Expected Gol, indice EPV (Expected Possesion Value) ed Expected Threat these are just some of the terms that more and more often accompany the simple statistics of goals, assists and ball possession following the analysis of a match. These can be defined as “advanced statistics”, That is data necessary to date for a complete evaluation of a match, as they tell every single aspect of the game in a more detailed and effective way.
This data is coming in in overwhelmingly in modern football, with an acceleration especially in the last few years; if to most of the people in Italy these expressions may still be unknown and indecipherable, in other parts of the world they have been part of the habit of fans (especially in other sports) for quite some time. In America for example, where the baseball was one of the first sports to introduce the analysis of Big Data in player recruitment, so much so that teams now have dedicated analysis staff, which use match data to improve lineups and make the team more competitive. The teams of NFL (American Football) e NBA (basketball) who draw up a complete profile of the players on the basis of a continuous flow of data, which supports the decision-making process. Players have also begun to leverage the data to optimize their athletic training both during and at the end of the season – for example by monitoring calorie intake and setting training levels – and even to improve interactions with fans. So what has now become normal on the other side of the ocean has only recently become part of our daily life.
What is the cause of this change? Mainly to the increase and now necessary use of technology in our lives, which make the use of sophisticated equipment and the collection of advanced data inevitable for a better return on sports performance. Therefore, thanks to this technological advancement, clubs have the tools that allow them to make the best decisions in terms of efficiency, in order to make decisions that should lead to an almost certain progression of the company in several respects. In particular, we will focus on the effects of technologies during player training and matches, which help coaches evaluate every aspect of the game, and on new scouting systems.
We assume that i Big Data improves sports performance. The goal is that di split up every single action to transform it into numbers and statistics to be analyzed. Big data analytics, ovvero the process of collecting and analyzing large amounts of data to extract information. And it is thanks to the use of innovative tools made available by technology that clubs and coaches are able to examine the results of their athletes and opponents (studying any counter moves to be applied), improving the planning of already specific workouts. . The aim is to opt not so much for the best athlete how much for the right athlete, the professional who needs to be deployed in a given context and moment. The choice therefore, as previously mentioned, falls on the player who in a given situation is more efficient than another. As regards the quantification of performance during a match, different types of devices have been produced. For example, heart rate monitoring systems have been integrated with technologies capable of tracking and providing the athlete’s position (GPS), and with accelerometers and gyroscopes that distinguish movements and energy expenditure. Therefore, these new appliances can estimate the number of tackles and jumps performed during a match. Artificial intelligence e machine learning (method of data analysis capable of automating the construction of analytical models) allow professional athletes and technical staff to go beyond the “simple” description of performance in the field, thanks to predictive analyzes and detailed suggestions that allow the optimization of a strategy or of a technical gesture. In this regard, the figure of the Football Data Analyst, an increasingly important element in modern sport. A specialized consultant able to extract value and insight from data, transforming Big Data into smart data, useful for the strategy and activities of the team’s technical-tactical area.
To demonstrate the importance of this new role, special specialized courses have been created, for example Wylab (Italian incubator focused on startups that develop innovative technologies and solutions for sport) e Top-IX (consortium that deals with infrastructure management for the internet exchange and development program) have joined forces to launch a training course for Football Data Analyst. A training plan dedicated to aspiring football data analysts, which will help participants achieve four main objectives: to collect, organize and manage heterogeneous databases; show the results obtained thanks to impactful graphics and presentations; transfer insights to technicians in order to improve individual and team athletic, technical and tactical performances (match analysis); process data in order to identify and evaluate prospective players (scouting).
This last point is one of the aspects to be analyzed of this evolution: Big Data in fact does not exhaust its functionality in improving sports performance and in choosing the ideal squad for a match, but they are also becoming a fundamental aspect for the scouting of players. By now common thoughts are those who believe today that instinct and glance (skills that remain fundamental) are no longer enough, but analytical skills and objective vision are needed. First of all, it should be emphasized that the use of technology is also intended for a use of “convenience”, as it is not possible to think of being able to control all the events by spending staggering amounts to pay for travel, with football clubs tend to make their observers work initially using the videos. Today, for the professional level, there are a limited number of platforms that allow video observation of any footballer where there is television coverage. A striking example is Wyscout, a high-tech scouting company made in Italy. The platform of Wyscout, perfected in 2008, within ten years, has become, in fact, a real “football pastry”For professionals and journalists, given that, by subscribing to a subscription, you can view any match and player from any national federation, constantly analyze their performance, vivisect each match to extract statistical data. Through the extraction of this data, the scouts issue a list of potential players, who represent the ideal for their team and with more chances of becoming future top players.
Which direction is football going in?
After having seen and examined the “revolution” brought about by technology, one must ask oneself what is the path that football is taking: that of making the game as inefficient as possible, that is to focus on how effective it should be rather on how much it can be more “beautiful” to look at. But is the best solution to fully rely on advanced statistics and technology? Although they lead, as demonstrated in the article, to an improvement in sports performance, these remain “cold and analytical” data, which would not find their meaning without people ready to elaborate and reflect on them. Therefore the use of technology is essential nowadays, but it is of fundamental importance that the people who act within the world of football do not rely on it 100%, without losing critical sense, inspiration, creativity and imagination which has always distinguished football, making it the most beautiful sport in the world.
