Category: Player Stats & Analysis
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Wonderkids: Curtis Jones
Although he has only recently started playing regularly, it is clear what type of player Curtis Jones is. He exploded into Liverpool’s first team when it was hit by an injury crisis. He has impressed with his composure and passing skills, ensuring that the absence of certain elite players has not been felt. His real…
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Wonderkids: Harvey Elliott
Harvey Elliott, a very skilled attacking midfielder, is impressing in his loan spell with Blackburn, where he continues to hone his talents as part of a process that will lead him back to his parent club Liverpool, sooner or later. According to our model, in 12 months he should be ready for a chance in…
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Wonderkids: Jérémy Doku
Jérémy Doku is one of the wonderkids with the most room for improvement, in our view. The 18 year-old winger has already showcased his electrifying pace and elite dribbling for both club and country. However, we find his decision making in the final third to still be suboptimal and, after joining Rennes, he is still…
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Wonderkids: Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz has all the credentials to become one of the top attacking midfielders in Europe, in our view. Technically gifted, Wirtz’s dribbling and vision are his main skills, while he is also very dynamic and covers a lot of ground during matches. Furthermore, various external factors lead us to believe that this 17-year-old wonderkid…
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Wonderkids: Eduardo Camavinga
Already on the shortlists of many of Europe’s top clubs, Eduardo Camavinga showcases uncommon maturity, confidence and composure, all qualities that he will surely develop further thanks to his strong attention to detail and work ethic. The next step in Camavinga’s on-pitch development is to complete the transition from defensive to box-to-box midfielder, which should…
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Top heading players in European football
Headings require three key skills: a good timing, jumping reach and coordination. In the top 5 leagues, three forwards stand out for their heading skills: Giroud (Chelsea), Pavoletti (Cagliari) and Carrillo (Leganes). In the current season, the “king” of headers is Leonardo Pavoletti, who has already scored 9 headed goals. Mexico City, Sunday 21 June…
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Bend it like Beckham: the top free-kick takers in Europe
Who have been the best free-kick takers in Europe over the past five years? Lionel Messi? Cristiano Ronaldo? According to our research, neither of the two. After analysing all the free-kicks taken in the top 5 European leagues since 2014/15, we arrive to some counterintuitive conclusions. Andrew is attempting yet another dribble. The defender tackles him with energy.…
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The Vitruvian Goalie: A deep dive into the goalkeepers' stats
Goalkeepers save 69% of the opponents’ shots on target, on average. The save ratios differ greatly depending on whether the shots are taken inside or outside the box (60% and 85%, respectively). This suggests that, to be relevant, the save ratio needs to be considered along with the quality of the shots faced by the goalkeepers. To…
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Player salaries in the Italian Serie A (2018/19)
We analysed the contractual details of all the 548 players of the Italian Serie A (‘ISA’) and then aggregated the data by team, by role, by country and by age. The average salary per player, net of taxes, is €1m per year. The top-earner is Juventus’s Cristiano Ronaldo, €31m per year, costing more than the…
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The non-correlation between physical efforts and football performances
The stats of ‘Russia 2018’ confirmed the absence of any meaningful correlation between physical efforts and football performances. The overall outcome is in line with the available literature, although more clearly than widely perceived, in our view. Our main takeaway is the confirmation of the validity of ball-based training sessions, key to master football. By the way,…
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