Excellence off the pitch - Find out more about Castrol's range of lubricants.
Choose your local site.
FUEL FOR DEBATE
FUEL FOR DEBATE RSS Feed
March 22 2010
Real Madrid top European table for defensive lapses
Castrol reveals Real Madrid are more likely to concede a goal shortly after scoring than any other top European club
That’s the outcome of research by Castrol’s team of Performance Analysts who have studied every goal scored in the top five European leagues and the UEFA Champions League™ over the last four seasons. It revealed that La Liga giants Real Madrid have conceded 19 goals within five minutes of scoring – more than any of their European and domestic rivals.
13% of all goals conceded by Real Madrid have come immediately after they have scored, which is more than twice the European average of six percent. AC Milan are not far behind having conceded just one fewer than the Madrid outfit in this crucial time period. By contrast, some of European football’s other heavyweights have a much better record with Barcelona caught out on 10 occasions, Internazionale and Chelsea, nine, while Manchester United has been breached just eight times.
Castrol has applied the same expertise they apply to the development of their oils, to fuel football debate and attempt to provide answers to some of the biggest talking points in the game.
Steve Palmer, a member of the Castrol Performance Analysts team and Performance Manager at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, offers the following insights into why some teams are more vulnerable immediately after scoring than others:
“The surge of adrenaline that follows a goal is caused by the secretion of a group of hormones referred to as catecholamines. These act as neuro transmitters and in excess, can lead to a state of over-arousal and drop in concentration and attention, and consequently performance.”
“Studies have shown that immediately before a goal, the number of accurate passes made by the scoring side increases to above average for that half of the match. However, the five minute period after the goal, the number and accuracy of passes made by that same team drops and as we know, accurate passing retains possession and denies the opposition scoring opportunities.”
Palmer, who gained Premier League experience as a centre back with Watford and Ipswich Town, added: “Each player reacts to events in a different way and the skill is to find the method that helps bring an individual’s adrenaline levels back down to normal so that they can regain their focus.”
“One of the quickest ways can be for a player to follow a breathing exercise, while collectively, a team can use techniques to slow the game down such as slowly walking back for the restart.”
“There are also ways in which individual players can prepare themselves for the resumption of the game. Players know what they need to do to prevent a goal and it can often help if they visualise their job, for example, if a player knows there is a risk he may lose his man at a corner he can learn to visualise that possibility before kick-off and will then be much more alert to the danger during the game.
Castrol Ambassador and 1998 FIFA World Cup™ winner Marcel Desailly said: “Most of the time, the reason why top teams concede goals so soon after scoring is purely based on concentration. Once you have scored, there is a feeling of euphoria and players are capable of losing their focus as they are very happy and excited that they have an advantage.”
“Their mental conditioning is more relaxed immediately after scoring, as perhaps they have a false sense of superiority.”
Desailly added: “What is also important to consider, is while the manager psychologically prepares the players to score a goal, he spends less time preparing the players how to prevent one.”
“Having conceded a goal, the opposition will often increase the attacking capacity of the team and formation to increase their own chances. This also adds to the pressure and will cause momentary confusion, and again, this could be another reason why a goal is conceded.”
The tables below show those clubs who have conceded the most goals shortly after scoring themselves:
Data from August 2007 to February 2010
13% of all goals conceded by Real Madrid have come immediately after they have scored, which is more than twice the European average of six percent. AC Milan are not far behind having conceded just one fewer than the Madrid outfit in this crucial time period. By contrast, some of European football’s other heavyweights have a much better record with Barcelona caught out on 10 occasions, Internazionale and Chelsea, nine, while Manchester United has been breached just eight times.
Castrol has applied the same expertise they apply to the development of their oils, to fuel football debate and attempt to provide answers to some of the biggest talking points in the game.
Steve Palmer, a member of the Castrol Performance Analysts team and Performance Manager at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, offers the following insights into why some teams are more vulnerable immediately after scoring than others:
“The surge of adrenaline that follows a goal is caused by the secretion of a group of hormones referred to as catecholamines. These act as neuro transmitters and in excess, can lead to a state of over-arousal and drop in concentration and attention, and consequently performance.”
“Studies have shown that immediately before a goal, the number of accurate passes made by the scoring side increases to above average for that half of the match. However, the five minute period after the goal, the number and accuracy of passes made by that same team drops and as we know, accurate passing retains possession and denies the opposition scoring opportunities.”
Palmer, who gained Premier League experience as a centre back with Watford and Ipswich Town, added: “Each player reacts to events in a different way and the skill is to find the method that helps bring an individual’s adrenaline levels back down to normal so that they can regain their focus.”
“One of the quickest ways can be for a player to follow a breathing exercise, while collectively, a team can use techniques to slow the game down such as slowly walking back for the restart.”
“There are also ways in which individual players can prepare themselves for the resumption of the game. Players know what they need to do to prevent a goal and it can often help if they visualise their job, for example, if a player knows there is a risk he may lose his man at a corner he can learn to visualise that possibility before kick-off and will then be much more alert to the danger during the game.
Castrol Ambassador and 1998 FIFA World Cup™ winner Marcel Desailly said: “Most of the time, the reason why top teams concede goals so soon after scoring is purely based on concentration. Once you have scored, there is a feeling of euphoria and players are capable of losing their focus as they are very happy and excited that they have an advantage.”
“Their mental conditioning is more relaxed immediately after scoring, as perhaps they have a false sense of superiority.”
Desailly added: “What is also important to consider, is while the manager psychologically prepares the players to score a goal, he spends less time preparing the players how to prevent one.”
“Having conceded a goal, the opposition will often increase the attacking capacity of the team and formation to increase their own chances. This also adds to the pressure and will cause momentary confusion, and again, this could be another reason why a goal is conceded.”
The tables below show those clubs who have conceded the most goals shortly after scoring themselves:
| Team | Goals conceded inside 5 minutes |
| Real Madrid | 19 |
| AC Milan | 18 |
| Werder Bremen | 18 |
| Recreativo | 17 |
| Team | % Goals conceded inside 5 minutes |
| Werder Bremen | 15.3% |
| AC Milan | 13.5% |
| Real Madrid | 13.1% |
| Juventus | 11.2% |
| Marseille | 10.3% |
WHAT IS THE CASTROL INDEX?
