Integration of Technology in Football – Its Importance in Training and Technical Teams
In the past decade, the integration and development of technology in football have been fundamental to its evolution, enabling specialists to adopt a more analytical and detailed approach to the entire process. As a result, technical teams increasingly need to include multidisciplinary coaches from various fields, processing all the information to help the head coach make the best possible decisions. The head coach must become a more well-rounded professional, capable of interpreting the data provided by their staff. It is important for the head coach to have had contact with a wide range of inputs from various areas throughout their past experiences, enabling them to be better prepared and improving the likelihood of success in their choices. It is crucial to have someone on the technical team responsible for monitoring athlete performance, leveraging GPS technology. This field is vital because it evaluates key performance indicators such as heart rate, training load, calories burned/required, speed, and distances covered during both training sessions and matches. This information is essential for avoiding overtraining and preventing injuries, ensuring optimal physical condition and allowing the coach to manage the squad based on upcoming fixtures, thereby maintaining the team's form as consistently as possible. Another important area is tactical analysis, where tools like cameras (e.g., VEO), drones, and game analysis software (e.g., Métrica) can be used to gain a different perspective of the game. These tools help map the entire match and extract detailed visual information on patterns of play, as well as individual and collective movements. This enables teams to easily identify exploitable spaces in the opposition, with such information either being presented to players during match preparation or delivered to the coach in real-time. Big Data is becoming increasingly important in elite football, and having a professional specialized in this area has become indispensable for any technical team. Big Data allows for detailed player analysis, measuring factors like passing accuracy, dribbling quality, distances covered, sprint efficiency, and running technique. This helps assess players' physical wear and tear, enabling coaches to make informed decisions. Furthermore, Big Data can aid in injury prevention by monitoring physical load and fatigue signs, protecting players and avoiding overtraining. In terms of scouting, Big Data is also instrumental in talent discovery, identifying athletes based on specific characteristics and comparing statistics to highlight those who perform best in targeted areas. This allows clubs to find players who fit their tactical model, reducing the likelihood of errors in recruitment. As we have seen, all these areas are becoming increasingly essential for coaches, supporting them in making decisions about the game, strategy, and feedback to players on the pitch, as well as in planning future transfers. Keywords: Performance monitoring, tactical analysis, Big Data.
P.S. For 2 months, the ScoutDecision team collected testimonials from scouts in our network about their jobs, the tools they use, etc. Now you can read the results for free here: Football Scouting Survey 2024
