Tag: Serie A

  • 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 Maier (Hertha Berlin) the highest relative contribution to scoring chances. “Mr Throughball” Neymar shows the highest number of assists and expected assists per match. Viviani (SPAL)…

  • 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. We propose the ratio of passes on total touches, as an indicator of “good football”. Napoli are topping the tables on this measure. Man City…

  • 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 how the focus on ball possession is often (not always) a synonym of success. We also start digging into the bidirectional causation problem: do the teams play…

  • 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 1 every 64 crosses is directly translated into a goal. Is it worth trying? We conclude it is not, unless you have someone like Mauro…

  • Top forwards were born in 1993

    In our database, we notice, many of the best forwards have something in common: they were born in 1993. Kane, Dybala, Icardi, Lukaku, Fekir, Belotti and Batshuayi, inter alia. We compare their current stats and the speed of their improvement over the last four years. Their goal conversion rate is growing exponentially. Where will they…

  • The evolution of Paulo Dybala

    Dybala has scored 50% of Juventus’s goals so far this year. His number of shots is 83% higher year-on-year and his goal conversion rate has almost doubled, to 22.2%. There is a problem though: the performance stats drop significantly when playing in the European Champions League. In order to go “to the next level”, he…

  • Pirlo & Verratti: Similar, but very different

    Unlike many, we do not consider Marco Verratti as the natural heir of Andrea Pirlo, as their stats highlight a very different playing style. Whilst Pirlo is a long-ball master (12.6 per 90 mins, 81.2% accuracy) and produces more key passes (2.6 P90), Verratti is a very skilful dribbler (1.8 P90) and has better defensive qualities.…

  • 2018 Topscorer preview: Italian Serie A

    The strange case of Dr Džeko and Mr Edin Mertens and Icardi: A “false 9” vs. a very real one  Different “animals” in Turin: Belotti vs. Higuain The outsiders: Kalinic, Immobile and Simeone Dr Džeko and Mr Edin The Italian Serie A (‘ISA’) kicks-off on 19th Aug. In this post, we try to gauge this…

  • Welcome to football analytics

    Welcome to Soccerment’s research blog! We aim at providing our readers with new angles to look at the beautiful game, through football analytics. Digging into the vast amount of public data (gathered from various sources), we try to uncover interesting facts about the performance of football players and teams and display them through compelling analyses and intuitive…