Over time, the intensity in football matches has greatly increased, with the result that todays players have less and less time and space to express themselves. All this is happening at a greater speed, and you have to be able to take decisions and act in a very limited time. Because of their higher positions on the pitch, attacking players have the responsibility to make the difference in very tight spaces and faced with a high density of opposing players. This is the case for modern wingers, whose position is a little more axial following the offensive emergence of full-backs. Modern wingers are moving away from their sides to give space to their full-backs, and are positioning themselves in the half-spaces, in order to provide solutions to penetrate the opponents block.
There are more and more inverted wingers, who play on the side of their weak foot, and therefore have more ease cutting inside with the game in front of them. They thus enjoy more freedom in their positioning, but also in their role with the ball, where they are expected to bring creativity. In this data analysis, we will focus on the young wingers in Ligue 1, who are the most creative in possession of the ball.
What is a creative player?
A creative player is above all a player who is very versatile in what he can do with the ball. This versatility not only makes him unpredictable for opposing defenders but also allows him to find solutions to help his team advance towards the opposing goal. He is, therefore, a player who possesses a large skill set and combines it with quick decision-making.
The creative player must also be able to adapt to the different problems imposed by the opposing defence and make the best decision, which will allow his team to get opportunities to score. He can either create these opportunities for a partner through creative passing or for himself through running or dribbling. Vision, understanding of space and flair are qualities he needs to be effective.
Analysis conditions
For this data analysis, I focused on the young wingers, who play in Ligue 1. Here are the criteria for the analysis :
23 years old or younger
At least 500 minutes played in Ligue 1
Play as a winger or have played there many times (Jordan Ikoné has for example played as an advanced midfielder but has also played several times on the wings)
Legends will be available at the top left of each graph to add context and detail to the data being studied.
Creative passes
For the first graph, we will look at two types of passes found in the data provided by Wyscout: the smart pass and the through pass. These two stats allow us to judge the ability of players to be creative and efficient in creating or finding space for their partners.
According to Wyscout, a through pass is a pass played into space behind the defensive line for a teammate to contest. In the image above, there is an example of a through pass on a counter-attack for the red team. Despite the defensive withdrawal of the blue team, the red player in possession of the ball manages to make a through pass into the right half-space and allows his partner to be in one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper. This pass is made behind the blue teams last defensive line.
According to Wyscout, a smart pass is a creative and penetrative pass that attempts to break the oppositions defensive lines to gain a significant advantage in attack. The image above is a reproduction of real game action during the match between PSG and Reims in the cup. Leandro Paredes is in possession of the ball and faces the low and compact Reims block. He sees one of his teammates move between the opposing lines, and makes a superb pass, which breaks the lines. This pass allows his partner to be in a very interesting position to advance towards the opponents goal.
In the graph above, we look at the % of through passes and % of smar
