11 Questions with @CalcioDatato

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 @CalcioDatato:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

Well, I see this more like a project aimed at satisfying some of my needs rather than an opportunity. I love finding answers to questions that pop up in my head and I find profoundly rewarding sharing the findings through nice visualisations. 

What attracted you to data/analytics? What’s more intriguing now names?

It was a combination of work experience and my previous studies at the university. Football has always been my passion and I saw it natural to bridge the gap and start looking into football-related analytics and visualisations. 

Which data metric has been the most profound to you?What caught your eye?

I love stats about creative or effective passers. I think it comes from the pure beauty of watching that kind of player dancing around the ball. I love analysing what comes before the goal, what sets it up. Who are the magicians behind the opportunity of scoring a goal. 

What is biggest misconception in data? How do you combat/counter this?

That it is meaningless. Personally, I don't combat it. This is a project that allows me to dig into my passion and I want to keep it that way, I don't think I am in the position to teach something or to impose my opinion on the others. I put out analysis, visualisations and insights that intrigue my mind and I stop there. 

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

Programming. Probably R or Python, depending on the specific career interests. 

Do you see player development or player recruitment as more important? Why?

I think they hold each other's hand. Football is fast and bad player recruitment costs years, losses and money waste. At the same time, there is no success without player improvement. Even if planning in football has become even more focused on the short term, managers need to be able to impact directly on players development. Some coaches do it via motivation and psychology, others are masters in tactical patterns. The most effective are those that can impact in both ways. 

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Rafael Nadal's win at Wimbledon against Roger Federer. First title on the Centre Court for a guy who was told he was able to win only on clay. An incredible game. One of the best rivalry in the history of sports. 

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

I am in love with (Pep) Guardiola. I think he has something special in the way he lives football, that goes beyond results and trophies and focuses on morality, psychology and key principles that represent his human foundation to improve players. And only through that improvement, he can then give his teams a chance to win titles. I love his process. 

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

To start putting out content, to see what they like doing. I would start creating, analysing and focus on learning while enjoying the journey. Without too much attention on praise, success or numbers on social Just creating something that someone can find meaningful and satisfy their curiosity.

Who is your favorite athlete of all time? Why?

Rafael Nadal. I grew up loving tennis and as I started watching more games on TV here comes this revolutionary guy from Manacor. He is one of the strongest minds ever seen in the history of tennis. His ability to stay in the moment is fascinating to me. 

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

I think that curiosity as a whole is a necessary skill to be an effective analyst, in any field. You need to be able to question a lot, almost everything. Sometimes you're wrong, sometimes you're right. But at least you will aim at getting to the bottom of it.