World Cup Individual Advanced Stats

I also think some 'percentage stats' tends to become lower if a players makes more attempts and plays more risky. I.e. they make more attempts for a cross, play more pro-active, but their percentage drops.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem remains that it only measures seven games at best and that the difficulty of the draw has a big influence. Possibly also other circumstantial factors like unexpected red cards for a team and so on. On a total of six or seven games a red card (for example) can have a huge impact on individual stats.

Interesting to see Kempes scoring so high in both offensive and defensive stats. His team was often under pressure of course so that helps but at the same time he created many chances, crosses, goals and passes. It makes me wonder why he wasn't that well-rated at Valencia (i.e. not top five of league).
Also interesting to see in this respect the fouls won and conceded stats.

 

Right-click the mouse, select "this frame only".

What did you notice?

 

That is true. Hence defenders, midfielders and forwards are all separated.

 

I wonder how they counted passes to the goalkeeper? Successful pass or didn't count?

Also, would have been interesting to see passes divided into "back pass" and "forward pass" or something. Or "long range pass" and "short pass".

 

I will not conclude anything because these stats can be interpreted in two ways. It can signal that players play rough, or are simply (psychologically) disadvantaged by referees (USSR and Uruguay in 1970 maybe?). It can signal that attackers are heavily fouled, or well-protected.And because it are only seven games one 'bad' referee or 'bad' match can have a huge influence.

But given that this world cup is widely seen as one of the fishiest since the war (with a role for the officiating in this story; notably in the Hungary, France, Poland, Brazil, Peru, Netherlands games), it is intriguing to see these stats.

What I did note is that at first glance Argentina seems to have won more fouls relative to the ones conceded by them. This appears to be less the case for other nations.

Categorizing is difficult though and not every forward, midfielder or defender plays the same with same average positioning. OPTA has based their categorization on the average position (also relative to their team mates) and the actions performed by them. Hence, Cruijff is a forward because his most significant actions were made in forward positions (they have also published a heat map that gives a different impression), and Beckenbauer is in their view a midfielder for the same reason. Other good example are Zico and Boniek who are also seen as a forward by them. Or Charlton in 1966 who is a midfielder despite often playing with number 9.

But a categorization along these lines is better as no categorization at all.

 

Made a count for Argentina team at 1978. One can compare it with 1970WC posted on a previous page in this thread.
https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...l-advanced-stats.1979881/page-6#post-26964773


Fouls won: 3 13 7 11 6 3 32 28 13 6 1 9 6 29 17 20 = 204
Fouls conceded: 20 19 14 14 2 7 2 17 6 4 4 4 17 6 5 = 141
Yellow: 1 1 1 1 1 = 5
Red: 0

What this means should one conclude for oneself (tricky stat) but they indeed drew more fouls than they conceded, also compared with the teams in 1970.

Note: according to OPTA 1978WC is together with 1974WC and 1990WC one of the three WCs with the highest registered fouls per game.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00019/PastMasters_19439a.pdf

 

Argentina NT style is always "aggressive" (if compared to Spain, Brazil or France). When you play aggressive it meas you can cause more fouls and also draw more fouls from opponents. Hence I am not surprised

 

Next the 1982 World Cup with a surprise top performing player. Cameroon was not included as the opta database allows no access to their players.

 

I am not sure opta actually used heatmaps to determine the positions for players. They have Breitner as a defender in 1982, just like in 1974. But in 1982 he was a midfielder and no heatmap is going to change that. There are some other examples.

