Posts tagged Soccer
Cory Jez - Founder, Tour IQ Golf Analytics
Cory Jez - Founder, Tour IQ Golf Analytics

Cory Jez is the Founder of Tour IQ, a golf analytics platform dedicated to providing PGA Tour players an the resources they need for the first time in golf history. He also has a unique resume, having worked for FanDuel, the Utah Jazz, Austin FC, and an an on-air analyst for the Portland Trailblazers. In this conversation, Cory talks about…

  • His time as an Analytics Manager with FanDuel.

  • His role as Director of Basketball Analytics with the Utah Jazz.

  • His time with Austin FC as the Director of Sport Science and Analytics.

  • The differences of coming into a job vs building a department from scratch.

  • His role as an On-Air Analytics Insider with the Portland TrailBlazers.

  • What Tour IQ is and how it can help golfers improve their game.

  • Transactional vs Transformational in the analytics process.

  • Building trust with “non-data” types.

  • Keys to communicating analytics concepts to athletes, front-office personnel, and a TV audience.

Then, TruMedia’s Sergio De La Espriella joins the show to discuss Paul’s conversation with Cory.

Show Links

  • Follow Cory on Twitter: @JezData

  • Follow TourIQ on Twitter: @tour_IQ

  • To check out Cory on LinkedIn, click here.

  • To check out Cory’s website, click here.

  • To check out TourIQ’s website, click here.

  • To read Sports Illustrated’s feature on TourIQ, click here.

  • To read UpRoxx’s feature on the Blazers’ analytics integration on their broadcasts, click here.

  • For more on the Tobacco Road golf course, click here.

  • Follow @TruMediaSports on Twitter.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, TuneIn.

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Expected ValueGuest UserBasketball, NBA, Golf, Soccer, MLSComment
Matt Doyle - Senior Writer & Analyst, MLSsoccer.com
Matt Doyle - Senior Writer & Analyst, MLSsoccer.com

Matt Doyle is a Senior Writer for MLSsoccer.com and has been covering the league for over a decade. His ‘Armchair Analyst’ column is considered required reading for MLS fans around the globe. He also appears on ‘Extratime’, an MLSsoccer.com podcast that covers the league in depth twice a week. In this conversation, Matt talks about…

  • The 2023 MLS season

  • MLS’s new Apple TV deal and what his role will look like

  • How he got into soccer & soccer writing

  • How he uses data in his writing and analysis

  • What to do when the numbers don’t match the ‘eye test’

  • Soccer stats he’s not fond of

  • Advice for using numbers in writing

  • His favorite episode of ‘Firefly’

Then, TruMedia’s Sergio De La Espriella joins the show to discuss Paul’s conversation with Matt.

Show Links

  • Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattDoyle76

  • To check out ‘Armchair Analyst’ and the rest of Matt’s writing, click here.

  • To check out ‘Extratime’, click here.

  • Follow ‘Extratime’ on Twitter: @Extratime

  • Follow @TruMediaSports on Twitter.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, TuneIn.

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Expected ValueGuest UserSoccer, MLSComment
Julio Costa - Data Scientist, Fulham Football Club
Julio Costa - Data Scientist, Fulham Football Club

This week, we’re doing things a bit differently on Expected Value. Producer Sergio De La Espriella has taken over Expected Value and conducted an interview in Spanish, as a way of expanding accessibility to data and analytics information to the Spanish-speaking public. Our first Spanish-speaking guest is Julio Costa, data scientist for Fulham F.C. in the Premier League. Julio has an unorthodox background that includes studying in the United States, running his own analytics blog, and a history of coaching. In this conversation, Julio talks about…

  • His day to day duties as a data scientist.

  • His interaction with the players and coaching staff.

  • How data is prioritized at Fulham vs at other places he has been.

  • His journey to arriving at Fulham.

  • What he learned from his time at the University of Texas at Austin.

  • The Analysts Eye and how that impacted his career.

  • What he looks for when watching a match.

  • Tips for those looking to become a soccer data scientist.

  • His soccer fandom history coming from Portugal.

  • His favorite place to eat in London.

Show Links

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, TuneIn.

