Formações táticas e identidade futebolística: um estudo comparativo entre as ligas masculinas da Argentina (Primera División) e do Brasil (Campeonato Brasileiro Série A) (2015–2024)

Abstract

The evolution of football since its creation is clear, with changes in the rules, the ball itself and the way the game is played. Among all these changes, tactical evolution is something that draws a lot of attention. Tactical formation in football refers to the organisation of players on the pitch. The study used a descriptive-analytical approach to comparatively analyse the most commonly used tactical formations in the main professional men's football leagues in Brazil and Argentine, investigating frequency of use, match patterns, and exclusivity of each league. Match reports were obtained through web scraping. The data collected is publicly available (www.FBref.com; Sports Reference LLC, Pennsylvania/USA) and contains general information and advanced analytical data for each match provided by OPTA Sportsdata (Opta Sports, London, UK). Twenty-one different formations were identified over the ten seasons analysed. The five most frequently used formations in Brazil were 4-2-3-1 (n= 829; 10,9%); 4-1-4-1 (n= 798; 10,5%); 4-4-2 (n= 472; 6,2%); and, 3-4-3 (n= 257; 3,4%). On the other hand, in Argentina, the five most frequently used formations were 4-4-2 (n= 1.449; 25,1%); 4-2-3-1 (n= 1.405; 24,3%); 4-3-3 (n= 820; 14,2%); 4-1-4-1 (n= 413; 7,2%); and, 3-4-3 (n= 267; 4,6%). The rate of different formations used by opponents is higher in the Argentine Primera División, 84.3% of games compared to the Brazilian Championship Série A, 65.2% of games. In the Argentine Primera División championship, in 85.9% of games, the use of a 4-defender line is noted (vs. 91.7% in the Brazilian Championship Série A); in 8.6% with 3 defenders (vs. 6.6% in the Brazilian Championship Série A); and in 5.4% with 5 defenders (vs. 1.6% in the Brazilian Championship Série A). Among the five most recurring tactical matchups, one was shared between the Brazilian Championship Series A and the Argentine Primera División: 4-1-3-2 vs. 4-2-3-1. When analysing the exclusive matchups, the data indicates that 4.6% of the most commonly used matchups in Brazil are not present among the main ones in Argentina, while 5.6% of argentine matchups do not appear among Brazilian ones. The partial overlap and exclusivity of tactical formations suggest significant differences between the football schools of the two countries, with each league valuing its own tactical patterns. Future research may investigate new perspectives on the use of these formations, comparing different playing styles or cultures and their socio-anthropological motivations.