 

1982

Number of Passes

Defenders
373 Stielike (Ger)
344 Kaltz (Ger)
288 Scirea (Ita)
288 Bessonov (USSR)
274 Trésor (Fra)

Midfielders
381 Breitner (Ger)
360 Dremmler (Ger)
331 Prohaska (Aut)
323 Giresse (Fra)
323 Platini (Fra)

Forwards
228 Zico (Bra)
223 Kempes (Arg)
221 Maradona (Arg)
181 Boniek (Pol)
178 Rummenigge (Ger)

Number of successful passes per minute (minimum 100 passes)

Defenders
0.61 Ma’Yoof (Kuw)
0.55 M.Mubarak (Kuw)
0.54 Bessonov (USSR)
0.53 Yearwood (Hon)
0.52 Meeuws (Bel)

Midfielders
0.80 Neira (Chi)
0.79 Larios (Fra)
0.68 Toninho Cerezo (Bra)
0.65 Prohaska (Aut)
0.65 Sljivo (Yug)
0.65 Berger (CSSR)

Forwards
0.50 Kempes (Arg)
0.45 Zico (Bra)
0.43 Juanito (Spa)
0.43 Vandersmissen (Bel)
0.41 Maradona (Arg)

Passing accuracy (minimum 100 passes)

Defenders
95.1 Mills (Eng) (174/9)
94.5 Trésor (Fra) (259/15)
94.1 Obermayer (Aut) (177/11)
93.5 Meeuws (Bel) (186/13)
93.4 Thompson (Eng) (171/12)

Midfielders
94.4 Girard (Fra) (119/7)
93.5 Oriali (Ita) (143/10)
91.8 McIlroy (N.Irl) (169/15)
91.5 Larios (Fra) (129/12)
91.1 Dremmler (Ger) (328/32)

Forwards
92.2 Vandersmissen (Bel) (106/9)
92.1 Nehoda (CSSR) (93/08)
90.8 Littbarski (Ger) (139/14)
87.3 Zico (Bra) (199/29)
84.3 Rummenigge (Ger) (150/28)
84.3 Kempes (Arg) (188/35)
84.3 Whiteside (N.Irl) (91/17)

Passing accuracy opp. half (minimum 100 passes)

Defenders
90.8 Mills (Eng)
88.5 Trésor (Fra)
88.1 Thompson (Eng)
83.9 Dziuba (Pol)
83.7 Meeuws (Bel)

Midfielders
93.2 Girard (Fra)
92.6 Oriali (Ita)
89.6 Larios (Fra)
87.5 Gudelj (Yug)
86.4 Huezo (Salv)

Forwards
86.7 Nehoda (CSSR)
85.9 Vandersmissen (Bel)
84.4 Zico (Bra)
76.6 Kempes (Arg)
76.5 Rummenigge (Ger)
75.9 Oblitas (Peru)

Duels won (%) (minimum 30 duels)

Defenders
70.0 Scirea (Ita) (28/12)
68.6 Alexanco (Spa) (24/11)
68.3 Oscar (Bra) (28/13)
67.9 Camacho (Spa) (36/17)
67.8 K.Förster (Ger) (40/19)

Midfielders
76.7 Gudelj (Yug) (23/7)
61.6 Tardelli (Ita) (45/28)
61.4 Sljivo (Yug) (27/17)
60.9 Ardiles (Arg) (42/27)
59.6 Sulakvelidze (USSR) (28/19)

Forwards
65.6 Leguia (Peru) (21/11)
65.4 Bertoni (Arg) (34/18)
58.5 Czerniatynski (Bel) (24/17)
57.9 Rufer (Zea) (22/16)
56.9 Maradona (Arg) (74/56)

Aerial duels won (%)

Defenders (minimum 5 duels)
100 L.Galvan (Arg) (6/0)
100 Alexanco (Spa) (5/0)
88.0 C.Nicholl (N.Irl) (8/1)
83.3 Butcher (Eng) (10/2)
81.8 K.Förster (Ger) (9/2)

Midfielders (minimum 3 duels)
75.0 A.Gallego (Arg) (3/1)
75.0 Girard (Fra) (3/1)
75.0 Velazquez (Peru) (3/1)
66.7 O’Neill (N.Irl) (2/1)
66.7 Matysik (Pol) (2/1)
66.7 Falcao (Bra) (2/1)
66.7 Sulakvelidze (USSR) (2/1)
66.7 Fagoaga (Sal) (2/1)

Forwards (minimum 5 duels)
80.0 Six (Fra) (4/1)
63.2 Armstrong (N.Irl) (12/7)
60.0 Hrubesch (Ger) (9/6)
60.0 Boniek (Pol) (3/2)
60.0 Bertoni (Arg) (3/2)

