How Data Analytics is Improving Football Today
If you visited top-flight football clubs today, you would see data analysts working side by side with coaches and scouts. The age of gut feelings is long gone. From player recruitment to match prep, data analytics is critical to the modern game.
The Moneyball Paradox in Football
The impact of data analytics in sports can arguably be linked to baseball's Moneyball, although of late, football has begun to fully embrace the trend. Data-driven analytics divisions in clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and Brentford have begun to outsmart their competitors, who still rely on data primitive techniques.
This trend is not only for the rich clubs, as smaller clubs have been able to leverage data to help them compete against richer clubs. Analytics-equipped clubs are able to identify undervalued players and tactics to help them perform better than their financial budget.
What Football Analytics Measures
Modern football analytics involve metrics far more refined than mere statistics like goals and assists. Mainstream football analytics includes quantifiable statistics like expected goals (xG). xG measures the quality of chances created and the chances conceded. And while analysts measure expected assists and the number of progressive passes, there are numerous other metrics, including the ones that measure the intensity of pressing and defensive actions per game.
Football analytics measure so many things now, in large part due to the rapidly improving tracking technologies. Running distance, number of sprints, and position at various intervals are all attributes thanks to GPS tracking data. For more than 22 players and the ball in every match, the Optical tracking technology generates millions of events that can be mined for many useful insights to combine numerous recorded and captured attributes.
Impact on Tactical Evolution
Data analytics has changed the way other teams approach matches tactically. The emergence of high pressing was, for example, due to data which evidenced that high pressing is one of the most effective ways of regaining the ball in an advantageous attacking area. Also, data evidenced that in attacking phases, football teams should avoid crossing the ball into congested areas of the penalty box because of the high likelihood of the ball losing value of possession, prompting many teams to adjust their game.
In a way that was unthinkable a generation ago, Drivers can now compile and combine numerous (sometimes competitive) datasets and provide detailed and actionable qualitative and quantitative insights on opposition weakness and the most optimal routines for the set-piece, as well as the players, to provide a detailed game plan.
Fans and Gamblers Analytics
The analytics revolution is not just for the professional clubs. Fans and gamblers have had complex analytics available to them that were, until recently, reserved for the pros. AI-powered football predictions platforms analyse the same data used by professional clubs, providing users with advanced data-based insights.
Fans are now watching matches more engaged than ever. Learning and understanding xG is now enabling fans to understand and appreciate the different degrees of quality and performances that exist beyond the score line. A team may lose the game after creating more scoring opportunities than their opponent, while the opponent wins the game with a fortunate goal that should not sustain over the course of the same season.
The Human Element Remains Essential
For all of the great things, data analytics is not a substitute for the human element in football. Analytics may not show the leaders in a locker room, the calm under pressure, or the players making the right football decisions in the critical moments of a game. Top organisations combine analytical insights with great footballing minds who know the game at a higher level when compared with the analytics.
This balance also applies to betting and predictions. While data-driven betting tips are extremely valuable, context provided by veteran prediction observers is very important in enhancing a long-term betting result more than the model.
Looking Forward
As tracking technology progresses, football will increasingly benefit from more advanced forms of data collection. Even more, leagues utilise data collection technology as it becomes more sophisticated, so too will the insights from machine learning. These powerful tools will reveal new patterns that will enhance the ways in which the sport is played, analysed, and enjoyed.
As we continue to blend the more artistic and scientific sides of the beautiful game, we will deepen our appreciation for football and the innovations being developed.