In association football, an assist is a contribution by a player which helps to score a goal. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of fantasy football competitions. Recording assists is not part of the official Laws of the Game and the criteria for an assist to be awarded may vary. Record of assists was virtually not kept at all until the end of the 20th century, although reports of matches commonly described a player as having "made" one or more goals. Since the 1990s, some leagues have kept official record of assists and based awards on them.
Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for passing or crossing the ball to the scorer. It may also be awarded to a player whose shot rebounds (off a defender, goalkeeper or goalpost) to a teammate who scores. Some systems may credit an assist to a player who wins a penalty kick or a free kick for another player to convert, [1] [2] or to an attacking player for contributing to an own goal. [3] A goal may be unassisted, or have one assist; some systems allow for two assists. [1] [4]
FIFA's Technical Study Group is responsible for awarding assist points at the FIFA World Cup. [5] In the Technical Study Group's report on the 1986 World Cup, the authors calculated for the first time unofficial statistics for assists, developing the following criteria: [1]
The 1990 World Cup technical report adopted similar criteria, but changed the free-kick/penalty criterion: [2]
Planet World Cup has calculated some retrospective data on assists back to the 1966 World Cup, [6] though the 1986 data differs from that of FIFA. [1] [7]
FIFA started officially keeping track of assists in World Cup tournaments at the 1994 edition. [8] This was popularly ascribed to the popularity of detailed sports statistics among fans. [8] 1994 was also the first World Cup in which assists were used as a tie-breaker in determining the Golden Shoe award for top scorer. [8] [9] In the event, both Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko tied with 19 points, from 6 goals and 1 assist. [9]
The French league, Ligue 1, awards the Trophée de Meilleur Passeur ("best passer trophy") to the player with most "decisive passes" in a season, starting in the 2007–08 season. [10] Sports newspaper L'Équipe had unofficially tracked assists for some years prior to then. [11] The league's Commission des Compétitions includes blocked shots as a subset of "decisive passes". [12] [13] In 2012–13, Mathieu Valbuena and Dimitri Payet finished with 12 assists, Valbuena winning the trophy by having fewer blocked shots (3 against 5) among his total. [13]
For the 1998–99 La Liga season, SDI sold its Gecasport database to Spanish media, in which asistencias de gol were described as "passes which lead immediately to a shot and goal". [14]
In Ukraine a traceable documentation of assists calculation started out by Ukrainian newspaper "Komanda" during the 2004–05 season of the Ukrainian Higher League (Vyshcha Liha). [15] The calculation of assist has certain problems to establish what is the "last pass" which led to a scored goal. [15] Different institutions have own perception of it. Some specialists consider that an assist has to be a deliberate action meaning that it does not include the situation when a ball randomly rebounded to a scoring striker.
In the United Kingdom, official game statistics, including assists, for the Premier League, the Scottish Premiership, and the English Football League are provided by PA Sport under the Actim brand. [16] Since the 2006–07 season, assists have been factored into the Actim Index of Premier League player performance. [17] The assist statistics provided by fantasy football competitions may differ from the Actim data; some uniformly credit an assist to whichever teammate last touched the ball before the scorer, regardless of other circumstances of the play. [18] The Premier League Playmaker of the Season award was introduced in the 2017–18 Premier League for the player with most assists. [19]
The original North American Soccer League kept assist statistics from its foundation in 1968, as its forebears the United Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League had done the previous year. [20] Analogous statistics were already being kept in basketball and in ice hockey, both established North American sports.
Major League Soccer formerly awarded the MLS Golden Boot based on 2 points per goal scored and one per assist.
The NCAA makes regulations for statistics, including assists, in college soccer in the U.S. [21] Two players may be credited with assists if the second did not have to beat a defender before passing to the scorer. [4] No assist is awarded for winning a penalty. [22] If a goal is scored after a save, block, or rebound from the goal frame, the first shooter gets an assist. [23]
These totals are the official records recognised by the relevant governing body. Independent statistics providers may have different data, either through crediting different players for a given goal, or through having begun recording assists earlier or later than the official statistics provider.