Recoveries

Defenders
40 Stielike (Ger)
37 L.Galvan (Arg)
37 Meeuws (Bel)
33 Alexanco (Spa)
31 Tarantini (Arg)
31 Kaltz (Ger)
31 Zmuda (Pol)

Midfielders
40 Breitner (Ger)
37 Ardiles (Arg)
35 Falcao (Bra)
32 Buncol (Pol)
31 O’Neill (N.Irl)

Forwards
28 Armstrong (N.Irl)
27 Boniek (Pol)
18 Madjer (Alg)
18 Hamilton (N.Irl)
17 Zico (Bra)

Tackles won (%)

Defenders (minimum 10 tackles)
100 Demyanenko (USSR) (13/0)
94.4 Olguin (Arg) (17/1)
91.7 N.Stojkovic (Yug) (11/1)
90.9 Junior (Bra) (10/1)
90.9 Bigorra (Hon) (10/1)
90.9 M.Mubarak (Kuw) (10/1)
90.9 Alexanco (Spa) (10/1)

Midfielders (minimum 10 tackles)
92.3 Toninho Cerezo (Bra) (12/1)
90.9 Prohaska (Aut) (10/1)
90.9 Dubo (Chi) (10/1)
90.0 Ceulemans (Bel) (9/1)
90.0 Genghini (Fra) (9/1)

Forwards (minimum 5 tackles)
100 Littbarski (Ger) (11/0)
100 Rummenigge (Ger) (5/0)
100 Vandenbergh (Bel) (5/0)
88.9 Armstrong (N.Irl) (8/1)
87.5 Surjak (Yug) (7/1)

Clearances

Defenders
48 Zmuda (Pol)
42 Janas (Pol)
39 C.Nicholl (N.Irl)
38 B.Förster (Ger)
36 Trésor (Fra)
36 Collovati (Ita)
36 Scirea (Ita)

Midfielders
21 Matysik (Pol)
13 Zelaya (Hon)
11 Garaba (Hun)
10 Tardelli (Ita)
9 Hattenberger (Aut)

Forwards
5 Madjer (Alg)
5 Hamilton (N.Irl)
4 Mariner (Eng)
4 Armstrong (N.Irl)
3 Kempes (Arg)
3 Pölöskei (Hu)
3 Graziani (Ita)
3 Rufer (Zea)
3 Leguia (Peru)

Blocks

Defenders
10 Chivadze (USSR)
9 Scirea (Ita)
7 Trésor (Fra)
6 Elrick (Zea)
5 Zmuda (Pol)
5 Guendouz (Alg)
5 Kourichi (Alg)
5 Recinos (Sal)
5 Almond (Zea)

Midfielders
4 Tardelli (Ita)
4 Breitner (Ger)
4 Hattenberger (Aut)
4 Antognoni (Ita)
4 Cresswell (Zea)
4 Souness (Sco)
4 Dremmler (Ger)

Forwards
2 Graziani (Ita)
1 Zico (Bra)
1 Marafona (Arg)
1 Rossi (Ita)
1 Boniek (Pol)
1 Assad (Alg)
1 Bertoni (Arg)
1 Francis (Eng)
1 Mariner (Eng)
1 Lacombe (Fra)
1 Hamilton (N.Irl)
1 Barbadillo (Peru)

Interceptions

Defenders
24 Zmuda (Pol)
23 Tendillo (Spa)
19 Majewski (Pol)
19 Junior (Bra)
18 Collovati (Ita)

Midfielders
19 Dremmler (Ger)
16 Falcao (Bra)
16 Tardelli (Ita)
16 Ardiles (Arg)
15 Tigana (Fra)
15 Matysik (Pol)

Forwards
9 Vandersmissen (Bel)
8 Francis (Eng)
7 Armstrong (N.Irl)
7 Schachner (Aut)
6 Maradona (Arg)
6 Madjer (Alg)
6 Leguia (Peru)

