I am back again with the next instalment of my scouting series. This time I will be using data analysis techniques and visualisations to identify five young players who are performing well at this stage of the Slovenian domestic season. Slovenia is a fascinating market from a recruitment perspective with a ten-team division and a mix of teams that favour playing and recruiting young players with a view to developing those players and effectively putting them in the shop window before then selling them on for a profit. At that point, the process all starts again.
The Slovenian top-flight has also started to gain a reputation as a landing point for young talented players from Africa who take a more non-traditional route to access top-flight football in Europe. While these players are at the early stage of their development there is a remarkable amount of potential on display each week in this competition,
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 remains an integral part of the recruitment process but when writing these articles I always try to go to great lengths to make it clear that it is only a part of the process. While data is important it cannot be the only measure that you use when you are looking to recruit players to your club. The effective use of data will enable you to cut through the noise in terms of the sheer amount of players that you could potentially sign but it has to be combined with intelligent use of video scouting and then live scouting. By combining all three areas of scouting you will put yourself in a position to build a package of information that will ensure that your recruitment is as informed as it can possibly be.
For this article, I have identified five interesting players. One central defender, one fullback, one central midfielder, one winger and a striker who are interesting for different reasons. They all feel as though they will represent value in the market though.
#1 Zan Zuzek, 24-years-old, central defender, FC Koper and Slovenia
Zan Zuzek is a 24-year-old central defender who is currently contracted to FC Koper, a side who are somewhat surprisingly sitting at the top of the table at the time of writing. He is a product of the youth academy at the club and he has spent his entire career at the club so far. He has been capped at U21 level by the Slovenian national side but he is yet to break into the senior national team. Zuzek is predominantly right-footed and he is listed at 186cm | 623. He plays for the most part as a right-sided central defender where his ability both in the defensive phase and in terms of passing and progression are extremely important for the success that his side are having so far this season.
So far this season we have seen Koper play in a 4-3-3 system with the emphasis on ball progression coming from the central defenders as they build up from the first line. At the time of writing Zuzek has played 1040 minutes in the Slovenian top-flight. We will examine his passing and progression numbers first and he is averaging 62.81 passes per 90 with 12.41 progressive passes and 7.58 passes to the final third. He has the capacity to break lines with vertical passes into advanced positions or to play diagonal passes that switch the emphasis and the angle of the attack. In the defensive phase, Zuzek is strong across the board with a balanced output of metrics. He is currently averaging 5.21 defensive duels per 90 with a success rate of 72.73% along with 4.45 aerial duels with a success rate of 55.32%. He also has 9.12 possession adjusted interceptions this season as he displays his excellent reading of the game.
Zuzek ha
