Effect of Pitch Size on Technical-Tactical Actions of the Goalkeeper in Small-Sided Games

The aim of this paper was to determine how the size of the pitch affected technical and tactical actions of the goalkeeper when playing small-sided games. The participants were 13 male youth players, including 3 goalkeepers. Three different pitch sizes were used (62 x 44 m; 50 x 35 m; 32 x 23 m). On each pitch, the players played three matches of 8 minutes, with 5-minute breaks between matches. Numerous variables were recorded and examined: defensive and offensive technical and tactical actions, opponent's shooting zone, length and zone of the offensive action, and goal zone where the shoot was directed. An ad hoc observational tool was used. A descriptive analysis was described. The Fisher's exact test was used when the expected distribution was below 5 or included values below 1%. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The results showed that the technical-tactical actions of the goalkeeper differed among pitch sizes. In defensive actions, when the pitch was larger, the 1-on-1 situations took precedence, whereas when the pitch was smaller, the proportion of blocks increased. In offensive actions, the goalkeepers did not show a wide variety of actions when the pitch was larger, but when the pitch was smaller, passes with a hand or foot increased. These results show that the size should be taken into account when planning and designing tasks.