The Korea Professional Football Federation (KFA) has recently been disclosing data to find hidden charms of soccer in addition to quantified data such as goals and assists. One of them is packing.
The packing index is an indicator of the efficiency of a pass. When a pass reaches a teammate, it refers to the number of opponents knocked out by that pass. This is why there are many names of defenders at the top of the packing (pass) index.
Defenders are more likely to attempt mid-to-long passes than their predecessors. The longer the distance, the more players it beats. The packing (pass) index can be an indicator that guides you to enjoy the game from such a variety of perspectives. The K-League Packing Index is ranked based on the total number of packings.
The K-League collects this packing index on a monthly basis, and in July, Grant, who led the run of the ‘Squadron Strike Team’, was dazzling. According to the accumulated K League 1 packing (pass) data for the month of July, Pohang defender Grant’s forward play stood out.
Grant played full-time in five K-League 1 games held in July. He tried 328 passes and saw the effect of passing 497 players. The average packing per game was 1.52. With effective attacks starting from the rear, Pohang is currently running second in the K-League 1.
While Grant took the lead, it was confirmed that Gwangju’s Timo and Seoul’s Osmar were also players with high passing efficiency. Timo passed 462 with 337 passes. Osmar completed 339 passes. With this pass, he beat 422 people. Following them, Lee Yong (Suwon FC, Packing 413) and Ki Sung-yong (Seoul, Packing 392) entered the ‘TOP 5’.
In addition to packing, Grant has an influence on the entire ground unlike a defender who is his main job. He roams freely from end to end of the goalpost. He is also the starting point of the build-up that presses the opponent by raising the line and supports counterattacks. In stoppage situations such as corner kicks or free kicks, he may directly penetrate into the opponent’s box and aim for a goal. In July, he scored two goals. Both goals were finished with headers from the team’s corner kick situation.
Grant’s forward play stood out in both action and pass length. In terms of activity, it ranked first in packing (packing 364) in the midfield area. He actively supported the team by stepping up. In the defensive area, he ranked second in packing (packing 119). What is interesting is that fellow defender Park Seung-wook (packing 121) ranks first in the defensive area packing. This is the part where you can check out the efficiency of pohang’s counterattack that stretches from the rear to the front.
In terms of the length of the pass, he showed strength in the mid-to-long distance. Grant ranked first in packing for long passes (over 30m). He succeeded in 45 passes and saw the effect of passing 166 people. In the mid-distance pass (15m~30m), he ranked second in packing (packing 205) after Osmar. It means that Grant’s pass, sent from the defensive area or midfield to the front, boasts a high accuracy.
There is another name that stands out when everyone is paying attention to Grant. This is Ki Sung-yong from Seoul. Ki Sung-yong, who ranked 5th overall in packing, was the player with the highest passing efficiency, especially in the final third (attack area). Ki Sung-yong made 59 successful passes in the attack area. With this pass, he outplayed as many as 109 players.
Ki Sung-yueng is a player who mainly stays in the back of midfield and in the defensive area. The mere fact that he entered the attacking area has the effect of putting pressure on his opponent. It means that he shook the opponent by adding an accurate pass.안전놀이터
It is also significant that a large number of Seoul players are included in the offensive zone rankings. In addition to Ki Sung-yong, Osmar (attack area packing 82) and Palosevich (attack area packing 77) were named in the 3rd and 4th places. These are the ones who increased the efficiency of the ‘Iksu Ball’, which puts pressure on the opponent by raising the line and releases it with a pass.
Meanwhile, in K-League 2, Bucheon midfielder Kaz took first place in the overall packing index.
Kaz played full-time in all five matches the team played in the month of July. Supporting detailed play with a lot of activity and accurate passing, he was also the best in passing efficiency. A total of 276 successful passes were made by Kaz. With this pass, he beat 424 people. In particular, he showed the highest efficiency (packing 289) in the midfield area and was strong in the attacking area, ranking second (packing 64). Kaz’s pass can be interpreted as being particularly powerful from the front.
The 2nd place overall was Gyeongnam centerback Lee Kang-hee (packing 408). As a player who has been a midfielder and center back since his days in Suwon, his offensive support skills such as forward pressing and passing are evaluated as excellent. Gyeongnam, who rented Lee Kang-hee from Suwon, transferred them completely in July and are burning their will for promotion.
Following Kaz and Lee Kang-hee, Lee Sang-min (Seongnam, Packing 400), Won Doo-jae (Gimcheon, Packing 383), and Park Jae-hwan (Gyeongnam, Packing 346) were named in the overall ‘TOP 5’.
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