Performance Analysis In Football - AnalyiSport (2024)

So much football data is now collected and there are several different ways clubs use this data for performance analysis. Opposition analysis is one way. This involves using data and video to study the team’s upcoming opponent. The performance analyst will look at what tactics and strategies the opponent tends to use both in and out of possession, focussing on when the opponent has played teams that use a similar tactic to the analyst’s own team. They will look for their strengths and weaknesses and present a report to the manager. The manager can then use this information to prepare the team.

Another way in which performance analysis is used is post-match analysis. The performance analyst studies their team’s previous match, looking at what went well and what went wrong. Using data and video, they can look more thoroughly at the match than is possible when just watching the game from the side of the pitch. The deeper insights gained from this process are then reported to the manager, who can gain a clearer idea of how the team is playing and what areas of their performance need to be worked on in training before the next match.

Performance analysis in football is the use of data and video to analyse the performances of players and teams and find ways to improve them. In recent years, it’s become a major part of the sport, having an impact both on and off the pitch, from tactics to training.

For decades, people have filmed matches and recorded stats, but new technology has allowed a far greater range of information to be collected. Multiple camera angles, including cameras on drones, allow detailed recordings to be made of every part of the pitch during matches and training sessions. Wearable technology, such as GPS vests, can record every movement a player makes.

Companies such as Opta and StatsBomb now collect a vast amount of data from football matches, thousands of pieces of information. Each touch of the ball, every movement of a player, is recorded. Clubs are recording as much as they can in their own academies and on their training pitches. They know how valuable data is.

It’s not just simple information that’s collected, such as the number of shots, or the speed of a player’s run. Metrics such as Expected Goals (xG), which measures how likely a chance is to result in a goal, combine a variety of different factors to make complex interpretations of how well a team or individual is playing. These metrics are regularly being refined and new ones developed, such as Expected Assists (xA) and Expected Threat (xT).

Clubs and data companies have also created video libraries that allow analysts to watch relevant footage and create playlists. This video footage complements the use of data, allowing analysts to see in great detail everything that happens on the pitch. Video software makes it easy for analysts to annotate and edit videos to highlight key points.

But performance analysis is about more than just numbers and videos. These are the raw materials. What the analyst has to do is make sense of all this information, using their expertise and football-knowledge to find meaning in the statistics. A good analyst will be almost like an extra pair of eyes for the manager and look at the data with the manager’s football philosophy in mind. They look in the data to find the strengths and weaknesses in the performance.

The analyst will then report this information to the coaching staff, allowing the coaches to better understand how the players have been performing and what can be improved. Sometimes, the analyst will even present their findings to the players themselves, to increase their football knowledge and help them to learn what they need to do on the pitch.