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Usefulness of Dismissing and Changing the Coach in Professional Soccer

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Heuer
  • Christian Müller
  • Oliver Rubner
  • Norbert Hagemann
  • Bernd Strauss

Abstract

Whether a coach dismissal during the mid-season has an impact on the subsequent team performance has long been a subject of controversial scientific discussion. Here we find a clear-cut answer to this question by using a recently developed statistical framework for the team fitness and by analyzing the first two moments of the effect of a coach dismissal. We can show with an unprecedented small statistical error for the German soccer league that dismissing the coach within the season has basically no effect on the subsequent performance of a team. Changing the coach between two seasons has no effect either. Furthermore, an upper bound for the actual influence of the coach on the team fitness can be estimated. Beyond the immediate relevance of this result, this study may lead the way to analogous studies for exploring the effect of managerial changes, e.g., in economic terms.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Heuer & Christian Müller & Oliver Rubner & Norbert Hagemann & Bernd Strauss, 2011. "Usefulness of Dismissing and Changing the Coach in Professional Soccer," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(3), pages 1-7, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0017664
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017664
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carlos Pestana Barros & Bernd Frick & Jose Passos, 2009. "Coaching for survival: the hazards of head coach careers in the German 'Bundesliga'," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(25), pages 3303-3311.
    2. A. Heuer & O. Rubner, 2009. "Fitness, chance, and myths: an objective view on soccer results," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 67(3), pages 445-458, February.
    3. Frick, Bernd & Barros, Carlos Pestana & Prinz, Joachim, 2010. "Analysing head coach dismissals in the German "Bundesliga" with a mixed logit approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(1), pages 151-159, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Luc Arrondel & Richard Duhautois & Cédric Zimmer, 2020. "Within-season dismissals of football managers: evidence from the French Ligue 1," Working Papers halshs-02505315, HAL.
    2. Joshua D. Pitts & Brent Evans, 2019. "Manager impacts on worker performance in American football: Do offensive coordinators impact quarterback performance in the National Football League?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 105-118, January.
    3. Raphael Flepp & Egon Franck, 2021. "The Performance Effects Of Wise And Unwise Managerial Dismissals," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 186-198, January.
    4. Stijn Baert & Simon Amez, 2018. "No better moment to score a goal than just before half time? A soccer myth statistically tested," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Nicolas Scelles & Matthieu Llorca, 2021. "Leader Dismissal or Continuity, President Longevity, Geographic Orientation of Owners and Team Performance: Insights from French Men’s Football, 1994–2016," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Joshua D. Pitts & Brent A. Evans, 2020. "Defensive Coordinator and Head Coach Effects on Team Defensive Performance in the National Football League," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(5), pages 493-524, June.
    7. Janina Kleinknecht & Daniel Würtenberger, 2022. "Information effects of managerial turnover on effort and performance: Evidence from the German Bundesliga," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 791-812, April.
    8. Clive B Beggs & Alexander J Bond & Stacey Emmonds & Ben Jones, 2019. "Hidden dynamics of soccer leagues: The predictive ‘power’ of partial standings," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-28, December.
    9. Kaori Naritaa & J .D. Tenaa & Claudio Detottoc, 2020. "What Makes the Ideal Profile of a New Manager in Times of Adversity? Evidence from Italian Serie A," Working Papers 202031, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    10. Nicolas Scelles & Matthieu Llorca, 2. "Head coach change and team performance in the French men's football Ligue 1, 2000-2016," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 920-937020.
    11. Brian Goff & Dennis Wilson & David Zimmer, 2019. "The effect of management changes on winning in professional sports: Analysis using a dynamic lag adjustment model," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(8), pages 982-992, December.

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