At the end of January, many members of our ASA Community headed down to Rice University in Houston to talk a whole lot of soccer analytics. ASA Slack was buzzing around so much we figured we’d convene the round table. If you want to hear a podcast version of the conversation around the conference, Ben, Kieran, and Harrison spoke to Arman Kafai about some of the cool stuff going on there.
Read MoreEvery soccer data analysis group has had the same jump-scare: they sign data provider contract #2, and suddenly, they need a solution to link teams, matches, and players across their data ecosystem. Individual data sources are easy to ingest: you can tuck them in their own little schemas, write code specific to their little universes, and rest easy that changes won’t come thick and fast without proper notice from your providers. But with those individual data sources come individual standards for tracking objects (players, teams, or matches). In most (if not all) major American sports, working across providers is easy: just use an object’s single source of truth identifier from the league itself. But as every analyst finds out very quickly, there is no public single source of truth identifier for teams, matches, and players in international soccer.
Read MoreBy Lucas Morefield
Goalkeeper evaluation has always been one of the thorniest challenges in soccer analytics. The position is defined by small sample sizes, high variance, and context-driven outcomes. In Major League Soccer, where roster rules magnify the impact of every marginal dollar, understanding goalkeeper value is especially important. With clubs often operating near budget ceilings, a single overperformance or underperformance in goal can shift playoff probability, alter roster-building timelines, or change the financial implications of a season.
Read MoreIt’s that time of year, where the world’s best women’s soccer academy system drops 100+ prospects onto the world’s clubs. Fortunately, there is no longer a draft in NWSL forcing the best players to play somewhere they don’t want to play, so you as a fan can dream on anyone in this list! As always, this dashboard is put together by Paul Harvey and we thank him for his efforts.
Before we start, some notes.
Read MoreBy Paul Harvey
The MLS Superdraft in many ways kicks off the offseason, as most teams have yet to make any real signings. Even though many of the draft picks will never play for their respective first teams, it still marks the beginning of a period of excitement and analysis, as hope springs eternal for every team in MLS.
Read MoreWe here at ASA are lucky enough to be given a ballot from MLS to vote on all the major awards. We take such an honour very seriously, as a chance to vote for the best players analytically. By the numbers. This is that ballot.
Read MoreI’m not gonna lie, I wrote the Western Conference and I liked it. I liked it so damn much that I didn’t want to write about the Eastern Conference and you know why, because there is so much more going on. It’s twice as deep and a mile wide.
But what the hell, Kieran wants both halves and what Kieran wants, Kieran gets. Just like the Supernatural theme I went with in the first half of this, it has dragged on far longer than it should have and while most of it doesn’t work just be kind to me for old time sake.
Read MoreThis year has been … wild. I’m not even just talking about the MLS season. Just within ASA itself it’s been wild and once or twice it’s been exactly that meme between Liz lemon and Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock where Liz looks at Jack and sighs exasperated saying “what a week, huh” and Jack casually strolls away while saying “Lemon, it’s Wednesday”.
Read MoreHave you ever wished that you could picture the game in front of you? Not as a broadcast, or a highlight video, but on a sheet of paper? All of a midfielder’s passes, your striker’s shots, an opponent’s tendencies, visualized? Previously, that required access to data, coding knowledge, and hours spent reinventing the wheel, just to see the most fundamental aspects of our game in graphic form. Not anymore.
Introducing American Soccer Analysis’ newest public platform: ASA VizHub. Making use of ASA’s extensive database, VizHub does the hard work for you, allowing for easy generation of industry-quality graphics.
Read MoreOur friends in the extended ASA Universe over at Expected Own Goals have dropped a new series, talking to players about key moments in their matches and how they see the game.
Check it out.
As always, enjoy the soccer.