Goals

Defenders
1 Oscar (Bra)
1 Pezzey (Aut)
1 Junior (Bra)
1 Bossis (Fra)
1 Trésor (Fra)
1 J.Toth (Hun)
1 Varga (Hun)
1 Cabrini (Ita)
1 R.T.Diaz (Peru)
1 Kupcewicz (Pol)
1 Majewski (Pol)
1 Narey (Sco)
1 Baltacha (USSR)
1 Chivadze (USSR)

Midfielders
3 Giresse (Fra)
3 Falcao (Bra)
2 Platini (Fra)
2 Tardelli (Ita)
2 Socrates (Bra)
2 Eder (Bra)
2 Panenka (CSSR)
2 Robson (Eng)
2 Genghini (Fra)
2 Nyilasi (Hun)
2 Wark (Sco)

Forwards
6 Rossi (Ita)
5 Rummenigge (Ger)
4 Boniek (Pol)
4 Zico (Bra)
3 Kiss (Hun)
3 Armstrong (N.Irl)

Shooting accuracy (minimum 5 shots)

Defenders
66.7 Junior (Bra) (4/2)
66.7 B.Förster (Ger) (4/2)
60.0 Yearwood (Hon)
46.7 Passarella (Arg) (7/8)
44.4 Briegel (Ger) (4/5)

Midfielders
80.0 Wark (Sco) (4/1)
66.7 Panenka (CSSR) (4/2)
60.0 Falcao (Bra) (6/4)
60.0 Gudelj (Yug) (3/2)
60.0 Petrovic (Yug) (3/2)

Forwards
100 Pölöskei (Hun) (5/0)
77.8 Krankl (Aut) (7/2)
71.4 R.Diaz (Arg) (5/2)
66.7 Boniek (Pol) (14/7)
66.7 Moscoso (Chi) (4/2)
66.7 Wooddin (Zea) (4/2)

Successful crosses (minimum 5 crosses)

Defenders
66.7 Mills (Eng) (4/2)
50.0 Renquin (Bel) (5/5)
44.4 Martos (Hun) (4/5)
42.9 Tarantini (Arg) (3/4)
42.1 Olguin (Arg) (8/11)

Midfielders
62.5 Calderon (Arg) (5/3)
42.9 Tardelli (Ita) (3/4)
42.9 Buncol (Pol) (3/4)
42.9 T.Sanchez (Spa) (3/4)
42.9 Petrovic (Yug) (3/4)

Forwards
80.0 Vandersmissen (Bel) (4/1)
50.0 Zico (Bra) (3/3)
40.0 Kempes (Arg) (4/6)
40.0 Armstrong (N.Irl) (4/6)
35.7 Soler (Fra) (5/9)
35.7 Juanito (Spa) (5/9)

Assists

Defenders
3 J.Toth (Hun)
2 Junior (Bra)
2 Kupcewicz (Pol)
2 Leandro (Bra)

Midfielders
3 Strachan (Sco)
3 Tigana (Fra)
3 Conti (Ita)
3 Lato (Pol)
3 Giresse (Fra)
2 Magath (Ger)
2 Antognoni (Ita)
2 Buncol (Pol)
2 Platini (Fra)

Forwards
5 Littbarski (Ger)
4 Zico (Bra)
3 Boniek (Pol)
3 Fazekas (Hun)
2 Pölöskei (Hun)
2 Six (Fra)
2 Al Anbari (Kuw)

Chances created

Defenders
14 Leandro (Bra)
13 Kaltz (Ger)
12 Junior (Bra)
11 Cabrini (Ita)
9 J.Nicholl (N.Irl)

Midfielders
24 Giresse (Fra)
24 Platini (Fra)
20 Vercauteren (Bel)
16 Prohaska (Aut)
16 Buncol (Pol)

Forwards
19 Littbarski (Ger)
18 Boniek (Pol)
17 Zico (Bra)
15 Maradona (Arg)
14 Rossi (Ita)
14 Rocheteau (Fra)

Chances created per xy minutes

Defenders
30.0 Renquin (Bel)
31.6 Leandro (Bra)
33.8 Duarte (Peru)
37.5 Junior (Bra)
45.0 Martos (Hun)

