11 Questions with Algolritmo

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 Algolritmo:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I started my own soccer analytics blog and after some time I was contacted by a few clubs who were curious about my work. I prepared a few data driven scout reports for them and showed them different data visualizations which could help in analyzing players.

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

The book “The Numbers Game” (by Anderson and Sally) opened my eyes to the world of soccer analytics. It made me realize that I could use play the FIFA Career Mode on real life by using data to gain a competitive edge. I understand that traditional scouting is extremely important and perhaps impossible to replace, but currently I’m more inclined to find player’s stats more intriguing because I believe they are more objective and underlying biases are easier to detect and discuss.

What type of player fascinates you? What caught your eye?

I’m fascinated by midfielders who are not extremely athletic but are still very influential through their passing. Andrés Iniesta is one of my favorite players who fit that description.

What is the biggest misconception you’ve found in this space?

I think one of the biggest misconceptions in soccer analytics is data availability. It is actually quite hard and expensive to get data for some specific leagues, specially for freelancers (but to be fair, in the recent years the amount of free data online has significantly increased).

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

If I could start over I think I would start by learning how the very fundamentals of probability and statistics. That knowledge helps in avoiding many common pitfalls. 

What is more important domain knowledge or curiosity?

I think curiosity is more important. With enough curiosity you eventually acquire substantial domain knowledge. The opposite is not necessarily true.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Watching the 2005 Libertadores title with my father, grandfather and uncles on the TV. I was 9 years old at the time and it was really fun to watch the team I support win the most important tournament in South America and celebrate with my family. It was a very memorable night.

What coach or player would you give a lifetime contract to? Why?

I would probably give a life time contract to Zé Roberto, a Brazilian player who retired recently. He had a great career, played for Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, the Brazilian national team and others. He retired when he was 42 and was still in great athletic shape, so I think he would be a good use to a lifelong contract. Also, he could play well in several positions (left back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder) which would also be very useful.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into this space?

Read a lot of books and academic. There is a lot of amazing material published out there and it is a great way to get up to speed with what has already been done. I personally recommend “Soccermatics”, “The Numbers Game” and “Inverting the Pyramid”.

Who is your favorite athlete? Why?

Rogério Ceni. He São Paulo's goalkeeper for over 20 years and only played professionally for that team. He was a great  leader, won several important trophies and has the record for most goals scored as a goalkeeper (he took free kick and penalties).

What is your favorite quote or saying?

“Minds are like parachutes, they work better if they are open” - Unknown Author