Player tracking

From these words I will try to explain the procedure that goes from the confirmation of a search to the recommendation of a footballer, trying to reach a level of detail that allows us to reduce the margin of error when hiring a reinforcement

    We are going to structure how the monitoring of players for teams is carried out from a broad view, but trying to go deeper into the most important points.

    I am going to give you my view from a country like Spain, where the data, the possible vision of players and all the information of the footballers is relatively easy to obtain.

    The first step as a scout is the talk with the coach or director to have all the necessary information of the player to be searched for. There we can find two cases:

    One where the coach already has a name, a player that at some point he has seen or has been told that he could fit into the team, in which case the first part is much more agile.

    We would move on to carry out the monitoring of the player as we will indicate later.

    But let's look at another possible case, the coach tells us some characteristics of a player, both tactical and technical, and we have to find a player that fits that search, in this case the first thing we do is go to our player pool.

    As a scout we have a pool of players that we have already followed or that we have seen in a match and we are interested in saving the name for possible future follow-ups.

    When responding to the club's demand, it speeds up our work a lot, this pool has to be as complete as possible, it has to cover all the positions on the field and with several players per position if possible, but above all we are interested in it being as up-to-date as possible.

    Once we know the position to look for, for example, a midfielder or full-back or centre forward, we will go to the pool in search of players in that position, with the names of the players that could fit the search, we go to an important point, the data and information of the players.

    Nowadays it is quite easy to obtain data on players' games. For example, if we are looking for a forward, we will look for different data from that of a midfielder or a centre-back. Each position has its own range and we have to pay close attention and know clearly what we are looking for: a player who scores up front, a ball-winner in the middle or a player who can get the ball out from the starting area.

    The use of data is something that is increasingly used and for scouts it is a very useful tool that, together with the monitoring of players, allows us to make the right searches.

    With the review of data, we must make a small selection of players by position, a selection to close the circle on the players that interest us the most.

    With the selection made and with the players to be presented increasingly clear, we will carry out the monitoring, both during the matches and in training and their behaviour both on and off the field.

    The matches allow us to get a clear idea of ​​the type of player, their virtues and weaknesses, their way of solving plays and how they perform in the matches.

    I like to monitor 3 or 4 games, preferably very different games, with both strong opponents and games of lower intensity, it gives me a clear picture of how the player will behave depending on the opponent.

    There are many cases in which players give 100% on the field, but not in training, they even give less than expected at a certain level, they are players who always arrive late or are tying their boots in the middle of the field because they don't arrive at the scheduled time, players who find it difficult to make a collective sacrifice in training, are more individual or have different attitudes to what is seen on the field during matches.

    It may seem silly, but coaches like players who are always committed, in training and matches, this attitude may not please the staff and it is necessary to check everything about the player to be sure that he is adaptable to the team and will not be a problem in the long run due to the attitude and commitment in the locker room.

    My opinion is that observation of matches and training sessions must be accompanied by data, in order to rule out variations that affect the player from the outside, bad streaks, difficult moments due to family reasons, etc.

    By this I mean that if the player does not give the expected level during some matches or is not at 100% aptitude and the game data indicates otherwise, it is necessary to confirm it with something else, the environment.

    Sometimes players go through bad spells in the game due to external problems or because they don't understand their new role in the team. This must be confirmed before discarding the player, since perhaps the role for which our coach wants him is adapted to the player and his style of play or he is going through a bad streak that affects his game, but we know that he can perform much better.

    Just as we must know if his behavior off the field is correct, if he pays attention to the club's schedules or instructions or if, on the contrary, he is a player who finds it difficult to maintain a serious line in his sporting life, it is known that sometimes there are players who do not continue with a behavior that is, let's say, very appropriate to the condition of a soccer player and that ends up affecting their game. If we are foresighted in this regard, we can avoid future problems.

    All this information, depending on the league or country where the player plays, will be more or less easy to obtain. There are leagues where the control of the players is hermetic and certain information cannot be accessed. On the other hand, other leagues are more open and it is possible to have more information outside of the sport.

    One of the most important parts of the monitoring is the preparation of the report. It seems easy. We have the information gathered, we put it in the report and that's it. But it is not like that.

    If we are not able to capture what the player is transmitting or we cannot make a report that is easy for the coach to interpret, we could lose all the work done.

    Just as when the analyst makes the reports on rivals, he must present them in the easiest way for the players to interpret and adapted to the demands of the coach, the same happens in the case of the scout. The reports and video analysis must be specific with the necessary information and with clear videos that really show what is being sought.

    Therefore, from my point of view, the report must provide several important parts, the information on the player, the game data, minutes or playing time, everything depends on the position we are looking for, as we said before we do not need the same data for a forward as for a centre-back.

