Martin Baturina
Martin Baturina Scout Report: Why He’s Being Called The Next Luka Modrić
Croatia has always been blessed with incredible footballers, and despite its small size, its sporting success has remained strong. Much of their success is due to the quality of their youth products, mostly from the famous Dinamo Zagreb academy. The latest hot prospect rapidly gaining interest from the likes of Arsenal and Juventus is Martin [...]
Adrian Siemieniec
Adrian Siemieniec is an exciting 32-year-old Polish manager in his first full season as a head coach in senior professional football. Last season, Jagiellonia Białystok finished 14th out of the 18 teams in the Ekstraklasa. Siemieniec was appointed on April 4, 2023, before steering them to safety in the last nine games of the season. [...]
Borussia Dortmund
Nuri Şahin Tactics At Borussia Dortmund 2023/2024 – Explaining Their Player-Driven Attack
This year, Leverkusen’s strong performance under former Real Madrid and Liverpool player Xabi Alonso has been gaining a lot of attention across the globe, with Leverkusen being the hottest contender for the Bundesliga title. However, we cannot forget a traditionally strong force from Germany—Borussia Dortmund, which ranks fifth at the time of writing this article but [...]
Analysis
Sheffield Wednesday have endured some tough times both on and off the pitch recently. The departure of Darren Moore shortly after gaining promotion back to the EFL Championship and the torrid tenure of Xisco Muñoz saw the Owls endure their worst-ever start to a season, picking up just two points from 12 games. However, things [...]
C.A. Osasuna
Jagoba Arrasate Tactics At CA Osasuna 2023/2024 – A Deeper Look At His CA Osasuna Project
Who Is Jagoba Arrasate? When taking a deeper dive into the personality of CA Osasuna boss Jagoba Arrasate, one could say that he is the perfect embodiment of a football manager. Known for his love and passion for the game, the former primary school teacher has transformed the club since taking over in 2018, achieving [...]
Olivier Giroud
Assessing The Future Of AC Milan’s Attack Without Olivier Giroud – Scouting Report
It is likely that changes are ahead for the AC Milan attacking lineup. At the time of writing, Olivier Giroud has yet to sign a contract extension at the San Siro, with his current deal set to expire in the summer. Despite his age, the former Arsenal forward could still have a lot to offer [...]
Premier League 2023/24: How consistent are the Premier League’s top 5 scorers?
This Premier League season has not so much been all about Manchester City and Erling Haaland in the way last season often was. There have been strong individual and team performances from so many involved this time around. Some have quietly surprised everyone with their performances, including Dominic Solanke and Jarrod Bowen, who are among [...]
La Liga 2023/24: How the league table has changed in the span of 12 months?
The surprising leader at the top of LaLiga is Girona, who have lost only one game all season and are one point above Real Madrid, having played once more at the time of writing. Girona are also eight points above their Catalan rivals Barcelona in fourth. Who would have foreseen such an event at the [...]
Bundesliga 2023/24: The shooting profile of top 10 goal scorers
There are no surprises at the top of the Bundesliga goalscoring charts, with Harry Kane leading the pack on 22 goals. He’s followed by Serhou Guirassy of Stuttgart with 17 goals to his name, and Loïs Openda of RB Leipzig completes the top three on 11 goals — no prizes for anyone guessing who wins [...]
Ligue 1 2023/24: Which teams have been consistent through the season?
What started as a poor season for Paris Saint-Germain, with just two wins from their opening five games, is turning out to be another walk in the park for the defending Ligue 1 champions. Luis Enrique’s men hit top gear after match week five and have since won 11/13 league games — the title race [...]
Valentín Carboni
Serie A 2023/24: Three U23 Forwards To Watch In 2024
The 2023/24 Serie A season has played host to some of the best young talent on the globe, such as Giorgio Scalvini of Atalanta, Lazar Samardžić of Udinese and Radu Drăgușin of Genoa, now at Tottenham. This year, we have once again seen a number of U23 players rise up to the challenge of Serie [...]
EFL Championship 2023/24: How each team’s top scorer contributes to their team’s goal tally
This EFL Championship season has been an intriguing one. Some stats that could convince us all of the previous statement is that the league’s top scorer is Sammie Szmodics while his team, Blackburn Rovers, sit 18th. Plymouth Argyle, meanwhile, have scored the fifth-most goals in the league while they are 19th on the table. This [...]
