Finding the best players in Brazilian Série A – data analysis

Brazil has always been known for its ability to produce football players that will later be superstars in Europe. This season is no exception. The Serie A is full of gifted footballers who are playing along with some that have already made their mark in football  Dani Alves, Felipe Luis (formerly of Atletico Madrid) and still promising Gabriel Barbosa. In this data analysis, I will use data and statistics to outline several players that have performed well statistically in 2019 season  defenders, midfielders and attackers included. I want to point out straight away that the numbers dont fully paint the picture of quality or talent of any player without the right context. A defender playing in a dominant side like Jorge Jesus Flamengo will make fewer tackles or interceptions per 90 than a defender who is playing for a side that uses mid/low block. The same principle applies to other positions. The point of this data analysis is to find some interesting names in Série A by using numbers and statistics.

I filtered the data with players who have had 900+ minutes last season and I will be using several data charts with different metrics to sort players. Hopefully, you find some names that you will keep an eye on after this analysis.

Midfielders

In the first section of this analysis, I will look into the Série A midfielders who are doing well in several categories. Lets start off with the first chart, featuring the best players in Brazil at ball progression through runs and passes:

Progressive runs and passes are defined by Wyscout as runs and passes that get the ball closer to the opponents goal for 10-15 yards. The closer to the goal, the smaller the distance is (passes with the length of 10 yards count as progressive in the final third). I added Dani Alves here because he was playing a lot in the right midfielder role and was covering the whole right flank for São Paulo. You can see that the best performing players in this chart are Léo Sena and Andrés DAlessandro.

DAlessandro is a 39-year-old midfielder playing for Internacional and he has had a great 2019 season with 1,41 progressive runs and 14,21 progressive passes per 90 minutes along with six assists. You will see him in some of the next charts. The next chart will be very similar to the previous one as it will also show statistically the best midfielder in ball progression. However, this graphic pictures the best passers into the final third.

On the y-axis, I used key passes, and on the x-axis, I used deep completions. Deep completions  accurate passes into the 15-yard radius around the goal.