“We did not discover it by luck and it’s extremely quick,” Simon Rolfes says. “We’re searching for gamers who’re very quick. Information is an important a part of that these days.”
Bayer Leverkusen sporting director discusses signing Moussa Diaby from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019. The French winger has already scored 12 objectives and 7 assists within the Bundesliga this season, serving to Leverkusen end third within the standings.
Rolfes speaks on the launch of the newest version of German Bundesliga match detailsPowered by AWS, which is designed to offer deeper insights to the plenty. Diaby is the one participant to have appeared within the prime 10 within the Bundesliga as a sprinter, starter and maker within the new ‘ability’ scale.
“It is very attention-grabbing to have verify in your gamers,” admits Rolfes. “A participant like Moussa Diaby tops most of the rankings. In the event you verify that in the course of the season you possibly can see that he is additionally made actually good improvement when it comes to getting the ball again.”
So, what’s the course of when attending to know a participant like Diaby?
“After we discover a participant, we come from three factors of view. There may be the info, the exploration of stay video and in addition the exploration of the participant character. We’re making a younger staff that should develop so it wants the precise mindset to develop your self and the membership.
“The information is at the start of the method. We begin by deciding on the info after which we verify the opposite elements. We take a look at the stay scout and analysis his character. More often than not is spent on the character. In the long run, I’ve to steadiness earlier than making a call.”
“It is attention-grabbing to do a watch examination. However the knowledge is impartial. You get a number of data and you must pull the precise knowledge. For instance, he might need a sure function in his present staff however how does that match into your staff? We spend a number of time analyzing that.”
“However we begin with the info.”
Rolfes is contemporary from a considerably extra vital assembly, as he goes by the match plan with the coaches to organize for the match in opposition to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday. “We hope we’ve the precise solutions to the questions they ask,” he says with a smile.
The information will information their considering. “We at all times begin with the info. What sort of staff? The place do their assaults come from? Bayern is a tough instance as a result of we all know them so effectively. However they are often very fast with the info to get to know the opponent.
“We give the sport plan to the gamers on the weekend. Some gamers want much less data. Some gamers are very within the knowledge and wish to research the opponent’s video. Gamers are extra open to knowledge than they had been 20 years in the past, for positive.
“These days, knowledge actually helps gamers enhance and compete. That’s why they use it, they demand it. The standard of the info is getting higher and higher, not just for the followers to grasp the sport but in addition for us as a membership to make use of it.”
It even adjustments the way in which the sport is performed. One of many details of a Bundesliga match is used to measure the chance of a aim. Evaluation of the inefficiency of long-distance imaging could have modified the ocean at filming places over the previous decade.
“Step one as head coach or as sporting director is to make higher selections however then the participant is ready to make higher selections,” Rolfes explains. “Positive, you possibly can see an evolution within the model of play. You see extra quick passes.
“The effectivity of the shot is a little bit of a results of that good buildup. The buildup and evolution of the sport, in case you arrange the probabilities in the precise approach, you will have a better effectivity. We work on this on daily basis. Additionally., with nice gamers like Florian Wirts, that is an indication of their high quality.”
It takes a head coach keen to embrace the analytics, and Leverkusen has one in Gerardo Sewan, the 43-year-old Swiss coach who was employed in the summertime.
“I feel that is vital as a result of we are able to present him with a number of data to enhance his selections, so it will be significant that he’s open to utilizing that data.
“Additionally it is a small query for the coaches’ ages. Our coach may be very younger so he’s used to utilizing knowledge. There isn’t any doubt that knowledge shouldn’t be a part of his everyday work.”
However what does Rolfes assume would be the subsequent improvement in evaluation?
“It could be attention-grabbing to know the notion of the participant earlier than he will get the ball. We all know from research that Iniesta was turning his head much more than the opposite gamers on this place. It’s an indicator of high quality in one of the best gamers.
“It could be actually attention-grabbing to see these particulars, not simply how typically they flip their heads however the place their eyes look earlier than they get the ball.”
Soccer’s thirst for knowledge is rising.