Goals, expectations and sausage rankings

Goals. Finding players. Exceeding expectations... and sausage rankings. Below is a short conversation with Jordan Gardner, Chairman of FC Helsingor in Denmark about the season so far.

11 Questions with Jan Van Haaren

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 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 a conversation with Jan Van Haaren:

Hi! I am Jan Van Haaren and I am a Belgian football data scientist who currently resides in The Netherlands. A trained computer scientist and machine learning engineer, I have been developing football analytics metrics that capture player performance and playing style for more than ten years. Moreover, I have been an avid football player since my early childhood.


Q: What is your first memory of football?
My early football memories date back to the middle of the 1990s. I remember collecting Panini stickers for the 1994/1995 season in the Belgian league. Around the same time, I also started playing football at my local football club, which I have continued to do ever since. The first football tournament that I remember consciously watching on television is the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where Belgium faced The Netherlands, Mexico and South Korea in the group stage. Having grown up in a border village between Belgium and The Netherlands, I particularly remember the atmosphere in our village for the tense derby against The Netherlands!

Q: What attracted you to data? What is more intriguing now: names or numbers?
I got intrigued by football data in the late 1990s and early 2000s while playing football games such as FIFA 99 and Championship Manager 2001/2002 with the latter game still being my all-time favorite football game. However, I quickly got more interested in modding those games than in actually playing them. 

I got involved in a Dutch website that reported on the latest news in the football games industry and hosted a community of modders for the FIFA series. While most community members were mostly interested in designing new kits, shorts and badges or even building entire stadiums from scratch, I was more interested in building modding tools and updating the in-game data. 

By doing so, I even ended up as a Data Editor for the FIFA series! Back in the days, I used to be a fan of players like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Gabriel Batistuta, Andrei Shevchenko, Luis Figo, and Pavel Nedved. However, these days, I am definitely more intrigued by the numbers than by the names.
Q: What is more intriguing to you: cultivating a team vying for European places or building a team that progressively staves off relegation? Why?
I love football clubs that try to punch above their weight by outsmarting their opponents, regardless of their season objectives. Football analytics has so much to offer when it comes to taking better-informed decisions, but most clubs have only scratched the surface! I would not be surprised if a few forward-thinking clubs that currently still reside in the lower divisions but have already discovered the potential of data and analytics ended up at the top of European football in the next decade or so.

Q: What is the biggest misconception or cliché regarding data or recruitment that you have encountered in this space?
Many traditional football scouts appear to believe that football data scientists aim to replace them with computers and numbers. This misconception considerably slows down the adoption of data-driven methods in football unfortunately. Instead, I believe that football scouts should view football metrics as a tool and an additional source of information that enables them to take better-informed decisions. In addition, these tools would enable them to do their work faster, allowing them to analyze and evaluate more potentially interesting transfer targets.

Q: If you could start over, what skill would you build on first?
Unlike many other people who are trying to get into football analytics nowadays, I first built my skill set and then started applying my skills to football data. However, if I were to develop my skill set from scratch, I would focus first on programming skills and then on data science skills. From mentoring more junior football data scientists, I learned that a lack of programming skills often stands in the way of quickly trying out new ideas. Furthermore, I believe that solid programming skills speed up the process of acquiring relevant data science and machine learning skills.

Q: What is more important: domain knowledge or curiosity?
I would say that one needs a good mix of domain knowledge and curiosity as a football data scientist. Domain knowledge helps to understand the need of the practitioners and to assess the quality of potential solutions, whereas curiosity helps to come up with potential solutions that might address the need of the practitioners.

Q: What is more impactful for a player: psychology or environment? Why?
I would say that the answer very much depends on the player and varies from one player to another. The impact of psychological and environmental factors on the performances of players are not very well understood yet. These factors definitely deserve more attention in the football analytics community.

Q: What coach or player would you give a lifetime contract to? Why?
Kevin De Bruyne would be my pick as I really enjoy watching him play for Manchester City and the Belgian national team. He is not only a great football player, but also a great example of why the risk versus reward trade-off should be taken into account when developing and interpreting football metrics.

Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into this space?
My advice would be to sufficiently focus on relevant non-technical skills. My impression is that newcomers to the field overvalue hard skills and undervalue soft skills. In many situations, the ability to identify the need of the practitioners and to convert the analysis results in a data-driven story is far more important than programming or data science skills.

Q: What is your favorite quote or saying?
My motto in football analytics is "fewer numbers, more insights". I believe that football data scientists should focus on presenting actionable insights as data-driven stories rather than sets of numbers that are hard to interpret and understand by practitioners.


Please feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in discussing further!

5 Questions with SMukherjee

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 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 a conversation with SMukherjee:


What is your first memory of football?

My 1st memory is going to local football matches with friends and listening in radio (It was 1980s in India) about big matches (Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal) from Kolkata league.

My 1 st memory of international football was Italia 90. It was really exciting to watch the big names I had only heard about till then. Became Cameroon fan for that tournament after the 1st match!

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

I don’t even know where to begin on this. There are so many. It will almost be an article in itself.

As a data analytics lover, biggest misconception in football data is most often how it should be used vs how it is used. Lots of people hate data because for them it does not support their narratives. Also, a bunch of big names in football twitter use data just to get to get eyeballs – they use data selectively only to hype about one player or a team. It's used without context and just works like clickbait. Because these accounts have big following, these then become accepted knowledge among some fans.

Second part of this is some people’s idea that just because we love data, we don’t watch matches! Actually, it’s mostly in reverse. To analyze properly, we usually watch more than once.

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

I would build my skills up in Python or R. I don’t know coding and it holds me back currently from expanding to different other types of data visualizations.

What three (3) football icons would you want to have a meal with? Why?

Bielsa, Klopp and Wenger. The discussion would be really interesting to listen to.

What is your favorite quote or saying?

'We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so.'
— Michael Crichton (Prey)

5 Questions with Marius Fischer

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 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 a conversation with Marius Fischer:

11 Questions with DB

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 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 DB:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

My first opportunity in football came about completely random and spontaneous. I was traveling through the United States in the year after my graduation from High School. I wasn’t really that deep into coaching and football analytics but I tried to start analyzing and writing for fun in my free time for TheFalseFullback.

In our working chat, one guy told us that he needed an assistant for the upcoming season. We chatted a bit and it was soon clear, that we would be a really nice fit and wanted to give it a try. We knew about the enormous difficulties and challenges this cooperation would bring and it was a hard decision, but I knew if I wanted to make myself a name in the football coaching scene I needed to make that step. 

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

It was the general desire to know more about football. Nowadays, if you want to become a good coach you need to have knowledge on every aspect of the game. Analytics, Scouting, Tactics, Sport Science, Psychology and, and that may seems a bit odd here, Philosophy. I recently come across the so called T-shape:

If you think of Liverpool's coaching staff for example you can see they have an expert for almost every small detail of their game, like a Throw-In-Coach for example.

And I think that sooner or later first team coaches will no longer be specialists in one specific topic (like the ones I addressed above e.g. tactics etc), however where good and more average coaches differ now is the coordination between these areas and the use of the given knowledge.

Their main job is to coordinate them efficiently, to keep everyone in the team happy and to ensure that everyone will do everything for the clubs success.

So to be “I-shaped” in terms of coaching knowledge and a Generalist regarding every smaller aspect makes you a really, really good coach. You need to realize that if you don’t know much about data analytics, you will never know the advantages that it brings to your game, even though you have a great assistant. 

For that reason I took a dive into analytics and scouting. There are certainly different approaches to a wider knowledge of football, analytics is one of them, and for beginners it is very easy to start because you just need to watch a game and to think about it.

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

Later on I talked a bit about the magnificent turn around Julian Nagelsmann was able to pull of in his first season at Hoffenheim. Back then I was supporting them because I was curious how a 27 year old guy will perform in a die-hard relegation race against far more experienced sides. In the first game he played a 3-1-4-2 and he continued to do so. The shift between three at the back and five at the back against the ball was not that common in this time, so I watched these games over and over again.