Midfielders
18.5 Strachan (Sco)
19.3 Petrovic (Yug)
22.5 Vercauteren (Bel)
22.5 Hoddle (Eng)
23.8 Giresse (Fra)
23.8 Platini (Fra)

Forwards
23.3 Lopez Ufarte (Spa)
24.5 Juanito (Spa)
24.8 Caszely (Chi)
25.0 Rocheteau (Fra)
25.0 Fazekas (Hun)

Fouls won

Defenders
16 Cabrini (Ita)
15 Camacho (Spa)
14 Briegel (Ger)
12 Amoros (Fra)
12 Bessonov (USSR)

Midfielders
22 Oriali (Ita)
21 Dremmler (Ger)
21 Buncol (Pol)
16 Conti (Ita)
14 Tardelli (Ita)

Forwards
36 Maradona (Arg)
24 Smolarek (Pol)
21 Yanez (Chi)
20 Rossi (Ita)
20 Littbarski (Ger)

Fouls conceded

Defenders
24 Gentile (Ita) (2/0)
19 Amoros (Fra) (2/0)
19 B.Förster (Ger) (1/0)
18 Majewski (Pol) (1/0)
17 Collovati (Ita) (1 yellow card/0 red cards)

Midfielders
22 Buncol (Pol) (2/0)
15 Conti (Ita) (1/0)
15 Dremmler (Ger) (1/0)
15 Coeck (Bel) (0/0)
15 Robson (Eng) (0/0)

Forwards
19 Smolarek (Pol) (2/0)
18 Hamilton (N.Irl) (2/0)
14 Mariner (Eng) (1/0)
14 Soler (Fra) (1/0)
14 Whiteside (N.Irl) (1/0)

Goalkeepers

Minutes per goals conceded
450 Shilton (Eng)
135 Pantelic (Yug)
126 Mlynarczyk (Pol)
113 Dasaev (USSR)
113 Koncilia (Aut)

Saves
35 Mlynarczyk (Pol)
29 Koncilia
27 Zoff (Ita)
25 Dasaev (USSR)
24 Arconada (Spa)

Saves per 90 minutes
6.3 Meszaros (Hun)
6.3 Osben (Chi)
6.0 van Hattum (Zea)
5.8 Koncilia (Aut)
5.0 Dasaev (USSR)
5.0 Cerbah (Alg)
5.0 Arzu (Hon)

Shots saved %
90.9 Shilton (Eng)
90.0 Pfaff (Bel)
87.9 Koncilia (Aut)
87.5 Mlynarczyk (Pol)
86.2 Dasaev (USSR)

Catches
25 Dasaev (USSR)
17 Zoff (Ita)
11 Mlynarczyk (Pol)
10 Schumacher (Ger)
9 Ettori (Fra)

Punches
7 Koncilia (Aut)
5 Schumacher (Ger)
5 Zoff (Ita)
5 Dasaev (USSR)
4 Mora (Sal)
4 Al Tarabolsi (Kuw)
4 Arconada (Spa)


Conclusion based on the following points system:

1st place 5 points
2nd place 4 pts
3rd place 3 pts
4th place 2 pts
5th place 1 pt

Categories “Fouls won” and “Fouls conceded” did not receive points


Top Defenders
24 Junior (Bra)
18 Trésor (Fra)
15 Mills (Eng)
13 Scirea (Ita)
13 Leandro (Bra)
13 Alexanco (Spa)
12 Zmuda (Pol)
10 Stielike (Ger)
10 Chivadze (USSR)
10 J.Toth (Hun)
9 Kaltz (Ger)
9 L.Galvan (Arg)
9 Kupcewicz (Pol)
9 Renquin (Bel)
8 Oscar (Bra)
8 Meeuws (Bel)
8 Majewski (Pol)
7 Cabrini (Ita)
6 C.Nicholl (N.Irl)
6 Bessonov (USSR)
6 M.Mubarak (Kuw)
5 Demyanenko (USSR)
5 Olguin (Arg)
5 Narey (Sco)
5 Baltacha (USSR)
5 Pezzey (Aut)
5 Bossis (Fra)
5 Yearwood (Hon)
5 Ma’Yoof (Kuw)
5 Varga (Hun)
5 R.T.Diaz (Peru)
4 Thompson (Eng)
4 Janas (Pol)
4 Tendillo (Spa)
4 Martos (Hu)
3 Obermayer (Aut)
3 Tarantini (Arg)
3 N.Stojkovic (Yug)
3 Duarte (Peru)
3 Collovati (Ita)

