Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Intensity not only about off-the-ball action

High-intensity actions help to cement a team’s DNA, both in and out of possession. If we focus on the former and hone in on carries, we find that Real Madrid are far and away the LaLiga champions. As we can see in this video, the Merengues lead the pack for high-impact carries, which are defined as those that result in clear goalscoring opportunities.

Although there are a number of tools a team can use to fashion an attempt on goal, carries are more reliant on individual, rather than collective, initiative. As a result, the quality and initiative of a team’s player is key when it comes to this metric. Vinícius Jr. offers a prime example of a player with the ability to go past his man and it therefore should come as little surprise that the Brazilian baller excels on high-impact carries.

Remarkable Coach

Aguirre continues to lead Mallorca on right track

Sitting comfortably in mid-table with statistics that offer fans plenty of reason for optimism and with a number of players featuring in the key rankings. That offers a pretty good summary of Mallorca’s season so far. The main driving force behind the team’s exploits is the experienced tactician in the dugout, Javier Aguirre, whose side are the third-most compact in the league out of possession. The islanders lie in fifth spot in the ranking for the average distance of their passes, which explains why they are considered to play a direct brand of football. What’s more, the San Moix-based outfit are the league’s bridesmaids for successful dribbles.

In the defensive third, it is worth highlighting that the Vermellones sit pretty in fourth for the number of shots received per minute. In sum, in terms of the side’s discipline and efficiency, the Mexican coach has guided the team to a safe mid-table position with serious designs on securing their league status sooner rather than later.

Key Player

Data backs up Williams’ exciting emergence

The Pamplona-born forward’s physical prowess is central to his game. The speed merchant is LaLiga’s leading player for carries that beat the opposition’s defensive line, while he features amongst the top 10 in the ranking for high-impact carries. The Athletic Club starlet’s carries make him a difference‑maker in various areas of the pitch and it is no coincidence that only one of his teammates has provided more assists than the academy starlet.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, Williams occupies sixth position in the standings for actions completed at over 28km/hr. His influential play and ability to break opposition’s lines also owe much to his impressive physique.

The Match up

Catalan derby marks LaLiga return

FC Barcelona have the upper hand on their cross-city foes in terms of the number of players per possession. As we can see in this video, the Catalan giants involve more players than any other side in each of their attacking moves. Their opponents in this Matchday 15 derby encounter, Espanyol, don’t score as favourably in this ranking, but it is worth drawing attention to the fact that the Pericos have bagged themselves spots on the podium in two other metrics. The Barcelona-based outfit’s passes travel further than anyone else in the league and they occupy third spot for the percentage of forward passes after regaining possession, which clearly points to the team’s direct playing philosophy. The Azulgranas don’t perform as well in these areas, with their positional and combination build-up play meaning that they do not excel as much in terms of passing distances and number of passes played forward after recovering possession.

Remember his name

Relentless Fran García has it all

His game is based on high intensity and getting on the ball, which allows him to influence the game from his wing-back berth. The data that we have picked out highlights his creative ability and progressive play.

The fresh-faced García is heavily involved in Rayo Vallecano’s play and only two teammates have played more passes, while he is currently the team’s runner-up for the number of attacking actions. His ability to break through lines places him in top spot for the number of carries that overcome the opposition’s midfield line. If we shine the spotlight on his intensity levels, as we can see in this video, this up-and-coming ace is the team’s top dog for the number of actions completed at over 28km/hr and is top of the tree for the distance covered at this speed.

Metric of the week

Actions completed at over 28km/hr (highest intensity)

Actions of the highest intensity are defined as those that hit 28km/hr for a distance of at least 10 metres, with the minimum distance being an important consideration in registering an action in this category. Even if an action records the required speed, if it is not sustained over the stipulated 10 metres, it will not count under this particular metric. Clocking up this speed requires massive effort and considerable physical output and they are therefore not actions that occur with any great frequency or maintained over large distances.

Beyond Stats ofrece métricas increíbles en la industria del fútbol: no se limita a recopilar los datos que se suelen usar para los análisis estándarque llegan a los aficionados, sino que va más allá, recopilando una cantidad ingente de información durante el partido, casi en tiempo real, gracias a la herramienta Mediacoach de LALIGA, que es capaz de revelar nuevas percepciones sobre el juego a un nivel más profundo permitiendo trazar patrones y obtener proyecciones de futuro.

Los datos brutos recogidos (Raw Data) son tratados para su análisis por un equipo multidisciplinar compuesto por expertos en Business Intelligence & Analytics y análisis futbolístico de LALIGA a través de procesos de Machine Learning e Inteligencia Artificial que se han hecho posibles gracias a la tecnología Azure que provee Microsoft, capaz de procesar grandes volúmenes de datos. Tras su tratamiento, se genera un algoritmo que permite la visualización de las métricas que llegan al aficionado por medio de Beyond Stats. Estas estadísticas permiten a los aficionados entender mejor por qué su equipo ha ganado un partido, lo ha perdido, o tener una visión panorámica de su rendimiento y expectativas, lo que permite una inmersión inédita en la experiencia del espectador de fútbol.

En todos los estadios de LALIGA encontramos hasta dieciséis cámaras perimetrales fijas de alta resolución para el tracking óptico que siguen en el terreno de juego la situación de jugadores, árbitros y balón, recogiendo datos físicos y técnico-tácticos a un ritmo vertiginoso de 25 veces por segundo.

“Encontramos hasta dieciséis cámaras perimetrales fijas de alta resolución para el tracking óptico”

Estos dispositivos permiten la integración, a través de la herramienta de análisis Mediacoach, de dos tecnologías: tracking y eventing. El tracking se apoya en la información de seguimiento recogida por las cámaras perimetrales del estadio, y permite elaborar métricas como las referidas a distancia recorrida, velocidad máxima y media, o número de sprints. Mediante el eventing se registran los eventos más objetivables: número de pases, córners, o faltas cometidas y recibidas. La información captada a través de tracking y eventing se integra y almacena en el sistema formando un conjunto de datos de gran volumen.