Aarhus GF: A small club recruitment – data analysis

Aarhus GF (AGF) provided a pleasant surprise to their fans as they were constant overachievers in the Danish Superliga this season. Now, that the league will restart on the 28 May, the team will have to be mentally and physically ready to take on their local rivals, Randers. In front of a ‘virtual grandstand’, Aarhus will add a digital revolution to their already exciting playing style.

But how did they get here? In this data analysis, we will examine the last four years to see what led to this already amazing season and the third place on the table. We will talk about the most important role in the staff and specific trends in their recruitment.

A new sheriff in town

At the beginning of 2016, Peter Christiansen, the former sporting director of Randers joined AGF as a chief scout. By December, he took up his new role as a sporting director. As the current manager, David Nielsen arrived in October 2017 they could begin to work together and initiate a new era at the club. They created a balanced roster between experienced veterans and young talents promoted from the academy or signed from elsewhere. As a result, the team gradually improved and already last year they were one game away from securing a place in the Europa League Qualifiers.

The growing importance of the academy

The club has launched several ambitious projects in the last couple of years to establish a strong youth development system. Their main age group ranges from U-10 to U-19, however, they created AGF Skills Academy for kids under the age of ten. It is even more interesting that this project currently covers the whole country as AGF have 60 partner clubs where these U-6 to U-9 players can learn the basics of football.

From 2016, 12 youth players came through the system and featured in the first team. With this number, they still rank in the middle of the pack but the board shows a growing trend in trusting young players. It is important to note that the reliance on academy ‘products’ could make the club more sustainable in the future as seen in numerous other examples like at Ajax Amsterdam or Chelsea nowadays.