football" and "soccer". Each word was associated with the terms "talent", "expert*", "elite", "elite athlete", "identification", "career transition" or "career progression". The selection was for the original articles in English containing relevant data about talent development/identification on male footballers. RESULTS: The search returned 2944 records. After screening against set criteria, a total of 70 manuscripts were fully reviewed. The quality of the evidence reviewed was generally excellent. The most common topics of analysis were (1) task constraints: (a) specificity and volume of practice; (2) performers' constraints: (a) psychological factors; (b) technical and tactical skills; (c) anthropometric and physiological factors; (3) environmental constraints: (a) relative age effect; (b) socio-cultural influences; and (4) multidimensional analysis. Results indicate that the most successful players present technical, tactical, anthropometric, physiological and psychological advantages that change non-linearly with age, maturational status and playing positions. These findings should be carefully considered by those involved in the identification and development of football players. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the need for coaches and scouts to consider the players' technical and tactical skills combined with their anthropometric and physiological characteristics scaled to age. Moreover, research addressing the psychological and environmental aspects that influence talent identification and development in football is currently lacking. The limitations detected in the reviewed studies suggest that future research should include the best performers and adopt a longitudinal and multidimensional perspective.
Authors: David Gutierrez Diaz Del Campo; Juan Carlos Pastor Vicedo; Sixto Gonzalez Villora; Onofre Ricardo Contreras Jordan Journal: J Sports Sci Med Date: 2010-06-01 Impact factor: 2.988
Authors: Irene R Faber; Paul M J Bustin; Frits G J Oosterveld; Marije T Elferink-Gemser; Maria W G Nijhuis-Van der Sanden Journal: J Sports Sci Date: 2015-06-25 Impact factor: 3.337
Authors: Conall F Murtagh; Thomas E Brownlee; Edgardo Rienzi; Sebastian Roquero; Sacha Moreno; Gustavo Huertas; Giovani Lugioratto; Philipp Baumert; Daniel C Turner; Dongsun Lee; Peter Dickinson; K Amber Lyon; Bahare Sheikhsaraf; Betül Biyik; Andrew O'Boyle; Ryland Morgans; Andrew Massey; Barry Drust; Robert M Erskine Journal: PLoS One Date: 2020-06-22 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: José Eduardo Teixeira; Ana Ruivo Alves; Ricardo Ferraz; Pedro Forte; Miguel Leal; Joana Ribeiro; António J Silva; Tiago M Barbosa; António M Monteiro Journal: Front Physiol Date: 2022-03-31 Impact factor: 4.755
Authors: António Ferraz; João Valente-Dos-Santos; Hugo Sarmento; Pedro Duarte-Mendes; Bruno Travassos Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-06-15 Impact factor: 3.390