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Expected ValueGuest UserSoccerComment
Sarah Rudd - Vice President, Blue Crow Sports Group
Sarah Rudd - Vice President, Blue Crow Sports Group

Sarah Rudd is one of the early pioneers of modern soccer analytics, being heavily involved in the evolution of soccer analytics over the last 10-15 years. Rudd recently joined Blue Crow Sports Group after spending time with Arsenal in the Premier League. Sarah is half of the “First Family” of soccer analytics, being married to Ravi Ramineni, another top soccer analytics mind who previously worked as the Director of Analytics for the Seattle Sounders. Ravi was on Expected Value a couple of years ago, making them the first wife-and-husband combo to appear on the podcast. In this conversation, Sarah talks about…

  • Her academic background and early professional path before transitioning into soccer

  • The 2011 presentation that put her on the soccer analytics map

  • What she did at StatDNA (the company Arsenal bought to be their in-house analytics group)

  • How the acceptance of analytics changed during her decade with Arsenal

  • Bridging the stereotypical gap between scouting and analytics

  • Working on the private side of soccer analytics

  • Advantages and disadvantages of a club doing everything in-house

  • Her new company Blue Crow Sport Group and what they’re up to

  • How she and her husband Ravi watch soccer games

  • What she’s done to track her excitement level during World Cup matches

Then, TruMedia’s Sergio De La Espriella joins the show to discuss Paul’s conversation with Sarah.

Show Links

  • Follow Sarah on Twitter: @srudd_ok.

  • To check out Sarah on LinkedIn, click here.

  • To check out Sarah’s 2011 NESSIS presentation, click here.

  • To take a look at a Guardian piece on StatDNA being bought by Arsenal, click here.

  • To check out a NY Times article on Arsenal and soccer analytics, click here.

  • For more on Blue Crow Sports Group, click here.

  • For more on Blue Crow Sports Group’s recent purchase of C.D. Leganes, click here.

  • Follow @TruMediaSports on Twitter.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, TuneIn.

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Expected ValueGuest UserSoccerComment
Fernando Palomo - ESPN Play-by-Play Commentator
Fernando Palomo - ESPN Play-by-Play Commentator

Fernando Palomo has worked at ESPN since 2000 as an anchor and soccer play-by-play commentator, both in English and Spanish. Fernando has covered multiple major soccer events including World Cups, Euros, and the UEFA Champions League. He has been one of the more receptive soccer people to using data and advanced stats on TV and frequently uses analytics in his broadcasts. In this conversation, Fernando talks about…

  • The upcoming Liverpool-Real Madrid Champions League final

  • What he looks for in soccer stats

  • How he uses data as an announcer

  • The differences in calling a game in English vs Spanish

  • How data is used and received differently in two languages

  • A track and field record that he still holds in his native El Salvador

Then, TruMedia’s Sergio De La Espriella joins the show to discuss Paul’s conversation with Fernando.

Show Links

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, TuneIn.

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Expected ValueGuest UserSoccer, ESPNComment
Tyler Heaps - Director of Sporting Analytics, U.S. Soccer
Tyler Heaps - Director of Sporting Analytics, U.S. Soccer

Tyler Heaps is U.S. Soccer’s director of sporting analytics, and in this episode he’ll talk about…

- Working with national teams from the senior level through the youth ranks
- How they’re handling work during the pandemic
- Thoughts on what Gregg Berhalter said in the previous episode
- Factoring league quality into analysis
- Dealing with small sample sizes
- Keys to working and communicating with a wide swath of coaches and players
- How he watches a game
- What’s interesting about player-tracking data
- His role in France with the World Cup-winning U.S. women
- Tips for breaking into the sports analytics field
- His favorite stadium in England

Show links
- Follow Tyler on Twitter and LinkedIn
- 2019 NESSIS panel
- Article on his 2019 Opta Pro Soccer presentation
- Augsburg alumni spotlight
- Follow @TruMediaSports on Twitter

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccer, U.S. SoccerComment
Gregg Berhalter - U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach
Gregg Berhalter - U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach

Gregg Berhalter has been the head coach of the United States men’s national soccer team since December 2018, following a playing career that spanned 18 years and four countries (Netherlands, England, Germany, U.S.). He thenmanaged Swedish club Hammarby and the Columbus Crew before taking the USMNT job. In this conversation, Berhalter discusses…