Nagelsmann and Hoffenheim won 6 out of their first 10 games since his arrival which secured them a 15th place and another season in the first division. Playing three in the back wasn’t really my favorite system so I watched the games and took notes about small positional changes and team principles, and finally realized how powerful this system is. 

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

Before I started coaching I was a huge fan of predetermined principles, almost like moves everyone had to do in order to start successful attacks. But as soon as I started coaching I realized that I underestimated the impact of randomness in football and learned that small individual principles lead to a more successful approach.

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

Tactics, Tactics, Tactics. Watch games, analyze games and talk about them with someone who probably knows more than you. I learned that, as a coach, especially as a youth coach, your players always ask you: “Why”? Why should I do that? Why should I run there? Why should I make this pass? And if you don’t have a really deep knowledge you can’t answer these questions.

Of course you will answer them, but not precisely or you somehow give mixed signals. A great advice I heard from Rene Maric once was that on your way to the pitch you should think of every question that comes across your mind while thinking of your prepared training exercises. Every small detail is important. If you can answer everything; dive deeper; ask more. Repeat that over and over again.

Knowledge is nothing that grows straight. You will have set-backs, you will struggle and you will fail. But that’s all part of the process, have faith, be curious all the time, don’t hesitate to ask for advice, and keep on grinding.

Do you see player development as more of an art or a science? Is development on the club or the player? Why?

I think it’s a mixture. And one is granting the other. If we don’t see the art behind a development of a player, no science will help us to help them to grow. And on the other side, if we don’t use modern approaches and tools with all their variability and creativity we will never get a player to a point where the art starts to fascinate us all.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Allen … for three … history shot … bang. 

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

Of course there are many great coaches out there, who one should mention somehow. But If I could only name three it would be certainly Marcelo Bielsa, Pep Guardiola and Julian Nagelsmann. Bielsa's desire, passion and love for details is absolutely unmatched and a big inspiration for my everyday life. Julian Nagelsmann opened the door for many young coaches with his success (for me his biggest success is still his first season at Hoffenheim where he was suddenly announced as their new head coach (as I mentioned earlier)) and I don’t think I have to say something about Guardiola's impact on all of us.

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

If someone who is interested in doing sports analytics full-time I think it's crucial to be great in either parts, sports and analytics. You should definitely have a great knowledge and interest in the sport you aspire to work in, because it's so important to connect and transfer all the given knowledge into recommended actions. 

Furthermore, I think some technical background like coding, database stuff and modeling statistics should be in your profile, too.

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

I love Tactical Pad for designing and recording training sessions, but VLC Editor needs to get a shoutout too.

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

As a football analyst/coach you can learn from many sports. Let's take basketball as an example. Mid-Range Jumpshots are almost old-fashioned and their data driven change to 3 point shots or close range shots is very intriguing and I wonder if we will see something similar sooner or later in football.

Of course if you think of golden shots and golden assist zones etc, but I think there is many more to explore. Where should we force a turnover to get the best shot out of it? How should we set up our rest defense, especially the goalkeeper? Should we allow shots with a generally worse xG value more freely and frequently in order to avoid shots with a high xG? Should we completely avoid long distance shots? (I know Tiago wrote a nice comment about that, you should definitely read it) but anyway, I think these are the kind of questions we have to ask ourselves as analysts and coaches more deeply in the near feature. 

5 Questions @mathieufeig

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 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 Mathieufeig:

What is your first memory of football?

My first memory is the final of the World Cup 2006 France against Italy.

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

Probably all the misunderstanding about the meaning of lot of statistics.

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

I would love to develop skill about statistics and programming (Python).

What three (3) football icons would you want to have a meal with? Why?

Zinedine Zidane to talk about football performance in general.

Pep Guardiola to talk about tactics.

William Spearman to talk about data science.

What is your favorite quote or saying?

« Pounding the rock » Greg Popovich

11 Questions with Scott Martin

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 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 Scott Martin:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

Near the end of my graduate program in philosophy and theology, a classmate of mine started working at a local high school. They needed a coach for the girls’ team, so she connected me with the school’s athletic director. I haven’t turned back since then. That high school job led to academy and university coaching roles here in the United States.

