Ball possession

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Ball possession is the amount of time a team possesses the ball during a game of football. ^[1]Possession is usually expressed as a percentage (for example, 60% for team A, 40% for team B). Ball possession is also the ability of players or team through their acquisition of skills, speed, and confidence to be in control of the ball against the opponent facing the pressure from the opponent.^[2] Historically, Dutch clubs (especially Ajax) were famous for dominating ball possession,^{[citation needed]} but more recently Barcelona of La Liga became the best in maintaining ball possession;^{[citation needed]} Germany's Bayern Munich came out second. However, after the arrival of Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, the team is considered to dominate possession more than Barcelona, which they did during the semi-final of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. Xavi is considered to be the most possessive player in recent years. Paul Scholes of Manchester United and England, was also very famous for his passing skills and the ability to dominate ball possession.^{[citation needed]} Teams that play possession football often try to press their opponents high in the pitch, so to recover the ball rapidly. As a result, the defensive line of team that play possession football is usually place very high in the pitch, around the halfway line and not unusually, in the opponents half. When the team loses the ball the defensive line must move rapidly otherwise the team may be subject to dangerous counter-attacks because of their high defensive line.

Supremacy in ball possession is generally seen as desirable and useful by coaches, but it is by no means certain that it can guarantee victory; for example, Italian clubs are extremely successful in European football without putting much emphasis on ball possession.

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