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Mathematicians rival octopus in World Cup final prediction

A network representing England's game tactics.

A new mathematical analysis of team tactics predicts a Spanish win in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final and also sheds some light on why England were trashed by Germany. Mathematicians and football supporters Dr Javier López Peña and Dr Hugo Touchette from Queen Mary, University of London have collected ball passing data from all of the FIFA World Cup games and analysed it to reveal the nations' different styles of play.
Using the mathematical technique called graph theory, they have revealed the gaping holes in England's tactics against Germany and made predictions about the Netherlands-Spain final that may just rival the psychic octopus.
For each national side, López Peña and Touchette have drawn up a network of passes between players throughout the tournament and analysed how these networks compare between teams. Touchette explains: "Each player in the network is given a score called centrality, which measures how vital they are to the network. The higher the centrality score, the bigger the impact if that player wasn't there. This method is most commonly used to make computer networks more robust, but it can also be used to plan football strategy."

The Netherlands-Spain prediction

The networks reveal that Spanish players have made a strikingly high number of passes in this tournament, almost 40% more than Germany and twice as many as the Dutch. "The team relies on swift passes that are well distributed among all players, especially between those playing mid-field," said López Peña.

David Villa (number 7), the tournament's highest goal scorer, has received an average of 37 passes per game, more than any other forward from all the teams. López Peña said: "Villa's performance has been impressive compared with Fernando Torres (number 9), who has not scored any goals this tournament. This was reflected in the successful Spanish tactics, with Torres only receiving an average of 13 passes per match, and 37 to Villa."
Conversely, the Dutch game play is clearly offensive, involving a very low number of passes between players, most of which are aimed at the strikers. López Peña said: "The low number of passes shows the Dutch prefer quick attacks and counterstrikes rather than intricate playing. Their goals are often scored from set pieces such as free kicks and they use their physical presence to beat their opponents."

The England-Germany match

The analysis shows the English squad to have a balanced line-up with no single player more important than the team as a whole. López Peña said: "The good midfield work of Frank Lampard (number 8), Steven Gerrard (number 4) and Gareth Barry (number 14) doesn't appear to transfer very well to the forwards, with Wayne Rooney (number 10) receiving on average three times more passes than Jermain Defoe (number 19). This makes the English attack very predictable and easily stoppable by blocking Rooney, who is usually forced to give the ball back to Gerrard."

The German network appears even more balanced than the English one, with a higher number of passes, suggesting more circulation of the ball. "Particularly relevant are the passes between Philipp Lahm (number 16) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (number 7) and most of the German attacks are built up from the defenders. Mesut Oezil (number 8) makes good work connecting both sides of the field on the attack, making the German offensive game very effective and hard to defend against. The key player in the German strategy remains Schweinsteiger, who was effectively blocked by the Spanish midfielders' characteristic fast circulation in their semi-final defeat," said López Peña.
For more graphs and more information see the researchers' website.
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Adapted from press release by Matt Parker and Simon Levey

Source: http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/may-aug10/football/index.html

Research University Status for UTM

Thursday, 10 June 2010 07:48

Kuala Lumpur, June 10th: UTM was announced as a Research University by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak in parliament when he presented the 10th Malaysia Plan on June 10th, 2010.

In an interview with the UTM Vice Chancellor Prof. Dato Dr. Zaini Ujang, he expressed his utmost gratitude to the government on behalf of all the staff and students of UTM for the trust and recognition given to UTM as the new Research University in Malaysia in addition to the current four.

“This well deserved attainment is a timely acknowledgement of UTM’s effort and achievement as it undergoes a dynamic transformation process these past few years towards becoming an innovation-led Research University. The strategic action undertaken by the university is in tandem with Malaysia’s aspiration towards becoming a knowledge-based, innovation-led economy grounded in creativity and innovation with high value creation” said Zaini.

Zaini further highlighted that the transformation of UTM is based on organisational strategy, structure and culture, three vital elements crucial to the success of any organization. Through a comprehensive and integrated Strategic Plan, UTM functions and operates on a KPI-based management system with clear goals and targets set to achieve its strategic objectives.

Furthermore, through the transformation of its organisational structure in relation to teaching and research activities, UTM stays focused in creating a vibrant academic culture and fertile intellectual ecosystem that inspire creativity and innovation. At the same time, a stimulating research culture exists in UTM through the creation of 11Research Alliances in strategic disciplines in an effort to make publication more dynamic.

UTM is also actively engaged in research collaboration with renowned institutions such as Harvard University, MIT, Imperial College of London, University of Cambridge, Tokyo University and Meiji University on areas of mutual interests. To facilitate further engagement and networking in academic and research undertakings, international satellite offices have been established in Tokyo, and already in the pipeline are plans to establish satellite offices in Doha (Qatar), Madinah (Saudi Arabia), and in Boston (USA).

Zaini also highlights that UTM views innovation as central to its core value, with the innovation culture permeated across all dimensions of the university including teaching and learning, research and development, writing and publication, management and administration, staff and student development, consultancy and professional services, not to mention university social responsibility. Innovation is expedited by the university community through concerted effort and strong team spirit with shared mission and purpose.

It is worth noting that UTM has the highest number of postgraduate students in engineering and technology, which is one of the important components in contributing towards the development of an innovation-led economy.

UTM is also the three-time winner for the National Intellectual Property Award. This is viewed as necessary in response to the global challenge which requires universities to leapfrog in terms of innovation and high value creation to remain relevant and competitive.

In tandem with this, UTM has embarked on commercialisation efforts through branding and marketing of its expertise, research products and services by reengineering the UTM business wing into the UTM Holdings since June 1 this year. The UTM Innovation Centres have also been established in its main campus in Johor Bahru and International Campus in Kuala Lumpur as well as the future UTM Innovative Centre for Agritechnology for Bioprocessing in Pagoh.

At the same time, UTM’s continuous effort in global outreach and strategic alliances with established and renowned universities abroad has enhanced its visibility and reputation among peers in the region and also at international level.

Source: http://www.utm.my/news/news/284-research-university-status-for-utm.html