Competition | Player(s) | Team(s) | Assists | Season(s) | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
La Liga | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 21 | 2019–20 | [37] [38] |
Bundesliga | Thomas Müller | Bayern Munich | 21 | 2019–20 | [39] |
Premier League | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 20 | 2002–03 | [40] |
Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | 2019–20 | |||
Ligue 1 | Ángel Di María | Paris Saint-Germain | 18 | 2015–16 | [41] |
Serie A | Ronaldinho | AC Milan | 18 | 2009–10 | [42] |
UEFA Champions League | Luis Figo | Barcelona | 9 | 1999–2000 | [43] |
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is currently the manager of the France national under-21 and under-23 football teams. He is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, and one of the greatest players in Premier League history. He has been named by Arsenal as the club's greatest ever player. Henry was runner-up for both the Ballon d'Or in 2003 and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was named the FWA Footballer of the Year a record three times, the PFA Players' Player of the Year a joint-record two times, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year six consecutive times. He was also included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI once and the UEFA Team of the Year five times. In 2004, Henry was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and a Ballon d'Or. He is the only player ever to have won a World Cup, a Copa América, a Confederations Cup, a Champions League, a Copa Libertadores and a Ballon d'Or. A global icon of the sport, Ronaldinho was renowned for his technical skills, creativity, dribbling ability and accuracy from free-kicks, his use of tricks, feints, no-look passes and overhead kicks, as well as his ability to score and create goals, all prominent characteristics of his early-age background playing futsal. He is known by the nickname "O Bruxo".
Landon Timothy Donovan is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan was co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal. Considered one of the greatest American players of all time, he is frequently debated with Clint Dempsey for the title. Donovan holds the world record for the male with the most international assists (58) and is tied with Dempsey for the most international goals scored by an American player (57).
Romário de Souza Faria, known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian politician and professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 700 goals and is one of the few players to score at least 100 goals for three clubs. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Romário starred for Brazil in their 1994 FIFA World Cup triumph, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Ibrahimović is known for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, technique and ball control, as well as his physical dominance. He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and is one of the most decorated footballers in the world, having won 34 trophies in his career. He has scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals, and has scored in each of the last four decades.
Arjen Robben is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. Robben was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation.
Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko is a Russian-Ukrainian former footballer who played as a forward. He scored a record five goals in a group-stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer.
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. Drogba was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea FC Magazine in 2012, and he was also named in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade by Chelsea's fans in 2020. Regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, he was noted for his physical strength, speed, ability in the air, powerful and accurate strikes, and ball retention. Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the award in 2006 and 2009.
Asamoah Gyan is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a former captain of the Ghana national team.
Karim Mostafa Benzema is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. Regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, he is a creative forward known for his technical skills, vision and versatility on the field, Benzema is Real Madrid's all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider. He won 25 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga, three Copa del Rey, and five UEFA Champions League titles. He has scored over 500 career goals for club and country.
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Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, also known as Neymar Júnior, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Brazil national team. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he is renowned for his flamboyant style of play, passing abilities, and two-footedness. Neymar has scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs, being one of a few players to do so, and is the highest-scoring Brazilian player in Champions League history. Neymar is also the top goalscorer of all time for Brazil's National Football Team in official games.
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Hristo Stoichkov is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is a football commentator for TUDN. A prolific forward, he is regarded as one of the best forwards of all time, and as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time, along with Dimitar Berbatov. He was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1992 and 1994, and received the Ballon d'Or in 1994. In 2004, Stoichkov was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Kylian Mbappé Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the France national team. Regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his dribbling, speed, and finishing. He will depart Paris Saint-Germain upon the expiry of his contract on 30 June 2024.
the assist has gained enough ground to earn a place in the calculations for the Golden Boot award, which in every previous World Cup has been awarded solely on the basis of goals scored. Under the formula, players get three points for a goal, and one point for an assist. "We made a two-point difference because we do not want someone who did not score winning the award," a FIFA official said.
[FIFA] has announced Oleg Salenko (Russia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) as [...] winners of the prestigious adidas Golden Shoe award [...] who made six goals and one assist each. Kennet Andersson (Sweden) with 5 goals and 3 assists, will receive a Bronze replica of the Predator [...] Throughout World Cup '94, three points were awarded for each goal scored and one point for each assist leading to a goal, with a maximum of two assists per goal. Assists are only taken into account if two or more players scored the same number of goals.
la création du classement officiel des passeurs en 2007/08
pases que implican, de manera inmediata, un tiro y gol
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link); Lago-Peñas, Carlos; Lago-Ballesteros, Joaquín; Dellal, Alexandre; Gómez, Maite (1 June 2010). "Game-Related Statistics that Discriminated Winning, Drawing and Losing Teams from the Spanish Soccer League". Journal of Sports Science & Medicine. 9 (2): 288–293. ISSN 1303-2968. PMC 3761743 . PMID 24149698. Gecasport, a private company dedicated to the performance assessment of teams in the Spanish Soccer League (www.sdifutbol.com).; Peña, Donald (July 2004). "Goleada estadística" (PDF). Indice (in Spanish) (5): 18–19. ISSN 1697-2325. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2004. Retrieved 5 June 2020.