Abstract
Match analysis in the sporting context has been used by coaches, athletes, and sports scientists, but it doesn’t include the functional analysis of players’ behaviors, a common tool to behavior analysts. The present study aims to: (a) present a synthesis of some principles of Behavior Analysis and characterize descriptive functional analysis of behavior, (b) characterize match analysis, (c) perform a functional analysis of the penalty, based on the principles of Behavior Analysis and (d) describe the contributions of the association of functional analysis and match analysis. For this, after the presentation of the principles of Behavior Analysis applied to the penalty, a descriptive functional analysis of the penalty kick was performed, from the point of view of the goalkeeper and the penalty taker. A descriptive functional analysis allows to evaluate the variables that determine successful and unsuccessful moves. From this, it is suggested that data produced by the functional analysis can complement those produced by the match analysis to enable the planning and evaluation of interventions improving the sports training.
Behavior Analysis; Match analysis; Sport Psychology; Soccer