Top Midfielders
19 Tardelli (Ita)
17 Giresse (Fra)
16 Falcao (Bra)
15 Breitner (Ger)
15 Dremmler (Ger)
15 Girard (Fra)
12 Platini (Fra)
10 Prohaska (Aut)
10 Gudelj (Yug)
10 Ardiles (Arg)
10 Petrovic (Yug)
9 Larios (Fra)
9 Strachan (Sco)
8 Oriali (Ita)
8 Matysik (Pol)
8 Toninho Cerezo (Bra)
7 Buncol (Pol)
7 B.Förster (Ger)
6 Hattenberger (Aut)
6 Antognoni (Ita)
6 Wark (Sco)
6 Vercauteren (Bel)
5 Tigana (Fra)
5 Sljivo (Yug)
5 A.Gallego (Arg)
5 Velazquez (Peru)
5 Neira (Chi)
5 Calderon (Arg)
5 Lato (Pol)
5 Cresswell (Zea)
5 Souness (Sco)
5 Panenka (CSSR)
4 Dubo (Chi)
4 Conti (Ita)
4 Zelaya (Hon)
3 Garaba (Hun)
3 Genghini (Fra)
3 T.Sanchez (Spa)
3 Sulakvelidze (USSR)
3 McIlroy (N.Irl)
3 O’Neill (N.Irl)
3 Hoddle (Eng)

Top Forwards
33 Zico (Bra)
26 Boniek (Pol)
21 Vandersmissen (Bel)
21 Armstrong (N.Irl)
19 Kempes (Arg)
18 Littbarski (Ger)
15 Maradona (Arg)
14 Rummenigge (Ger)
11 Bertoni (Arg)
11 Hamilton (N.Irl)
10 Rossi (Ita)
9 Juanito (Spa)
9 Nehoda (CSSR)
9 Madjer (Alg)
8 Leguia (Peru)
7 Pölöskei (Hun)
7 Francis (Eng)
7 Mariner (Eng)
6 Six (Fra)
6 Fazekas (Hun)
6 Graziani (Ita)
5 Vandenbergh (Bel)
5 Lopez Ufarte (Spa)
4 Krankl (Aut)
4 Assad (Alg)
4 Lacombe (Fra)
4 Barbadillo (Peru)
3 Rufer (Zea)
3 Czerniatynski (Bel)
3 Hrubesch (Ger)
3 Caszely (Chi)
3 R.Diaz (Arg)
3 Rocheteau (Fra)

Goalkeepers
16 Koncilia (Aut)
15 Dasaev (USSR)
13 Mlynarczyk (Pol)
11 Zoff (Ita)
10 Shilton (Eng)
10 Meszaros (Hun)
6 Schumacher (Ger)
5 Osben (Chi)
4 Pfaff (Bel)
4 Pantelic (Yug)
3 van Hattum (Zea)

Overall
33 Zico (Bra)
26 Boniek (Pol)
24 Junior (Bra)
21 Vandersmissen (Bel)
21 Armstrong (N.Irl)
19 Kempes (Arg)
19 Tardelli (Ita)
18 Littbarski (Ger)
18 Trésor (Fra)
17 Giresse (Fra)
16 Falcao (Bra)
15 Mills (Eng)
15 Breitner (Ger)
15 Dremmler (Ger)
15 Girard (Fra)
15 Maradona (Arg)
14 Rummenigge (Ger)
13 Scirea (Ita)
13 Leandro (Bra)
13 Alexanco (Spa)
12 Platini (Fra)
12 Zmuda (Pol)
11 Bertoni (Arg)
11 Hamilton (N.Irl)
10 Rossi (Ita)
10 Stielike (Ger)
10 Prohaska (Aut)
10 Gudelj (Yug)
10 Ardiles (Arg)
10 Petrovic (Yug)
10 Chivadze (USSR)
10 J.Toth (Hun)

