Data Analysis: Scouting Serie B

In football, there are some nations that excel when it comes to the development of young footballers. Whether this is due to social or cultural environmental factors or due to the facilities and level of coaching that is available to aid their development. While in some of these nations football is seen by many as a vehicle that would allow a young man or woman to escape from difficult economic conditions there are others in which football is such an ingrained part of society that it almost becomes an obsession.

Italy falls into the latter category while still remaining one of the most interesting countries in the world from a footballing development perspective. Serie A, the Italian top-flight, is undergoing something of a regeneration in recent seasons and this year in particular Serie A is the home of some of the most entertaining football in Europe. Such is the depth of talent development in Italy, however, it is common for teams in Serie A to regularly loan a high number of players to teams in the second tier, Serie B, in order to allow those players to gain game time. This makes Serie B an interesting league from a recruitment perspective as you have a mix of players in a competitive environment and while some of the younger players will be extremely talented they may struggle to break into the first-team picture at some of the biggest clubs in the country. this makes them candidates for recruitment down the line.

In this data analysis piece, I am using data profiling to identify five young players who are performing well so far this season and who have caught my eye.

When I am using data in the recruitment process my methodology remains relatively static. I use Wyscout as the data source, the best option from a cost/quality/depth perspective and Tableau as the tool for visualising and interpreting the data. Using these simple tools I am able to gain insights into the performances of players and indeed clubs from across the football world. I have my own combinations of metrics that are used to identify players that are well but these are also combined with metrics that meet the specific requirements and style that the client club prefers. Having assessed player performances I then move on to the longlisting process using custom-built dashboards within Tableau. These will be shown below and allow me to quickly assess player performance across a number of key metrics depending on the position of the player in question.

Data is increasingly an important part of the recruitment process when it comes to identifying talent and signing players. It should still, however, be combined with video scouting and live scouting in order to provide a full picture of the player before a decision is made.

#1 Simone Canstrelli, 21-years-old, central defender, Crotone (on loan from Empoli) and Italy

The first player on our list is the 20-year-old Italian central defender Simone Canestrelli who currently plays for Crotone although he is on loan from Empoli in Serie A. Canestrelli is a right-footed central defender although he is comfortable playing on either as the right or left-sided central defender. This season so far we have largely seen Crotone play in a 3-4-2-1- system although Canestrelli also profiles as a defensive player who would be comfortable playing in a back four as well. He is listed at 192cm | 643 with an athletic build that suggests he could still add muscle to his frame.

At the time of writing Crotone are struggling as they sit in 17th place in the table although the quality in their squad suggests that they could be higher.

So far t