I’ve always been a very studious person, actively engaging my interests and developing new skills. While tactical understanding was one of my strengths on the pitch, both as a player and coach, I wasn’t satisfied. Around Easter of 2019, I discovered Total Football Analysis. Reading their content and seeing the ads for new writers sparked an application almost exactly a year ago to the day. Since joining TFA, I’ve benefitted from David Seymour’s mentoring, as well as an

incredible community of analysts. They’ve really pushed me to enhance my eye for detail and pick up new skills, especially related to programming, data visualization, and data structures.

Nearly a year into the project, I’ve contributed to recruitment analysis reports for clubs competing in the world’s top leagues. It’s been quite the ride.

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

numbers?

Coaching and tactical analysis were and still are my passions. Interacting with players, helping them along their journey both as a player and a person, brings me a lot of joy. The tactical component of the game is also deeply satisfying. I really enjoy developing systems, identifying problems, and working towards solutions.

That said, my role with Total Football Analysis has given me more insight and a greater appreciation for the role of data. Starting with data refines the process and helps an analyst avoid the pitfalls of bias. Systematically structuring and interpreting the data is critical to analysis. It

informs the process, ensuring nothing escapes notice. From there, an in-depth eye test refines the details, ensuring a thorough assessment.

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

Two types of players come to mind. First, players who manage space really well, especially from an attacking perspective. In particular, midfielders who manage the more compact space of the central channel and half spaces, as well as forwards who excel at disconnecting their markers from the opponent’s defensive structure or manipulating large swathes of the opposition’s structure, make for an excellent study.

The second type of player is the type that initiates play from defense. Their spatial and threat awareness really separates these players from the pack. Think of a player like Casemiro. He’s incredible and, in my opinion, the most important player on Real Madrid. His performance allows those around him to utilize their strengths in attack more freely, so he’s benefitting both

the individuals and the team as a whole.

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

I think there’s still a prevailing notion, much like in the corporate world, that experience equals competence, even if that experience is in a totally different capacity to the current role. The upside is that more and more clubs that go against the grain are achieving unprecedented levels

of success, both in football and other sports. My hope is that, much like the Moneyball revolution in baseball, we will see a diversification of skillsets within organizations and that they’ll look beyond the shallows in the talent recruitment process.

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

Programming, data visualization, and data structures. The COVID-19 shutdowns seemed to bring all the data visualization specialists out of the woodwork, so we’ve seen some really incredible presentations and ideas coming out of the data community. Seeing their impact and appealing presentation of data has sparked my interest. Learning R and Tableau has been really helpful.

Continuing to study those programs, as well as mastering Excel, are current projects.

What is more important domain knowledge or curiosity?

I don’t view these as mutually exclusive qualities. In fact, I’d argue that curiosity serves as the vehicle of development. Without a curious mind, development is extremely limited. A growth mindset necessitates curiosity, helping us analyze strengths and weakness, limitations and possibilities, and theory versus the concrete. 

It’s the developmental process sparked by curiosity that builds domain knowledge. That view reframes the context of domain knowledge. Rather than viewing it as an endpoint, it’s now seen as a process of continual development. Intellectual

humility and curiosity are key to growing domain knowledge, whereas arrogance and pride are the enemies of development.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

As a teenager growing up in central California, the late-game heroics of Scott Hatteberg and Miguel Tejeda in the Oakland A’s famed 20-game win streak, then an American League record, was really special. The A’s legendary broadcasters, Bill King and Ken Korach, made it all the more special. The way they shared my joy and excitement really made the moment.

Overall though, it has to be Eder’s extra-time winner against France and the hobbled Cristiano Ronaldo lifting Portugal’s first senior-level trophy. My heritage is entirely Portuguese and I grew up in a Portuguese community, so seeing the suffering come to an end and joy come to the nation

and her descendants will live with me forever.