 

Yeah it's getting closer ... and like I said, the reason Falcao, Zico got lower for they played less games (than Lato, Tardelli ...) Again we should attached number of games next to the names (if possible)

 

Even though it will erase his points I think it's fair for me to point out John Robertson was really a midfielder not a forward. I don't know if he would get in the top 5 in any categories as a midfielder, but he wouldn't in those passing accuracy ones. Basically he was a left winger anyway - I know sometimes it is debateable including with wingers but I think he was defianately a midfielder.
For Forest he was always left winger in a 4-4-2, and though I haven't watched the Scotland games from that World Cup in any detail (I've seen his free-kick goal vs New Zealand and obviously highlights of the Brazil game but that was mostly yellow shirt highlights apart from Narey's goal!) I'd be very surprised if he wasn't in the same position throughout for Scotland.

This page from PlanetWorldCup I would suggest has him incorrectly down as a FW (maybe this was your source Gregoriak unless you used OPTA themselves - like you said Breitner was clearly a midfielder so there could be some errors in classification of positions):
http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1982/groupf_sco_v_nze.html
Strachan would have been playing as right winger with Dalglish and Brazil in attack I would suggest.

I did have a quick check through Robertson's stats on the OPTA widget and though he wasn't acclaimed as a World Cup player (but more for his performances for Forest) I did notice favourable duels stats which might be due to his one-on-one dribbling abilities down the left wing (tricking his way past the full-back etc).

I couldn't get any Cameroon stats for 1982 either so it must be a general era. I checked Milla in 1990 and his goals+assists per minute would be ahead of Maradona 1986 although that's a bit misleading due to his use as super sub of course. Chances created per minute is also one in just under 30 minutes for him but that is not quite as good as Maradona's though still good.

 

Also, it's great work Gregoriak so I don't want to suggest you should be revising it after I imagine it took you a while but maybe if it's not going to take a long time then it'd be informative to see how the points you calculated change if Lato is a midfielder too and if Zico is a forward. I think for that World Cup those may be the best positions for them as Zico was sort of like a SS in support of Serginho (I think it still is feasible to say he was playing as an AM though) and I believe Lato was in more of a right side midfield role which was different to the right wing forward role he played in the 4-3-3 in 1974. These positional differences between World Cups can happen eg as you know Littbarski was a midfielder in 1990 having been a forward as listed by yourself in 1982.

It's possible changing those positions might raise Zico and lower Lato but I haven't checked anything.

 

Indeed, if you play aggressive you draw more fouls and commit more too but I pointed at the big gap/difference between both stats. They drew 50% more fouls as they committed and that is an unusual gap, no matter what the reason is.

Which other examples?

I think Zico played in 1982 as a forward btw.

 

Lato his role even changed in the game against Italy when Boniek was suspended. Poland lost.

Boniek played a game less as Lato so maybe he would end at top with the same amount of games.

Point totals are sometimes a bit tricky too. As example (not to bash a player but as example), Breitner has 15 points for having the most passes, most recoveries and most blocks (3 times 5 points). He played the maximum of games of course which helps him to get on top in these 'absolute' categories. But I'm not sure whether this is a more impressive profile as the one Giresse and Zico who amassed a similar amount of points.

[I still don't know what they count as a 'recovery' compared with an 'interception' and similar stats]

Sometimes players with lower percentages also look more impressive like Boniek in the shooting accuracy category. Looks a more impressive profile as the ones above him.

It requires a fair bit of good reading and qualifiers but again interesting to see.

