11 Questions with Malek Shafei

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 Malek Shafei:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

Still working on that in the data sphere... most of my experience in football games from working on my website AfricanFootballHQ.com. Now I try to incorporate stats into projects for my site such as looking at the best Africans in Europe from a stats side.  

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

Since I was a really young kid I’ve always been interested in stats in sport. Reading/seeing the rise of xG and data revolutions at clubs like Liverpool and Brentford showed me that data can be incredibly powerful.

More recently I’ve been researching correlations and connections on more off the pitch stuff; taking a look at the more financial and cultural sides of football.

What player or concept you fascinates you? What caught your eye?

I’m always intrigued by the creation of new metrics, no matter how simple. Seeing stuff like crosses per 10 touches and xG per 10 touches in the box can help give a lot more insight. Playing around in excel and creating formulas for new metrics gives me a lot of joy.

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

Stats lie. So many variables that are hard to account for impact # of touches, tackles, shots, etc. 

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

Simple statistics. R^2 correlations, etc.

What is more important player development or recruitment? Why?

A perfectly functioning club has great player recruitment strategies to find players that fit into their playing style and philosophy at youth and senior level. Doing that makes development a lot easier in my opinion if the player is in the right environment. 

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Watching Liverpool’s comeback over Barcelona last year on TV sticks with me. Maybe because of recency bias or my support of Salah and Liverpool but I’m gonna pick that for its craziness.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

Marcelo Bielsa. I really appreciate his attacking approach to tactics and his disciplined style. 

 

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

Be passionate, curious, and creative. Look for connections or trends that interest you. If you can put a few visualizations together to prove a greater point that’s even better. 

Who is your favorite athlete? Why?

Kobe Bryant. I really appreciated his mentality and success growing up.

What is your favorite quote or saying?

Work hard. Play hard.