Basic performance stats like the amount of shots, passes and dribbles are becoming more common within the football industry. However, at the same time, critical questions arise just as quickly. The lack of context and circumstances in which the so-called match events occur are frequently part of this criticism. Enough reason to come up with a solution to address this shortcoming: SciSports proudly presents the release of its leading-edge Contribution Ratings model in SciSports’ platform, a feature to value any type of player actions based on its impact on the scoreline.
One pass is not the other
Before we continue, have a look at the two illustrative pass examples in the videos below.
In the former video fragment we see an unbelievable pass from Cesc Fàbregas which results in huge opportunities for Eden Hazard, although Hazard lost the ball in the next action. This pass will be marked as ‘just’ a successfully completed pass. The latter one, a relatively simple pass to the side by Sergio Busquets, will be marked as a key pass and assist, because of Messi’s brilliant action next.
Traditional analytics methods fall short because they fail to appropriately account for the context in which actions occur. That’s the reason we developed a module which is able to distinguish player actions based on its impact on the scoreline instead of rating individual events based on single outcomes like successful or unsuccessful. An action’s value in our model is the difference between the post-action and pre-action game states as illustrated in the image below.
A game state value of 0.05 (like the one above) means that 5 out of 100 similar game states in the past led to a goal.
Get to know all the analytics behind the new Contribution Ratings model by reading this in-depth blog.
On-the-ball contribution
SciSports’ platform makes it now possible to compare each player to all other players in the same position in the same league. To do so, the module computes the player’s total contribution per 90 minutes of play given that the player played at least 700 minutes. In addition, you will be able to identify the best on-the-ball contributors for every position in every league covered. Not just in an ‘overall’ rating but also broken down into types of events like shots, passes, dribbles and take-ons.
Data-driven player recruitment
SciSports’ platform is a sophisticated platform that quantifies the quality and potential of all professional players around the world, supporting football experts in expanding their scouting scope. The platform acts as an assistant to the scouting, recruitment and data analysis teams, supporting them in spending their time and resources in an efficient and goal-oriented way.
One of the first steps in the player recruitment process is to create a shortlist of players who are potentially interesting to watch live in the stadium or on a video platform such as Wyscout. SciSports’ platform is your one-stop shop to limit the number of players you need to watch. By identifying the current ability and potential of a player (SciSkill Index), covering his behaviour on the pitch (Player Roles) and showcasing the quality of a player’s individual actions (Contribution Ratings) all instruments are available to support your work as a football professional.
Get started now
Make sure you don’t miss out on the best dribblers in your league or the best passer in the second tier of your country. Start using SciSports’ platform from now on by signing up for a 14-day free trial account below.