 

Yeah I think in contrast to 1974, Poland varied their line-ups and formations quite a bit but of course Boniek would have been chosen in the semi if possible - Lato played as an out and out attacker in that game didn't he? It seems Boniek also played more as a forward later in the competition as compared to the early games where he played deeper. I'm relying on others observations for this to a large extent, although during the Belgium game I remember it was remarked by a British commentator that Boniek was playing in a more attacking role in that game. It seems Lato was on the right side of midfield or in a sort-of right-side forward/AM role (a bit like Thomas Muller in 2010) in the main - I mean it seems he varied between these two similar roles apart from in the Italy game when they were without Boniek.
Personally, I'd tend to put Lato down as a midfielder but Boniek an attacker I think for that World Cup.

 

I will revise 1982 with Lato as MF, Zico as FW and Robertson as MF.

Before I start calculating 1986, I will post all players with their positions and you could check it beforehand whether the positions are debatable or incorrect.

 

Thanks. I'll definately leave others to debate whether Maradona was a midfielder or forward in 1986 though! Arguable too for Michael Laudrup - if Maradona is a forward then so is he in that World Cup I would say but perhaps both could be AM's.

 

The OPTA widget has Laudrup as a MF but Maradona as a FW while PlanetWorldCup has both as MF's. Anyway, it's just my view but I would probably categorise Laudrup at least as far forwards as Maradona (but maybe/probably both were less outright forwards than Maradona was in '82).

 

I agree with this, I am only a bit hesitant because I didn't keep track of "games started", only minutes. Hence I would suggest to break it down to minutes, not games.

Which "absolute" categories should get a "relative" treatment by adding minutes?

I am still hesitant though because I would have to do that for every World Cup starting in 1966 to make thinks comparable and that would mean a bit of work!

 

I'll leave that up to you, James & Puck...

Sometimes it is a difficult decision, and that decision may have quite an effect on the final outcome, as we may see later with the revised '82 stats.

 

I can't think of them right now, I noticed it when I was working on past World Cups but the memory got buried in all the names ...

 

I assumed 'chances created' were inclusive of assists - however I thought John Barnes directly created two chances for Lineker during the 15 minutes he was on the pitch against Argentina in 1986 (the goal and then another chance). I've seen it recently on ESPN Classic but could be mistaken so maybe others can confirm. If he did then it's either an oversight by OPTA or the chances created don't include assists (I guess somewhere they confirm they do though just like key passes include assists on the WhoScored site don't they?)

Anyway, I think Gregoriak you mentioned that you'd only include players with 100 minutes and understandably so but even though Barnes came on as sub with England chasing the game for his only minutes of the World Cup he'd have the best chances created per minute in literal terms if he did create two chances in that game (one every 7.5 minutes!).

EDIT I think I'm mistaken or OPTA are as if I'm correct he should have two successful crosses both to Lineker and he only has one recorded!

 

It has also disadvantages because in that case it is reasonable to use a certain threshold in minutes played.
Similarly, some categories like blocks become very sensitive (esp. for forwards). Although players playing more games have now an advantage in accumulating more blocks, when it becomes related to minute every block more or less will have huge consequences. When the 'best' forward has 5 blocks, it is very sensitive for the smallest increment or decrement.
It is more meaningful and less tricky in categories with high numbers and variation like passes or chances created.

Maradona in 1982 played ahead of Kempes, which caused debate. Kempes was AM. Menotti also referred to Kempes as 'playmaker'.

Maradona in 1986 and Laudrup too are very tricky. They can be categorized in both ways. Bilardo referred to Maradona as a "forward" by the way but that doesn't mean he is right, or that every cultural context would think the same way. But on the other hand, if those become categorized as midfielders you open maybe a box of pandora and Boniek, Zico and Cruijff become midfielders too!

The Denmark team had also a few other 'forwardish' players on the field. Berggreen (the 'Dirk Kuijt' of the 1980s), Arnesen and Elkjaer.
Berggreen could also play as a midfielder but Arnesen and Elkjaer were more like a forward in nature I think. Elkjaer in any event.

 

Ah, I think OPTA may have counted the second Barnes 'chance' created as a clearance or interception as it does seem Lineker didn't get the first touch or any touch on the ball now I watch it again - 1:29:33 :