- How data crept into his prep process as a player and coach
- How he and his staff use analytics to monitor the player pool
- Using data in game prep and during games
- What happens when data and the eye test conflict
- Keys to communicating data to players
- How he watches a game with data in mind
- One of his favorite games from his playing career
- His godfather, Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski

Show links
- Gregg Berhalter’s U.S. Soccer bio
- How the USMNT uses fitness data
- Highlights of the 2008 German Cup quarterfinal between Bayern and 1860 Munich
- Berhalter’s godfather is Carl Yastrzemski
- TruMedia on Twitter: @TruMediaSports

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccer, U.S. SoccerComment
Ben Mackriell - Stats Perform
Ben Mackriell - Stats Perform

Ben Mackriell is the Head of Team Performance Product Strategy at Stats Perform, which owns the data-tracking company Opta. In our conversation, Ben discusses…

- What teams are doing with data while leagues are shut down
- How he got into sports analytics
- His first club job with Everton
- Working at Everton, Fulham, Reading, Norwich City & Burnley
- The best advice he received as an analyst
- Keys to communicating data at clubs
- How he works with clubs in his Stats Perform role
- AI, computer vision, and the future of analytics
- The state of analytics in cricket and rugby
- Why he roots for Boston teams
- Joining Fulham right before Clint Dempsey’s famous chip against Juventus

Show links
- Follow Ben on Twitter (@BenMackriell) & LinkedIn
- Stats Perform & OptaPro
- ProVision, the analytical platform from Stats Perform & TruMedia
- How Opta collects data
- Ben’s reflections on the 2020 OptaPro Forum
- British Lions 2017 rugby documentary
- Clint Dempsey’s chip vs Juventus in the 2010 Europa League quarters
- The Test, an Australian cricket documentary series on Amazon Prime
- The MVP Machine, by Ben Lindbergh & Travis Sawchik
- Stats Perform on Twitter: @StatsPerform
- TruMedia on Twitter: @TruMediaSports

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccer, Stats PerformComment
Ravi Ramineni - Director of Soccer Analytics, Seattle Sounders
Ravi Ramineni - Director of Soccer Analytics, Seattle Sounders

To kick off our Champions series on Expected Value, our first guest is Ravi Ramineni, director of soccer analytics for the reigning MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders. Ravi talks about…

- His role, which covers on-field strategy, player recruitment & salary cap
- What he does on a matchday
- How his job has evolved in seven years with Seattle
- Descriptive, predictive & prescriptive analytics
- His career path from India to an MLS club
- Being married to a data analyst for another soccer club
- Winning trophies with Seattle

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccerComment
Tom Worville - Analytics Writer, The Athletic
Tom Worville - Analytics Writer, The Athletic

Tom Worville is a newly-minted football (soccer) analytics writer for The Athletic, and he was previously a senior data analyst for the data and analytics company Opta. In this episode, he talks about…

- His Opta Pro Forum presentation on long and short goal kicks
- His career path from Analytics FC to Opta to The Athletic
- Why he’s joining The Athletic and what he’ll do there
- Communicating through data and visualization
- Being called a geek by Sam Allardyce

Show links- Follow Tom on Twitter: @Worville
- Tom’s writing on The Athletic
- His Opta Pro Forum presentation in four visuals

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccerComment
Opta Pro Forum - Conversations with Four Presenters
Opta Pro Forum - Conversations with Four Presenters

This episode features conversations with four presenters from last week’s Opta Pro Forum, a soccer analytics conference held in London.

- Karun Singh, a software engineer who used tracking data to identify recurring match situations
- David Perdomo Meza, a data scientist at Twenty3 who looked at how different playing styles worked against each other
- Will Gürpinar-Morgan, a Stats Perform data scientist who identified player roles using unsupervised learning
- Vignesh Jayanth, who is working on a master’s in data science and analyzed how to break down a low-block defense

Show links
- Karun Singh: @karun1710
- David Perdomo Meza: @dperdomomeza1, Twenty3
- Will Gurpinar-Morgan: @WillTGM, Stats Perform
- Vignesh Jayanth: @VigneshJayanth1
- Opta Pro: @OptaPro, web site & blog

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccerComment
James Tippett - The Expected Goals Philosophy
James Tippett - The Expected Goals Philosophy