    The player's technical information, as well as the most important indications of the type of tactical play, positioning, performances with and without the ball, a broader summary, since it is the important thing to highlight in the follow-up.

    And finally the video. I accompany my reports with a video that is not too long, always avoiding it being too heavy, where we try to clearly visualize the player's virtues and to see above all what the coach is looking for, the type of player that adapts to his needs and all of that accompanied by a very clear presentation of the entire follow-up.

Roberto Segui

Seguimiento de jugadores

Desde estás letras intentaré explicar el procedimiento que va desde la confirmación de una búsqueda hasta la recomendación de un futbolista, intentando llegar a un nivel detalle que nos permita achicar el margen de error a la hora de contratar un refuerzo

    Vamos a estructurar como se realiza el seguimiento de jugadores para equipos desde una vista amplia, pero intentando profundizar en los puntos más importantes.

    Os voy a dar mi vista desde un país como España, donde los datos, la posible visión de jugadores y toda la información de los futbolistas es relativamente fácil de conseguir.

    El primer paso como scout, es la charla con el entrenador o director para tener toda la información necesaria del jugador a buscar. Allí nos podemos encontrar dos casos:

    Uno donde el entrenador ya tenga un nombre, un jugador que en algún momento haya visto o le han indicado que pueda encajar en el equipo, en cuyo caso la primera parte es mucho más ágil.

    Pasaríamos a realizar el seguimiento al jugador tal y como indicaremos mas a delante.

    Pero vamos a buscar otro posible caso, el entrenador nos indica unas características de jugador, tanto tácticas como técnicas y nosotros hemos de localizar a un jugador que se adapte a esa búsqueda, en este caso lo primero que hacemos es ir a nuestra bolsa de jugadores.

    Como scout disponemos de una bolsa de jugadores sobre la que ya hemos realizado el seguimiento o hemos visto en algún partido y nos interesa guardar el nombre para posibles seguimientos futuros.

    A la hora de responder a la demanda del club nos agiliza mucho el trabajo, esta bolsa ha de ser lo más completa posible, ha de cubrir todos los puestos del campo y con varios jugadores por puesto a ser posible, pero sobre todo nos interesa que sea lo más actualizada posible.

    Una vez sabemos la posición a buscar, por ejemplo, un volante o lateral o delantero centro, iremos a la bolsa en búsqueda de jugadores en esa posición, con el nombre de los jugadores que podrían encajar en la búsqueda, nos vamos a un punto importante, los datos e información de los jugadores.

    Hoy en día es bastante fácil disponer de datos de juego de los jugadores, por ejemplo si buscamos un delantero buscaremos unos datos diferentes a los del volante o de un central, cada posición tiene su rango y nos hemos de fijar muy bien y saber claramente que buscamos , un jugador arriba con gol, un recuperador de balones en la media o un jugador con salida de balón desde la zona de inicio.

    La utilización de los datos es algo cada vez mas utilizado y para los ojeadores una herramienta muy útil que junto con el seguimiento de los jugadores nos permite acertar en las búsquedas.

    Con la revisión de datos debemos realizar una pequeña selección de jugadores por posición, una selección para cerrar el circulo sobre los jugadores que más nos interesan.

    Con la selección realizada y con los jugadores cada vez más claros a presentar, realizaremos el seguimiento, tanto durante los partidos como en los entrenos y su comportamiento tanto dentro como fuera del campo.

    Los partidos nos permiten hacernos una idea clara del tipo de jugador, sus virtudes y debilidades, su forma de resolver jugadas y como se desenvuelve en los partidos.

    A mi me gusta realizar un seguimiento de 3 o 4 partidos, a poder ser partidos muy diferentes, con rivales tanto fuertes como partidos de intensidad más baja, me da una clara imagen de cómo se comportará el jugador según el rival.

    Hay muchos casos en que los jugadores dan ese 100% en el campo, pero en entreno no, incluso dan menos de los esperado a cierto nivel, son jugadores que siempre llegan tarde o van atándose las botas en medio del campo porque no llega a la hora marcada, jugadores que les cuesta el sacrificio colectivo en los entrenos, son mas individuales o tienen actitudes diferentes a la que se ve en el campo durante los partidos.

    Puede parecer una tontería, pero a los entrenadores les gusta los jugadores comprometidos siempre, en entrenos y partidos , esa actitud puede no gustar al staff y es necesario comprobar todo sobre el jugador para poder estar seguros de que es adaptable al equipo y no va a ser un problema a la larga por la actitud y compromiso en el vestuario.

