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JMB is supported by MINECO, Spain (FIS2017-84151-P). DRA and DG are funded by Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, through projects MPEJ-2019-AI/TIC-13118 and PEJ-2018-AI/TIC-11183, respectively.

Analysis of institutional authors

Antequera, DrAuthorBuldu, JmCorresponding Author

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September 27, 2022
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Article

Asymmetries in Football: The Pass-Goal Paradox

Publicated to:Symmetry-Basel. 12 (6): 1052- - 2020-06-01 12(6), DOI: 10.3390/sym12061052

Authors: Antequera, Daniel R; Garrido, David; Echegoyen, Ignacio; Lopez del Campo, Roberto; Resta Serra, Ricardo; Buldu, Javier M

Affiliations

Ctr Biomed Technol CTB UPM, Lab Biol Networks, Madrid 28001, Spain - Author
Grp Interdisciplinar Sistemas Complejos GISC, Madrid 28001, Spain - Author
Mediacoach LaLiga, Madrid 28001, Spain - Author
Northwestern Polytech Univ, Ctr OPT IMagery Anal & Learning Optimal, Xian 710000, Peoples R China - Author
Northwestern Polytech Univ, Inst Unmanned Syst, Xian 710000, Peoples R China - Author
Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Complex Syst Grp, Madrid 28001, Spain - Author
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Abstract

We investigate the relation between the number of passes made by a football team and the number of goals. We analyze the 380 matches of a complete season of the Spanish national leagueLaLiga(2018/2019). We observe how the number of scored goals is positively correlated with the number of passes made by a team. In this way, teams on the top (bottom) of the ranking at the end of the season make more (less) passes than the rest of the teams. However, we observe a strong asymmetry when the analysis is made depending on the part of the match. Interestingly, fewer passes are made in the second half of a match, while, at the same time, more goals are scored. This paradox appears in the majority of teams, and it is independent of the number of passes made. These results confirm that goals in the first half of matches are more costly in terms of passes than those scored in second halves.

Keywords

FootballGoalsParadoxPassesTeam performance

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Symmetry-Basel due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 33/72, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Multidisciplinary Sciences. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Computer Science (Miscellaneous).

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 1.9, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-17, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 2
  • Scopus: 5

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-17:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 21.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 16 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 12.05.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 17 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: China.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Ruiz Antequera, Daniel) and Last Author (Martín Buldú, Javier).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Martín Buldú, Javier.