The important role of Data Analytics in Football Club signings
                     THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF 
DATA ANALYTICS IN 
FOOTBALL CLUB 
SIGNINGS
https://datasportsgroup.com/
Football is not just a game about running on the pitch with a ball and tossing it in the 
nets, it is also about how the team is being managed, the players are being recruited 
and what tactics will be used on the pitch. Earlier, all of these things were done by 
pure intuition and gut feeling, until football was introduced with data analytics.
Data analytics in football has revolutionized the way things run in the sport. It was 
said that football is a fluid game and all the data cannot be calculated or be jotted 
down. But the advancements in football data analytics have changed the way a player 
is analyzed. There are many of these aspects that help teams make a better decision 
on signing a new player. Let’s dive into the ways in which data analysis has helped in 
football.
Shortlisting of players
If a club thinks that they need a new signing, they will have a list of qualities that they 
lack right now, and might need in their new signing. With the help of data, the teams 
can directly get a list of in-game videos and stats of the players matching their 
requirements. This will give the team manager a wider aspect and stats to judge the 
quality of a player. The players are given rating on the basis of their overall 
performances by many recruitment fields. The clubs can have the chance to see 
whether the player will increase the strength of the whole team or he wouldn’t fit the 
squad. This thing also helps players from lower-level clubs to be highlighted by their 
performance.
New techniques used in the field
The most important skill in the game of 
football is passing, but there were no tools 
in football data analytics earlier which can 
give stats about this skill. After a lot of 
advancements, this new tool has helped 
many teams get valuable players. If we look 
at Manchester City’s last few signings for an 
example, they have not failed to get an 
attacker that will shoot the ball behind the 
bars. Kevin De Bryune, Raheem Sterling and 
Leroy Sané are some examples. Even 
Liverpool has benefitted from this tool that 
evaluates the passing techniques.
In furtherance of that, FC Barcelona’s lead data scientist, Javier Fernandez, said that 
there was also a need to find which players gave more space to pass, and how. So, the 
data scientists started their work and found a way to tackle this problem with new 
tools. For instance, they found out that Barcelona’s star player Lionel Messi manages 
to create more space simply by standing and jogging. These tools will help teams 
prepare a better strategy for their games.
Machine learning
Machine learning has made some really impeccable ways to help a team sign a player 
according to the team’s needs. It is one of the most important part of data analytics in 
football. With the help of machine learning, it is not possible to track player 
movements in the field and the area a certain player covers while playing. It has a 
great value in recruiting new players. It can help the managers to see if the players’ in-
game pattern matches with your own team strategy, and if he will be compatible with 
the team’s tactics. 
Ghosting
In addition to that, AI in football has made a 
tool, or a technique named as ‘ghosting’. 
The algorithms, used in the ghosting 
feature, calculate what kind of action a 
player will take in a certain situation. There 
are certain situations when the opponent is 
in his weak spot, and that is the perfect 
time for you to strike your chance. In 
training sessions, these are the chances 
data analytics in football will let you know, 
and you can then figure out a strategy for 
the next time you are up against that 
specific team or player. 
Ghosting can be used when a team is preparing to sign a new player. It can pick the 
targeted player and place it in the team, and then give statistics like points added per 
season, change in team’s ability or how the team will perform with that player in 
specific situations. Everything that sounds so complicated, has come true with the 
help of soccer football analytics.
Football data analytics has made things really easy for teams to sign a new player. 
These stats when mixed with the experience and gut feeling of an experienced 
manager can lead to a successful and powerhouse of a team. We at 
Data Sports Group provide statistics of each and every game of different sports. We 
provide data of 50 different sports, which is verified and quality data. Visit our 
website to know more about data analytics of different sports.
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