I want to
talk about the application of technology in the world of football. Statistics,
videos, programs that let you do this or that, there is more and more of this
style. Are they all good or necessary? I think so. But, what I disagree with, is
the use made many times. A team has 80% ball possession and loses the game. A
team makes 20 shots on goal and loses a game. A team makes 2 shots on goal and
wins a match. A team that commits 10 fouls in a game, with three penalties
against and finishes the match with 9 players. And, like this, whatever you
want. And, here is where the statistics do not give many clues or give none at
all. Recording matches, if we don’t know how to analyze them properly and draw
the appropriate conclusions, is useless. Note the number of corners in favor or,
the number of turnovers or any other data, if it is not in the context that
corresponds, it’s useless.
I will put
examples: a player makes 80 passes in a game, with only 1 mistake. His success
rate is 98.75%. The problem comes when the lost ball makes the opponents to
score a goal and win the game. Another example: A goalkeeper makes 2 saves in a
game and concedes 3 goals. Does this mean that his performance is bad? Another
example: A player sees a yellow card every 2 games. Does this mean that he is a
dirty player?
Consider the
examples. In the first case, what we want to know is how and why it came the turnover:
Was he passing a long ball when he doesn’t know how to do it? Did he has
passing lanes? Did he use them? Did he have support at his side, back, front? Did
he receive a complicated pass from a teammate that left him in a difficult
situation to pass?
In the second
case, the three goals the goalkeeper concedes are second or third play after a
corner against that is not rejected, the other goal is in a counterattack in
which an opponent is just before him and the third goal is a penalty. Who was the
one that didn’t clear the ball? Why it wasn’t cleared? Was it a good clearing
but there wasn’t nobody to receive the ball? Why is there a counter? Why anyone
stops the counterattack? The penalty, is the result of an isolated play? Was a
player dribbling inside the box? Were the marks right? Could we avoid the
penalty?
Finally, the
third case we could ask questions like, is it right the position of the player?
Are the others who have left in the wrong position? Has he excessive ground to cover
and, therefore, he’s late for interceptions?
Like these,
we can raise a lot of questions for each situation, the numbers tell us
"facts" but, in general, do not tell us "why". We as
coaches or players have to live in constant doubt: Why this? Why not that? Why to
the right? Why to the left?, etc. It’s not enough to know what to do at any
given moment of the match. I have to know why I do it, so that, when you have a
similar situation later in the game and, elsewhere on the pitch, you can act
properly.
The
technology can help a lot, or a little. It is suitable use for sure that helps
so much. Leave everything in the hands of a number without knowing how “to read"
them is what will not help us. It is not
many faults we do in a game, is where we foul and why we have to make fouls.
In fact, the
only part of the technology that is indisputable is the final score: The one
that scores the most goals wins, although sometimes we do not know why.
Jordi Pascual
You can
follow me on Twitter: @JordiPascualP
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