Atomic-SPADL¶

Definitions¶

Atomic-SPADL is an alternative version of SPADL which removes the result attribute from SPADL and adds a few new action types. Each action is a now a tuple of the following eleven attributes:

Attribute	Description
game_id	the ID of the game in which the action was performed
period_id	the ID of the game period in which the action was performed
seconds	the action’s start time
player	the player who performed the action
team	the player’s team
x	the x location where the action started
y	the y location where the action started
dx	the distance covered by the action along the x-axis
dy	the distance covered by the action along the y-axis
action_type	the type of the action (e.g., pass, shot, dribble)
bodypart	the player’s body part used for the action

In this representation, all actions are atomic in the sense that they are always completed successfully without interruption. Consequently, while SPADL treats a pass as one action consisting of both the initiation and receival of the pass, Atomic-SPADL sees giving and receiving a pass as two separate actions. Because not all passes successfully reach a teammate, Atomic-SPADL introduces an interception action if the ball was intercepted by the other team or an out event if the ball went out of play. Atomic-SPADL similarly divides shots, freekicks, and corners into two separate actions. Practically, the effect is that this representation helps to distinguish the contribution of the player who initiates the action (e.g., gives the pass) and the player who completes the action (e.g., receives the pass).

Example¶

SPADL actions can be converted to their atomic version with the convert_to_atomic() function.

import socceraction.atomic.spadl as atomicspadl

df_atomic_actions = atomicspadl.convert_to_atomic(df_actions)

This is what Belgium’s second goal against England in the third place play-off in the 2018 FIFA world cup looks like in the Atomic-SPADL format.

game_id	period_id	seconds	team	player	x	y	dx	dy	actiontype	bodypart
8657	2	2179	Belgium	Witsel	37.1	44.8	0.0	0.0	dribble	foot
8657	2	2179	Belgium	Witsel	37.1	44.8	16.8	3.4	pass	foot
8657	2	2180	Belgium	De Bruyne	53.8	48.2	0.0	0.0	receival	foot
8657	2	2181	Belgium	De Brunne	53.8	48.2	16.8	-6.0	dribble	foot
8657	2	2184	Belgium	De Bruyne	70.6	42.2	16.8	6.9	pass	foot
8657	2	2184	Belgium	Hazard	87.4	49.1	0.0	0.0	receival	foot
8657	2	2185	Belgium	Hazard	87.4	49.1	10.6	-10.3	dribble	foot
8657	2	2187	Belgium	Hazard	97.9	38.7	7.1	-1.4	shot	foot
8657	2	2187	Belgium	Hazard	105.0	37.4	0.0	0.0	goal	foot

../../_images/eden_hazard_goal_atomicspadl.png