The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence time, origin and place of the goals of the 2008 Brazilian Championship, and to verify the influence of these parameters in the final classification. Data collection was performed by two independent evaluators that classified the goals according to the time of incidence, origin (stationary ball or ball rolling), and place of conclusion (inside or outside the area). A total of 1034 goals were scored. It was verified that there were more goals in the second half of the game (579 goals, ~56%), mainly in the last fifteen minutes (221 goals, ~21%). In all periods of the game, most of the goals were scored with the ball rolling and were performed inside the area. The results of the present study show higher incidence of goals at the end of the matches. The best ranked teams showed greater regularity in the distribution of goals between the intervals than the other teams.
Soccer; quantitative analysis; sports; physical education