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

Zinedine Zidane can coach my team as long as he wants. He’s not only an exceptional, yet

underrated, tactical mind, but his squad management is impeccable. Add in the fact that he’s found the balance of level-headedness and competitive fire and you’ve got a perennial winner.

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

Embrace the fear, chaos, and messiness of personal development. Growing up, my pride and fear of mistakes kept me for taking on more public roles and responsibilities. Studying the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and stoics has taught me that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the acknowledgment of it. 

If your fear of criticism or public error are holding you back, identify those fears and contemplate whether they make the task impossible or mere difficult. It the latter,

embrace that difficulty and the challenges that accompany it.

I think too many people let fear or intellectual pride dictate their actions. Rather than running from those obstacles, identify them and see them for what they are. In most instances, temporary embarrassment is the most significant threat. Know that we’re all embarrassed from time-to-time. The people I admire most don’t let that possibility of embarrassment limit their growth.

Reach out to established analysts, put your work out there, and don’t be afraid to engage the future you want.

Who is your favorite athlete? Why?

Cristiano Ronaldo. Between my Portuguese heritage, love of Sporting Portugal and Real Madrid, and his exceptional skill, longevity, and dedication, he’s the easy #1. His generosity is another thing I really admire.

What is your favorite quote or saying?

I couldn’t narrow the list (my apologies), so here are my top three.

1) “He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two

commandments.’” (Matthew 22:37-40)

2) “The things we love tell us what we are.” Dr. Peter Kreeft paraphrasing St. Thomas Aquinas

(Summa Theologica I-II, 34, a4)

3) Q: “What’s wrong with the world today?”

A: “Dear Sir,

I am.

Yours,

G.K. Chesterton.”

5 Questions with Millwall Analytics

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 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 Millwall Analytics:

What is your first memory of football?

My first memory is watching Soccer Saturday with my dad on the weekends and just loved it when ever they said there was a goal. Then I remember watching Ronaldo at Man Utd and was just star struck. From then I got into football and my Dad was a Millwall supporter so he took me to their games. My first season going Millwall was a good one - we got promoted!

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

Mainly that just because someone has good data/stats, doesn’t entirely mean they’re a great player or that they will be great for your club. I see a lot of fans say, “We should get player X or we should get player Y”. But, that’s not the case. They may be a good player in a different system or for many other reasons. 

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

If I were to start over, I wish I was good enough for coding. I, personally, think it’s a great skill to have and can set you up differently to others. However, I still have time to learn so it’ll be alright haha!

What three (3) football icons would you want to have a meal with? Why?

Tough question! I’d say one for sure is Pep Guardiola. Mainly just to pick his brains! Then, for me, Cristiano Ronaldo. I just admire him - his skills, work rate and ambition is superb. Last but not least, Liverpool’s Ian Graham. What he’s doing at Liverpool is an amazing job. I would just love to listen and learn from him!
What is your favorite quote or saying?

I love this simple quote “Talent takes you so far; Hard work takes you even further”. I firmly believe that if you work hard, anything is possible! 

5 Questions with Helner

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 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 Helner:

What is your first memory of football?

Portugal reaching the final in the Euro 2004.

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

I hate when things are purposely taken out of context to fit a certain narrative or

opinion. If you’re not sure if what you are reading is true, then do some research and

draw your own conclusions.

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

As you are starting, you want to learn and do everything at once and that is never

going to work. I would say be patient and find your own niche, especially if you don’t

have access to platforms such as Instat or WyScout.

For me, it was following Benfica’s youth teams. Which has influenced even more

people to do the same now.

What three (3) football icons would you want to have a meal with? Why?

Renato Paiva - My favorite coach at Benfica and I could ask him so many things about

how the club operates in terms of player development.

Luís Campos – One of Europe’s most sought after Sporting Directors right now and a

reference as a scout.

Ralf Rangnick – His influence in German football cannot be underestimated. His ideas

and methodologies have influenced some of the best managers in the world and the

clubs he has worked for.

What is your favorite quote or saying?

I don’t really have one but recently this one stuck with me: “If there is no struggle there

is no progress”;

Don’t let hard times hinder you and use them for your own personal growth.