Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Girona deliver both individually & collectively

As a team, Girona are catching the eye on several levels. By way of example, the Catalans lie fourth in the LaLiga Santander standings for the distance covered and while they do not feature amongst the league’s frontrunners for the number of long passes and forward passes, they are amongst the division’s top five sides in terms of passing completion rates. The boys from Montilivi are particularly adept at choosing the right times to go direct.

It is also worth underlining the role played by the individual players who are contributing towards the team’s impressive performances, with Aleix Garcia one of the key names in this regard. He currently leads the way in the league charts for the number of key passes, which makes him a highly valuable member of the Girona squad. Garcia chalks up almost three key passes per game. The graphic below shows the areas in which he is at his most effective, and although the majority of his passes are played on the right flank, he also poses a regular threat down the left, offering impressive versatility for Michel’s men.

Remarkable Coach

Pacheta brings charisma & results

There are very few coaches out there capable of overseeing an upturn in fortunes as dramatic as the one masterminded by the R.Valladolid tactician. After flirting with the relegation places, the Castellon and Leon‑based outfit have responded to a run of three straight defeats with back‑to‑back wins. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, we have to go back all the way to 2008 for the last time Los Pucelanos beat a side lying in the European spots. A number of on‑field factors can explain this turnaround, but we must shine the spotlight on the team’s width and how it helps its ability to open up spaces thanks to the positions taken up by the players. Valladolid currently sit fifth in the LaLiga Santander standings for width in possession. This trait is reflected in the following video and the graphic found below.

Key Player

Sancet takes place amongst LaLiga Santander goalscoring elite

Oihan Sancet hit his first hat-trick of the season and was once again an influential figure for Athletic Club in their latest outing. The fresh‑faced starlet offers great determination in high‑pressure situations. He shows a fine ability to read the game and is also a key player on set pieces. All of his goals so far this term have come inside the box and he appears to have a particular liking for planting his efforts to the right side of the net. He features amongst the division’s top 10 goalscorers, averaging a goal a game. You can catch one of his latest strikes in this video.

The Match up

Off-colour Villarreal host league leaders

Quique Setien’s charges have lost their last two games, whilst at no point this season have Barcelona enjoyed such a healthy cushion over Real Madrid. Never before has a league leader let an eight‑point buffer slip in the race to lift the LaLiga crown, with a second‑placed side never managing to close such a gap. However, Xavi’s troops certainly aren’t resting on their laurels and continue to perform well in a number of metrics. The Catalan giants are the division’s runners-up when it comes to high‑impact carries, i.e. those that culminate in an attempt on goal. The following video shows just what a useful weapon such carries are in the Azulgranas’ attacking arsenal.

Remember his name

Milla breathes life into Elche fight

Pere Milla helped himself to the match ball in Elche’s last outing, notching his second hat‑trick of the campaign. The Alicante side last tasted victory a whole eight months ago and although they’d have to enjoy a sensational second half of the season to have any chance of retaining their top‑flight status, their recent victory gives them a glimmer of hope. It should come as little surprise that Milla gobbles up the chances that come his way, especially when we consider that he boasts the best conversion rate in the Elche ranks and is amongst the top 10 players in the league in this department. The graphic shows where his goals end up in the net.

Metric of the week

Double-pressure passes

These passes are those that see both the passer and recipient come under pressure when the pass is played. The distance to the opponent in these instances is limited, both in the case of the player who is playing the pass and its potential recipients. Indeed, the distances involved are often less than a metre. As we can see in the video, Celta Vigo register more of these actions than any other team in the league.

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.