What is Moneyball in football, the sabermetric algorithm that will do Maldini’s job in Milan

How will the Milan del post-Maldini? Who will take up his heavy legacy in the Rossoneri? While fans (and players) wonder about the new managerial course, the patron Cardinal or the man who opted for the revolution already has clear ideas. Milan is ready to take a leap into the future by relying on a Moneyball that is, an algorithm with the ability to tap into artificial intelligence by exploiting the sabermetrics.

To fully understand what we are talking about, you need to leave football and move to the world of baseball, dear to the American owners of Milan. Focus on the true story of the Oakland Athletics beautifully told in a successful film entitled “Moneyball, the art of winning” starring Brad Pitt. The Hollywood star plays the general manager of the team Billy Beanewho, after being denied a budget increase to raise the level of his parents, finds help in a young economics graduate with whom he develops the classic plan B.

In practice, the Oakland Athletics for the choice of players began to take advantage of a based system from that moment on Sabermetrics, with all due respect to the skepticism of observers and insiders. What is it about? It is an analysis model that uses detailed statistics at 360° and which takes its name from the acronym SABR (American Society for Baseball Research).

A scene from the movie Moneyball

By exploiting data, numbers, history and individual characteristics of the players, it is thus possible to make a forecasting model and respond to objective questions on particular requests relating to particular aspects or peculiarities of the protagonists. All this can be useful for technicians and physical and athletic trainers. Suffice it to say that information can also be collected on nutrition, sleep, etc.

In the case of the American franchise, for example, the bet was on resources with a high OBP, ie the percentage that indicates the number of times the player conquers a base without the help of penalties. The goal is thus to be able to have pieces with more functional qualities, even with a lower budget, perfectly therefore congenial to the resources required in the specific case of the Athletics and also in the future of Milan. In this, therefore, artificial intelligence has a pivotal role, allowing you to group statistics and analyses. In this way, times are reduced and there is a mass of important and above all already “skimmed” material.

The Moneyball model has already made its way into the world of football, and in particular in two clubs i.e. Brentford and Midtjylland thanks in particular to Matthew Benham and Rasmus Ankersen respectively. The results were encouraging, as confirmed by the titles won by the Danes who achieved qualification in Europe and by the growth of the English club as well. Of course as far as soccer is concerned, as opposed to baseball, other parameters are entered as they may be gli expected goal, the opportunities created and not exploited, analysis of performance and also when possible characteristics on a human level. The Cardinal himself has experimented with everything through his RedBird fund, in companies in which he has shares such as Liverpool and Toulouse.

The next to take advantage of Moneyball will therefore be AC ​​Milan who find themselves replacing not just any insider but a character capable of making AC Milan history like Paolo Maldini. For this Cardinal and the managing director Furlani they met Beane himselfas confirmed by Repubblica, to fully understand the Moneyball method and its application first to baseball and then to soccer.

On the other hand, the management of the market budget, in addition to the choice on Pioli, was one of the reasons that led to the breakup. The now former technical director had achieved positive results in his first season, with the exponential growth of some players who arrived at the Milanese court such as Maignan, Leao, Hernandez and so on. Last summer, however, things didn’t go very well with the additions from Origi and above all De Ketelaere, even though Maldini’s plan envisaged the possibility of returning to that investment in three years.

The owner’s goal, however, is to work in another way, exploiting a perhaps lower budget, but with more prudent choices. And here is where Moneyball could do for the “new” Milan, with Moncada and Furlani ready to form the new market trio, with artificial intelligence.