James Tippett is the author of The Expected Goals Philosophy: A Game-Changing Way of Analysing Football. Among the topics discussed in this episode:

- His initial exposure to expected goals
- What prompted him to write this book
- An overview of the expected goals statistic and how it’s calculated
- Using expected goals both descriptively and predictively
- Reaction to Brentford’s rise as an analytics club
- How expected goals is used in English media
- What’s next on the soccer analytics front
- Attending one of the year’s top sporting events

Show links
- The Expected Goals Philosophy on Amazon
- Twitter: @JamesTippett, @xGPhilosophy
- Twitter thread with chapter-by-chapter summary
- Book excerpt: Do clinical finishers exist?
- Book excerpt: What do Lionel Messi and Ryan Fraser have in common?

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccerComment
Mike Goodman - StatsBomb Managing Editor
Mike Goodman - StatsBomb Managing Editor

Mike Goodman is a soccer writer and managing editor of StatsBomb.com, and last week he wrote a good piece entitled, “A case study on using data to prepare to administer the eye test,” reacting to an MLS playoff game in which data and the eye test seemed to differ. Mike is one of the better writers at bringing together data and a tactical eye, and then producing easy-to-understand articles that appeal to a broad audience. Among the topics covered…

- Why and how he wrote that piece
- Bridging the proverbial gap between analytics and the eye test
- How he approaches data when watching a game and when unfamiliar with a team
- Keys to using numbers well in writing
- What he hopes to see from player-tracking data
- His favorite things about living in Latvia

Links Mentioned in this Episode
- Follow Mike on Twitter: @TheM_L_G
- Original StatsBomb.com article
- Steve Zakuani tweets that inspired the article
- Explaining post-shot expected goals: OptaPro, StatsBomb
- StatsBomb conference panel with Vosse de Boode (Head of Sports Science and Analytics at Ajax)
- Jāņi in Latvia

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccerComment
Taylor Twellman - ESPN Soccer Analyst
Taylor Twellman - ESPN Soccer Analyst

Taylor Twellman has been ESPN’s lead soccer analyst for nearly a decade, and he provides perspective on using data in television and communicating with non-analytics types. Among the topics discussed…

- The objective information he looked for as a player
- His prep process for broadcasting a game
- What makes a stat good and useful for him
- Challenges of working information into a soccer broadcast
- What’s interesting about expected goals
- What he wishes he could quantify and what he’d like to get from player-tracking data

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccer, ESPNComment
NESSIS, Part 2 - Laurie Shaw & Sam Gregory
NESSIS, Part 2 - Laurie Shaw & Sam Gregory

This episode features two soccer-related presenters from last weekend’s NESSIS conference in Boston: Laurie Shaw and Sam Gregory. Both guests talk about their presentations and research, which use player-tracking data.

Harvard’s Laurie Shaw presented on using player-tracking data to classify and analyze team strategy, by identifying formations in different situations. Laurie has a background in astrophysics and hedge funds, and he talks about how his previous experience helps him in sports analytics.

Sportlogiq data analyst Sam Gregory presented on detecting off-the-ball runs with the goal of identifying players who act similarly, which run types are effective against certain teams, and more. Sam previously worked at Opta and has an extensive background in soccer analytics.

Listen here or wherever you get podcasts!

Apple
Google
Spotify
Stitcher
TuneIn

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccer, NESSISComment
Lucy Rushton - Atlanta United Head of Technical Recruitment & Analysis
Lucy Rushton - Atlanta United Head of Technical Recruitment & Analysis

Lucy Rushton is the Head of Technical Recruitment and Analysis for Atlanta United, which has won three trophies in its first three MLS seasons, including last year’s MLS Cup. Before joining Atlanta in 2015, Lucy was Head of Technical Scouting at English club Reading, and prior to that, she was a Player Recruitment Analyst for Watford. She also grew up playing the sport and won the English Championship as a player for Reading. Among the topics covered:

- How Atlanta incorporates data into recruitment
- Evaluating players from across leagues and colleges
- Interacting with the Atlanta Falcons
- Working with new and different coaches
- How teams in England and the U.S. use data
- Women in the sports analytics industry
- Adjusting to life in the South

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Expected ValueRafe AndersonSoccerComment