The Growing Importance of Football Analytics
From the origins of data analytics in football to FC Liverpool’s dominance, we explore how stats and algorithms are changing the Beautiful Game.
31
May
27
Nov
La Liga: Heavy Traffic on the road to Glory
La Liga at the moment looks like a congested motorway during rush hour, with several teams side-by-side at the top. However, with Lionel Messi back from injury and in very… La Liga: Heavy Traffic on the road to Glory
19
Apr
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… Top heading players in European football
11
Apr
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… Bend it like Beckham: the top free-kick takers in Europe
09
Mar
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).… The Vitruvian Goalie: A deep dive into the goalkeepers’ stats
14
May
Ball possession in European football (part 3)
Final part of our trilogy of posts dedicated to ball possession in European football. We look into the recurring build-up patterns of four top European teams: Barcelona, Man City, Napoli… Ball possession in European football (part 3)
30
Mar
Masters of passes (2018 edition)
We analyse two categories of midfielders, the playmakers and the assist-makers. Regarding the first group, Verratti (PSG) displays the highest number of accurate passes per match in Europe, while Arne… Masters of passes (2018 edition)
09
Mar
Ball possession in European football (part 2)
In this second post of our trilogy on ball possession, we expand the analysis we started in the first part, digging into the build-up habits of the top European teams.… Ball possession in European football (part 2)
22
Jan
Ball possession in European football (part 1)
This is part one of a trilogy of posts dedicated to the role of ball possession in football. In this post, we look at how ball possession is calculated and… Ball possession in European football (part 1)
26
Nov
Crossing: An effective strategy?
Crossing is still very much used by the top European teams (18.6 per match, on average). However, we doubt the efficiency of such an attacking strategy. We calculate that only… Crossing: An effective strategy?
