The attacker-defender's spatiotemporal relationship affects the dribbling outcome in futsal but not in soccer

This study investigated the influence of spatiotemporal interpersonal coordination information on soccer and futsal dribbling outcomes. For this purpose, the following relative measures were analysed: distance travelled in dribbling performance, time of dribbling, velocity of dribbling, and interpersonal distance in the beginning of dribbling. Participants included ninety-five amateur athletes who played matches of the Municipal (under-16 futsal category, n = 59) and National (under-17 category, n = 36) Championships in 2020. The sample consisted of 27 soccer dribbles and 77 futsal dribbles, which were selected from matches recorded by two digital cameras. Results showed that successful futsal dribbles were performed when interpersonal distances were smallest and dribbling velocities were highest. It also showed that successful dribbles involved an optimum range of relative time of movement. No difference was revealed regarding soccer dribbles. It was concluded that spatiotemporal interpersonal coordination affected the dribbling outcomes in sport of futsal but not of soccer. These findings suggest that the attacking futsal players should stay close to their markers and perform dribbles as quickly as possible; conversely, defenders should maintain greater distance from their marking attackers and synchronize their movements to counter dribbles at the same velocity.