11 Questions with David Bujara

The pursuit of wisdom in any walk of life quickly reveals that what you think you know is not nearly enough to get you to where you want to go. As I'm starting out in my football scouting journey I challenged myself to reach out to those already working in various roles in football to answer a short list of questions. My goal wasn't to get answers but relevant perspectives on the game within the game.

Here is David Bujara, recruitment scout at Brentford.

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I was reading a Metro article about the PFSA course, and thought “why not give scouting a go”.  I contacted local nonleague sides, and Ryton and Crawcrook Albion from The Northern League Division 2 let me gain some practical experience doing opposition reports.

What attracted you to scouting/analytics? What’s more intriguing now names or numbers?

Being out and watching the matches.  Learning to watch matches differently.  Piecing together the patterns of play, the strengths and weaknesses of a team, and seeing how you can nullify or counter a side.  To me numbers are 40% or the jigsaw and the eye is the other 60%, especially in recruitment.  I know not everyone feels like this, but I think we all agree that analysis and visual scouting have to be symbiotic for recruitment or opposition analysis to work.

Who/what is the first player/concept you "found"? What caught your eye?

No one I would say I have "found", but one of the first player who caught my eye when scouting was Lewis Wing at Shildon before his move to Middlesbrough.  I was doing my work for Ryton and Crawcrook Albion and was watching a Shildon match out of interest and he just stood out.  He was just great to watch.  Aggressive style of play.  Terrific on and with the ball, and, as you now see with Boro, scores some wonderful goals.

Who/what is the player/concept you "missed" on? What did you learn from it?

I suppose the whole analytics thing is something that I have let slip by.  Although I am trying to self-teach and read around some of the ideas and principles, and try to marry them to my own visual scouting, its hit and miss at the moment. 

If you could start over what skill would you build on first?

I would be more confident in my interactions with other scouts, especially when at matches.  I find it easy to melt into the protective bubble of preparation for the match, sorting out your note books, getting into the stand to watch the warm-up, etc., and missed out on opportunities to network and gain connections.  It is something I still have to force myself to do, as I am quite a quiet person at first (something that people reading this, who know me, may not find true).

Do you see player development as more of an art or a science?

More of an art form, than science for me.  There is all the science behind the development; the training, dietary, mental health, and so on, but if you look at the clubs who consistently produce top quality players, and the people behind the scenes who put into play through policy, staffing, club culture, player pathways, etc., and turn it into a regular occurrence, and not 1 or 2 quality players every 10 seasons, then, to me, it’s an art form. 

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Seeing Middlesbrough win The League Cup and play in Europe.  Getting to the final Vs Sevilla in 2006, although we were easily beaten.  Anytime Europe beats The USA in The Ryder Cup.  I used to work for Coral, and was at work watching the matches when Aguero scored THAT goal.  The whole shop was gob smacked.  Me and the other lad working couldn’t understand what we had just seen.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

All the low down nonleague sides, full of volunteers who do their roles because they love football and love their club.  It’s great to see people doing things for their love of football, over the draw of £X amount.  Even as a scout, it’s great to hear of other scouts, starting their journey in football through volunteering at their local club, who push on into bigger opportunities.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into scouting/analytics?

Get out there and get some practical, live match experience.  Even if it is just going to watch a local side.  Write notes, draw diagrams, Google scouting opposition or player report templates, and fill them in.  There is an art form to being able to do a report from a live match, where you can’t pause and un-pause a match to scribble down notes; you have to be able to watch and write at the same time.  These practice reports will be useful to show potential clubs, when you do look to get a role.  The other big thing is ask people for advice on social media.  Twitter and Linkedin are full of analysts and scouts.  Most will get back to you, and offer some advice, and you never know where these connections could lead.

What is your favorite app/tool to use (for work or fun)?

Wyscout and Instat for all my videos, and, moving forward, basic data for me to try and get me head around.  Excel is wonderful for report templates, and once you have things set-up to feed the player names, numbers, etc., through your report, it saves so much time.

What other sport/hobby/discipline do you feel improves your work as an analyst/scout? Why?

After reading some of the other interview pieces, I feel like a bit of an outsider with this answer, but having something to take your mind of off football is a must.  At times I feel a bit of burn out, where I start questioning whether a passage of play I have written about was in the actual match I was reporting on, or was it in a video I had watched earlier?!?!  Reading books specifically about football, or sports in general, non-stop, can end up numbing rather than being insightful.  Find something you enjoy doing to clear your head, reset and then come back to your football feeling ready for another match.