    Una opinión mía es que la observación de los partidos y de los entrenos se ha de acompañar de datos, para poder descartar variantes que afectan al jugador desde fuera, malas rachas, momentos complicados por motivos familiares etc.

    Con esto me refiero que si el jugador no da el nivel previsto durante unos partidos o no esta con una aptitud del 100% y los datos de juego indican lo contrario, es necesario confirmarlo con algo más, el entorno.

    En ocasiones los jugadores pasan por malas rechas de juego debido a problemas externos o por no entender el rol nuevo en el equipo, eso se ha de confirmar antes de descartar al jugador, ya que tal vez el rol por el cual lo quiere nuestro entrenador si se adapta al jugador y su estilo de juego o esta pasando por una mala racha que afecta al juego, pero sabemos que es posible que rinda mucho más.

    Al igual que se ha de saber si el comportamiento fuera del campo es el correcto, si hace caso a los horarios o indicaciones del club o si por lo contrario es un jugador que le cuesta mantener una línea seria en su vida deportiva, es sabido que en ocasiones hay jugadores que no siguen con un comportamiento digamos muy adecuado, a la condición de jugador de futbol y eso acaba afectando a su juego. Si somos previsores en ese punto, podemos evitar problemas futuros.

    Toda esta información según la liga o país donde juega el jugador será más o menos fácil de obtener, hay ligas donde el control de los jugadores es hermético y no se pude acceder a cierta información. Por contrario otras ligas son mas abiertas y es posible disponer de más información extradeportiva.

    Una de las partes más importantes del seguimiento es la realización del informe. Parece fácil. Tenemos la información captada, la plasmamos en el informe y ya está.  Pero no es así.

    Si no somos capaces de plasmar lo que trasmite el jugador o no podemos realizar un informe fácil de interpretar por el entrenador, podrimos perder todo el trabajo realizado.

    Al igual que cuando el analista hace los informes de rival, los ha de presentar lo más fácil de interpretar por los jugadores y adaptado a las demandas del entrenador, en el caso del scout pasa lo mismo. Los informes y video análisis han de ser concretos con la información necesaria y con videos claros y donde se muestra de verdad lo que se busca.

    Por eso desde mi punto de vista, el informe ha de aportar varias partes importantes, la información del jugador, los datos de juego, minutos o tiempo de juego, todo depende de la posición que busquemos, como decíamos antes no necesitamos los mismos datos de un delantero que de un central.

    La información del jugador de forma técnica, al igual que las indicaciones mas importantes del tipo de juego táctico, posicionamiento, actuaciones con y sin balón un resumen más amplio, ya que es lo importante a resaltar en el seguimiento.

    Y por ultimo el video. A mis informes los acompaño con un video no muy largo, siempre evitando que sea algo pesado, donde buscamos que se puedan visualizar claramente las virtudes del jugador y que se vea sobre todo lo que busca el entrenador, el tipo de jugador que se adapte a sus necesidades y todo eso acompañado de una presentación muy clara de todo el seguimiento.

Roberto Segui

The arduous path to a place in football

    The difficulties to enter the world of football are diverse. In a popular activity that many want to be part of and there is a shortage of space, scouting is a tempting activity. But is the path to entry so simple?

    Access to football jobs is not easy. As in most activities, the first steps are usually complicated and the open doors are few for the number of candidates. But in such a popular field with limited access routes, the difficulty is even greater and hopes end up crashing against the wall of frustration.

    In this context, scouting offers a small door of entry that does not escape the general context. In the imagination of a country as football-loving as Argentina, our profession is seen as a wide opening towards a work space in football, based on the reduction of the role to the mere detection of a good footballer. However, the scout is not only a talent hunter.

    Personally, I entered football through sports journalism. There I sharpened my analytical eye that had already been around for a long time from the stands. My knowledge of analysis and process improvement was crucial to being able to build work procedures suited to the needs of a scouting structure. But none of these skills would have allowed me access on their own.

    Contacts, as in every activity, constitute a kind of guardian who holds the keys to these activities with limited supply. Beyond friendship or camaraderie, there are people within football who can detect the conditions that we can bring to a sports structure. However, this detection comes from those signals that we can include in different works that we present. There is no possibility that these contacts will know our skills if we do not show them.

    It is clear that one's own skills and characteristics, accompanied by knowledge and training, cannot be appreciated in a disorderly manner. The construction of a work method, even when it is limited by resources and oriented to generic objectives, allows us to observe with greater precision the virtues that an applicant for a position in the world of football can bring. And that is where those who want to enter the world of scouting can make a difference.

