Italy’s 3rd division is rife with young talent across the 60 teams in the league. Which stand out the most based on specific data criteria? I build a U24 “dream team” with 36 players across all 11 positions to find out.… Read More Data Scouting Serie C for U24 Players: All Positions
This article uses data to find several young, interesting LaLiga2 CMs. Many data visuals follow so we get a sense of each player’s profile and performance.… Read More Using Data to Find Interesting Young Midfielders: 22-23 La Liga SmartBank
If you were to look at almost any event from an attacking/in possession lens, you will likely come to a different answer to the question “why did that happen?” than if you viewed that event through a defensive lens. I’ve been trying to change my perspective recently, and this article documents some of my thoughts.… Read More Defensive Transition: Shifting My Lens From Attack to Defense
What if the US, with a closed top division, formed a state/regional league system, including all clubs from the MLS, USL, NPSL, and NISA? This article dives into a fantasy league structure for each region.… Read More What Might a Brazil-Style Regional League System Look Like in the USA?
This is a first step towards trying to get a better view of defenders and defensive skills using event data. I examine ball receipts under pressure and subsequent actions to see if attackinng-player-focused event data can be used as a proxy for defensive actions… Read More Moving Towards Better Data Analysis of Defensive Play: One Proof of Concept – Pressures
… and why they’re all misleading and/or faulty.
We’re currently in a situation where widely-available data and metrics used to analyze defenders can often be antithetical to defending itself. There’s a disconnect between on-ball events and quality defensive skills in current data accessible to the public.… Read More We Need to Talk About Defensive Metrics…
Raimonds Krollis is the best striker in Latvia. This articles analyzes him and illustrates his main strengths & tendencies including movement, dropping deep, and finishing, while discussing his areas to improve and his potential ability.… Read More Raimonds Krollis, Valmiera’s Talisman Captain: Player Profile & Analytic Scouting
Article by Ben Griffis We widely use chess as a metaphor for soccer tactics, and the mere idea of a person playing chess invokes a romantic air of strategy and wisdom. Recently, Louis Vuitton ran an ad featuring Messi and Ronaldo playing chess—likening their careers to that of a chess match, where each player is… Read More Shogi And Football: The Japanese Version of Chess And Its Copious Parallels to The Beautiful Game
England and the USA played to an energetic and exciting 0-0 draw in the 2nd Group Stage match of the 2022 World Cup. This article examines the USA’s effective defensive block tactics that stifled England’s buildup, diving deeper into Christian Pulisic’s asymmetrical positioning.… Read More Dissecting the USA’s Defensive Block & Pulisic’s Free Defensive Position: How the US Defended England’s Buildup
Paul Bismarck Tabinas is a young Japanese wing back who loves running with the ball and is very dangerous in the air. In this scouting report we’ll look at lots of data and videos to see who he is as a player, his strengths and weaknesses, and if the wing back position is his best fit.… Read More Paul Bismarck Tabinas: Iwate Grulla Morioka’s Raw, Attack-Minded Wing Back – Data and Video Scouting
Article by Ben Griffis What players tend to pose the most immediate danger to the opponent’s defenders and goalkeeper with their passes? This is the question I’m looking to (begin to) address with a new metric I rather non-creatively term, Passing Danger Index, or PDI for short. The idea behind this is to see which… Read More Introducing “Passing Danger Index”: Measuring The Immediate Danger A Player’s Passes Pose to Opposing Back Lines
The 2022 edition of Latvia’s top flight, the Virsliga, will be decided on the final match day. This article previews the match, offering several key data visualizations and analysis on what we could expect from both matches and what it means to the title race.… Read More Latvia’s 2022 Virsliga Comes Down to the Wire: Previewing The Title-Seeking Teams’ Matches
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