EFL League One 2023/24: The race for promotion
The League One 2022/23 Playoff race was one of the most enthralling dramas to follow in world football last season. With Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town securing automatic promotion, Sheffield Wednesday secured the third spot through the playoffs — and they did not secure it just like any other team. After losing the first leg 4-0, [...]
EFL League Two 2023/24: Studying xG Differentials across the league
The EFL League Two table sees five teams separated by just five points at the top of the standings, with last year’s Playoff losers, Stockport County, topping the table with 54 points and newly promoted Wrexham in second with 52 points. After these come Mansfield Town, Crewe Alexandra and Barrow, separated by just one point. [...]
Analysis
Oswald Tanchot Tactics At FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 2023/2024 – Tactical Analysis
Despite finishing ninth in Ligue 2 last term, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard were relegated to the third tier, Championnat National, for the 2023/24 campaign after owners Nenking failed to demonstrate the financial capacity to remain in the second tier. A hectic summer saw former Club President Jean-Claude Plessis complete a takeover and scramble together the necessary funds to ensure Les Lionceaux [...]
Poppy Pritchard: The young Durham Women star linked with a WSL move
January is always an exciting month for football fans, with the winter transfer window wide open and rumours flying around as to which clubs will enter the market and who they will target. In the WSL, there has already been a fair amount of activity conducted, with many high-profile names joining the league and several [...]
Austin MacPhee
Austin Macphee Set-Piece Tactics At Aston Villa 2023/2024 – Tactical Analysis
At the time of writing, Aston Villa are still vying for a UEFA Champions League qualification position, a result of their top-class performances in all phases of play throughout the 2023/24 campaign to date. Aston Villa have achieved remarkable success this season with their coach, Unai Emery. In addition to their advanced position, they have [...]
Wellington Phoenix: Their 2023/24 resurgence under Giancarlo Italiano
The 2023/24 A-League season has delivered some exciting football, and Wellington Phoenix currently sit atop the standings after 12 games with 24 points (ahead of the Melbourne Victory on games won). The Phoenix have been stellar under coach Giancarlo Italiano, who was promoted from assistant manager to first-team manager last summer. Their home form has [...]
Turkey
Turkish Süper Lig Scouting Report: The Rising Talents Emerging From Turkey
Turkey is experiencing a notable surge in its youth talent, laying the foundation for a promising future. Despite the Turkish Süper Lig league not traditionally being recognised for churning out a high number of top talents, the national team's recent form and qualification for the UEFA European Championship in 2024 underscore a new era for Turkish [...]
Lina Magull: A world-class signing for Inter Milan
Lina Magull has just moved permanently to Inter, coming from Bayern Munich in what can be considered a notable acquisition for the Italian side, who have got the services of one of the best midfielders in Europe at the moment under contract until June 2026. Even more critical for Inter Milan is that they signed [...]
FK Kauno Žalgiris: Why young coaches should be studying their set-pieces
FK Kauno Žalgiris are a relatively new club in Lithuanian football, having been created in 2004, yet they have rapidly thrown their name in the hat for the strongest side in the country. The Žaliai Balti have achieved top-four finishes in the previous five seasons, allowing them to compete in European qualification matches. However, they’ve [...]
College Soccer: NCAA D1 game model clustering and KPIs derived by machine learning
“Success leaves clues. People who succeed at the highest level are doing something differently than everyone else does.” Tony Robbins The American college game is a different beast. With clock stoppages extending ball in-play time by nearly 20 minutes and virtually unlimited substitutions, NCAA soccer requires a different perspective. General principles of play remain the [...]
Analysis
Premier League 2 Scouting Report 2023/2024 – Goalkeepers And Defenders Ready For The First-Team
For every football fan, there is something extra special about seeing an academy prospect make waves in a first-team setting. We’ve had some young players make that step up in the Premier League recently – Chelsea’s Levi Colwill is an excellent example of this. The now 20-year-old centre-back came through the ranks at Chelsea before [...]
Gaëtan Englebert
The 2023/24 campaign has been a career season so far for 23-year-old RFC Liège forward Adriano Bertaccini. His 11 goals in the Challenger Pro League this season make him the highest scorer in the Belgian second division. His form in the first half of the season has attracted interest from sides in Belgium’s top flight. The Belgium [...]
Analysis
The rise in the financial strength of the top-five European leagues has led to a dominance of clubs from those particular divisions in European competitions. While you can argue that the rise in the quality of football played at the highest level has led to a ‘better product’, it has also robbed us of some [...]