    The possibility of building a process that allows us to obtain material that advertises our way of working is a good measure when trying to show the work potential to those contacts that can be sown on social networks such as Linkedin or in areas related to football. It can also be interesting to generate a work method applicable to a certain organisation model to directly propose a way of carrying out scouting, mainly when that structure does not have its own system.

    In any case and despite the scarcity of resources, it is essential for those who aspire to access football through scouting to show all their potential through an original proposal, based on the available resources and with a tangible and concrete objective. From this small sample of the technical and organisational qualities available, the possibility of opening a door of access will grow exponentially, along with the dream of being part of this beautiful sport. Logically, there should be no lack of perseverance in communicating our intentions, flexibility when going through periods of trial that are often free, or interest in the permanent generation of contacts that allow us that first contact with the interior of this exciting activity.

Nicolas Di Pasqua

El arduo camino hacia un lugar en el fútbol

 Las dificultades para ingresar al mundo del fútbol son diversas. En una actividad popular de la que muchos quieren ser parte y hay escasez de espacio, el scouting resulta una actividad tentadora. Pero ¿Es tan sencillo el camino de ingreso?

El acceso laboral al fútbol no resulta sencillo. Como ocurre en la mayoría de las actividades, los primeros pasos suelen ser complicados y las puertas abiertas son escasas para la cantidad de candidatos. Pero en un ámbito tan popular con reducidas vías de acceso, la dificultad es aún mayor y las esperanzas terminan chocando contra la pared de la frustración.

    En este contexto, el scouting ofrece una pequeña puerta de ingreso que no escapa al contexto general. En el imaginario de un país tan futbolero como Argentina, se observa nuestra profesión como una amplia abertura hacia un espacio laboral en el fútbol, a partir de la reducción del rol a la mera detección de un buen futbolista. Sin embargo, el ojeador no solo es un cazatalentos.

    Personalmente ingresé al fútbol a través del periodismo deportivo. Allí agudicé mi ojo analítico que ya tenía un largo recorrido desde las gradas. Mi conocimiento en análisis y mejora de procesos fue determinante para poder construir procedimientos de trabajo adecuados a las necesidades de una estructura de scouting. Pero ninguna de estas aptitudes hubiera permitido mi acceso por si sola.

    Los contactos, como en toda actividad, constituyen una especie de guardianes que poseen las llaves a estas actividades de oferta reducida. Más allá de la amistad o la camaradería, hay gente dentro del fútbol que logra detectar las condiciones que podemos aportarle a una estructura deportiva. No obstante, esa detección proviene de aquellas señales que podemos incluir en diferentes trabajos que exponemos. No hay posibilidad de que esos contactos conozcan nuestras habilidades si no las mostramos.

    Queda claro que las aptitudes y características propias, acompañadas de conocimientos y capacitación, no se pueden apreciar de manera desordenada. La construcción de un método de trabajo, aun cuando este sea limitado por los recursos y orientado a objetivos genéricos, permite observar con mayor precisión las virtudes que puede aportar un aspirante a un puesto en el mundo del fútbol. Y es ahí donde aquel que quiere ingresar al mundo del scouting puede hacer una diferencia.

    La posibilidad de construir un proceso que nos permita obtener material que publicite nuestra forma de trabajar es una buena medida a la hora de intentar mostrar el potencial laboral a aquellos contactos que se pueden sembrar en redes sociales como Linkedin o en ámbitos relacionados con el fútbol. También puede resultar interesante generar un método de trabajo aplicable a un modelo de organización determinado para proponer directamente una forma de realizar scouting, principalmente cuando esa estructura no cuente con un sistema propio.

    En cualquier caso y a pesar de la escasez de recursos, es fundamental para quien aspira a acceder al fútbol a través del scouting, mostrar todo su potencial por medio de una propuesta original, basada en los recursos disponibles y con un objetivo palpable y concreto. A partir de esa pequeña muestra de las cualidades técnicas y organizativas disponibles, la posibilidad de abrir una puerta de acceso crecerá exponencialmente, junto con el sueño de ser parte de este hermoso deporte. Lógicamente, no deberá faltar la perseverancia en la comunicación de nuestras intenciones, flexibilidad a la hora de atravesar períodos de prueba que muchas veces son gratuitos, ni interés en la generación permanente de contactos que nos permitan ese primer contacto con el interior de esta apasionante actividad.

Nicolas Di Pasqua

Worrying trend in Argentina: sports directors as fuses.

    Argentine football is undergoing a disturbing change: the sports director is replacing the coach as the first fuse in times of crisis. However, this figure, far from becoming consolidated, has become a scapegoat to cover up poor management. It is crucial to redefine and make this role transparent to prevent it from continuing to be a simple emergency resource.

