CIES Football Observatory

Issue n°189 - 22/05/2017

Tackling skills: the big-5 league rankings

Issue number 189 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks big-5 league players according to their tackling skills. The tackling index is calculated by multiplying the average number of tackles attempted per 90 minutes and their success rate. Only players fielded for at least 1,500 domestic league minutes are included in the analysis.

Players from three different championships figure in the top three positions of the rankings: Valentin Rongier (Nantes), Carlos Casemiro (Real Madrid) and Idrissa Gueye (Everton). The top ranked Bundesliga player is Douglas Santos (Hamburg), while Gastón Brugman (Pescara) tops the Italian Serie A table.

In quantitative terms, the big-5 league who player who attempted the most tackles is Sergio Álvarez (Sporting Gijón): 138. Idrissa Gueye (Everton) achieved the most: 99. The highest success rate among players in the top 100 list was recorded for Pedro Obiang (West Ham): 89%. A successful tackle is defined by our data provider OptaPro as tackles resulting in winning possession or the ball being put out of play.

 

 

Editors : Raffaele Poli, Roger Besson and Loïc Ravenel

Contact: football.observatory@cies.ch