Research Archives - Football Innovation Hub

20 Abr Beyond Shooting: Identifying Two-Way Impact in Attacking Players

Posted at 13:31h in Research

Rethinking how we evaluate offensive players In professional football, attacking players have traditionally been assessed through metrics directly linked to their offensive output, such as goals, assists or total shots. While these indicators remain essential, they provide only a partial view of player performance, particularly in...

16 Abr Teams Don’t Win the Way You Think They Do

Posted at 13:36h in Research

Introduction: Forget What You Think You Know About Winning Most coaches intuitively associate winning with dominance: more possession, more passes, more control. But what if the data from an entire LaLiga season suggests something different? A recent scientific study analyzing all 380 matches of the 2021–2022 LaLiga...

15 Abr It’s Not January: What LaLiga Data Reveals About the Relative Age Effect

Posted at 12:12h in Research

Introduction For years, one idea has dominated football: Players born in January are more likely to become professionals. It’s simple. It’s intuitive.And analytically, it’s misleading. Using data from all players in LALIGA EA SPORTS 2024/25, we revisited the Relative Age Effect (RAE). The conclusion is clear: The issue is not January.It’s...

14 Abr From Analysis to Action: How AI Can Accelerate In-Game Adaptation in Goalkeeper Restarts

Posted at 11:40h in Research

https://youtube.com/shorts/t8P_RyKrF8k?feature=share How do you decide how to play out from the back under high pressure? One of the most critical moments in modern football happens in just a few seconds. A goalkeeper restart.An opponent pressing aggressively.Passing lanes opening and closing almost instantly. In that moment, the decision is not...

10 Abr Congested Fixtures in Football: Problem or Misunderstood Reality? What LaLiga Data Really Shows

Posted at 12:07h in Research

Every coach has faced this situation. Wednesday night. European competition. Sunday afternoon. League match. And the same question always appears: Are we going to drop physically? It feels obvious. Less recovery. More fatigue. Worse performance. But what if this assumption is only partially true? In football, we tend to treat congestion...

09 Mar How to Measure Defensive Blocks in Football Using Tracking Data

Posted at 13:33h in Research

https://youtube.com/shorts/vuz888bblgk?feature=share Concepts like low block, mid block, or high block are deeply embedded in the language of football. Coaches use them when preparing matches.Analysts rely on them when describing defensive strategies.Commentators frequently mention them during broadcasts. Despite their widespread use, these concepts are rarely measured objectively. In practice, the...