    We are witnessing an important and dangerous paradigm shift in Argentine football. It has always been said (and it is still repeated) that the “first fuse” that blows when a team is in crisis is the coach, but we see day after day that a figure emerges that comes to replace the technical director: the sports director. Much easier, much more at hand, much cheaper even, because generally fewer people work in a technical secretariat than in a professional technical team.

    We see how confusion reigns, how it is the same to talk about sports directors, managers, football secretaries, technical secretaries, football councils. Everything seems to be the same and it is not. Everything is mixed together. That is why I am convinced that the term “sports director” is impossible to apply in our country because no person who holds that position has full authority to intervene in a comprehensive sports management that covers all or almost all the football spheres of a club. It sounds very good, but it is far from reality, unfortunately. Not even club leaders such as Diego Milito could do it, who even publicly acknowledged that his role as sports director at Racing had a ceiling and could not build more than that.

    So, I propose to talk about “professional football director”, a specific management role for the first team, with links to youth football and other areas if the possibility existed, but focused on the first team. Less ambitious from the poster but more assertive.

    My humble experience in the world of professional football taught me that without being in the day to day of a club it is very difficult to give an opinion because things happen that are not seen from the outside, but in this case it merits it and I prefer to run the risk of being wrong in my analysis.

    I want to point out the case of Ariel Michaloutsos at Newell’s as a painful example of all this. And I clarify in advance that I do not know Michaloutsos personally, I never spoke or had direct contact with him. But his departure from Newell’s felt like a blow to all of us who believe in a certain form of management. Seen from the outside, judging by interviews or a video that the institution itself published in May, it seemed like an interesting project in the medium and long term.

    “The idea is that decisions are institutional, not from one person. I had the word of the club president (Ignacio Astore) for this to happen (…) I do not believe that a team can be put together, if you are not economically powerful, from one day to the next. There has to be a process and a method that transcends the people who are or pass through the institution,” Michaloutsos said in that video. But the leaders need new fuses, new leaders. And that is where the sporting director falls, a protective umbrella for the leadership, a culprit if things go wrong, responsible for “the composition of the squad in the transfer markets of the current year,” as the club reported in a pathetic statement to announce the dismissal of Michaloutsos. As if the sporting director were the owner of all the decisions and the leaders, immune, could point the finger of blame.

    Let's get to the bottom of the matter: in Argentina almost nobody trusts the sporting directors, they only use them to magically solve years of bad administration, without a vision for the future, and as a means of making excuses, which distorts and contaminates all essence. There are undoubtedly exceptions and we have to use them to continue believing that a radical change is possible.

    It is also important to point out that in most cases the mistake is made of not explaining what is done, how it is done and what are the foundations of a true sporting direction. In general terms, the work methodology is not explained and this feeds any kind of suspicion and comments that only feed the distrust in certain pillars that should not be put into question. As long as these pillars are not clarified, doubts about the credibility of the sports management will continue. And not because of what happens outside but because of what we do or do not do from within. From my point of view, I think that we need to open up more, debate more, explain more and show more so that it is understood what it is all about and the idea that "four or five charlatans get together in an office to mess around all day" is eliminated.

    Monchi exhibits in 13 masterclasses the details of the successful model of Seville and we all look at them as a mirror, as a reference and as everything we would like for our The clubs. I have even seen Fran Garagarza's press conferences after the transfer market explaining the details of what happened in the window. Why can't we replicate it in Argentina? Don't try to convince me that it's impossible here because I refuse to believe it. Maybe in other countries it's not necessary because the public doesn't demand it, but here it's worth doing it even if they call it smoke and mirrors and only judge the result. Ultimately, it's about self-convincing and transparency, and I'm not saying that if it's not done it's because of obscurity.

    Let's not debate whether a player is good or bad, promoting banality (in fact there are no good or bad players, but those who fit the profile we're looking for or not); let's debate and show the process of why that player was hired. Let's lose the fear of what they'll say, if at the end of the day criticism will be there in any circumstance. As long as that fear persists, those outside (managers, fans, journalists) will have more food for thought. And when I say “those outside” I don’t mean it in a pejorative way or as if they were enemies, but because they are the ones we have to “convince.”

    We can all be (today or tomorrow) a Michaloutsos. We should all “stand in solidarity” with him, because those of us who believe in that work structure in some way suffered a setback with his departure. These days Michaloutsos was left alone, vulnerable, ridiculed for having spoken of scouting and big data. At this rate, there will be new Michaloutsos in the short term and it is something that we must somehow prevent, but not only by blaming outside but with a self-critical look inward. If the concept is not understood, we have our degree of responsibility.

Camilo Franckabudski