Football

The Art of Making Successful Football Signings

A Data-Driven Approach of Signing Successes and Failure

Objectives

Analyse the playing style of the three main Spanish teams: Atl. de Madrid, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF

Suggest Players that could success in those teams based in data.

Identify factors that influence the performance of a player

Eden Hazard's case: His performance

Eden Hazard: What caused his absence?

Eden Hazard: What caused his absence?

Conclusion

• Two main reasons for his failures:
• Injuries
• Competence for the position

• Could his failure have been avoided using data?

Joao Félix's case: His performance

Joao Félix: The effect of his role in his contribution

Joao Félix: His role in Atlético de Madrid

Conclusion

• Reasons for his failure:
• Different role
• Poor defense commitment in a defensive team

• Could his failure have been avoided using data?

Joao Félix: A new stage in his career

Joao Félix: Evolution of GCA and SCA per 90 minutes

Joao Félix: A more favourable role

Initial findings

The position of the player in the field affects his performance

Each team has a different playing style, and a player is favoured by one more than by others

Teams should analyse the injuries history of a player before signing him

Analysing the playing style

Atlético de Madrid: Strengths and weaknesses

• Strengths: Atlético de Madrid’s strengths are rooted in their defensive strategy, forming a strong block in their own field, conceding few goals, quickly regaining possession when rivals approach their area, and having an impressive ratio of goals per shot on target due to their low average shooting distance.

• Weaknesses: The challenges for Atlético de Madrid include their discomfort with ball control, the difficulty in creating goal-scoring opportunities due to their defensive playing style, and the need to take advantage of the few opportunities they have per match due to their struggle to create opportunities.

• The ideal player for Atlético de Madrid should be:
• A player who is comfortable performing defensive actions
• A midfielder or defender with excellent defensive abilities
• A forward with a very good goal-per-shot-on-target ratio, as they must take advantage of the few opportunities they have per match

Real Madrid: Strengths and weaknesses

• Strengths: Real Madrid CF’s strengths lie in their attacking strategy, ball control throughout the match, balanced press, concentrated gameplay in the middle zone, ability to create numerous attacking opportunities, and excellent ball possession leading to the fewest goals conceded in the league.

• Weaknesses: Real Madrid CF’s weaknesses include challenges with the defensive tactics of their rivals, difficulty in reaching the opponent’s area and shooting from a favourable position, and a lower conversion rate compared to the total shots they take per match.

• The ideal player for Real Madrid CF should be:
• A midfielder player with accurate passing abilities and a broad vision of the game.
• A forward player with good dribbling skills, effective off-the-ball movements, good in long-distance shooting and with a great goals-per-shots-on-target ratio.

FC Barcelona: Strengths and weaknesses

• Strengths: Barcelona FC is known for their style of play based on touch and possession, allowing them to maintain possession for long periods, make many passes before a decisive one, control the flow of the game, command and frustrate their opponents, and require a high level of passing accuracy.

• Weaknesses: Barcelona FC is experiencing a challenging season, currently sitting in 4th place in La Liga. They have been struggling to replicate the playing style that has brought them numerous trophies in the past, and their performance this year can be attributed to a combination of injuries and a poor goal-to-shot-on-target ratio.

• The ideal player for FC Barcelona should be:
• A midfielder player with with great ball possession and with a very high passing accuracy
• A forward player with a great effectiveness in front of goal. This season FC Barcelona arare only managing to convert 28% of their shots on target into goals.

Thank you for your attention

Made by: De Lara Pérez-Esparza, Sebastián Duarte Torronteras, Lucía Li Gómez Quero, Guillermo