Data intelligence is on the rise in both Sports and Digital Marketing. In both cases, what defines the first place is the human ability to analyze information and transform it into actionable insights.
by Lucas Milanez
The world's top football teams are investing heavily in data intelligence and trying to develop data-driven teams in all areas, such as nutrition, physical preparation and tactical guidance for players during matches. And one of the main benchmarks is the relationship between Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
Considered by many to be the best football coach in the world, Pep has achieved incredible performances with some of the world's top teams. Manchester City's billion-dollar sponsorship provides great line data players and sophisticated tools for performance analysis, but sports critics are putting pressure on the coach for not winning the Champions League. Despite the "apocalyptic" scenarios, data science proves the success of the partnership.
Less room for guesswork in football
Data intelligence is a mandatory discipline to win in high-performance sports and Pep's club seems to take the subject seriously. An example of this was the launch, at the end of 2022, of Cityplay, a device made in partnership with Playmaker, a specialist in wearables, to monitor the interaction of athletes with the ball . Agility, speed and even foot skills can be observed, as the device is made of silicone, to be applied to the boots themselves.
Another notable event came from Belgian De Bruyne , the team's main star. The player dismissed his agent and hired a performance consultancy to prove to the directors, in numbers and statistics, his enormous contribution to the team. His success in this endeavor earned him a generous salary increase and is an indicator of the eventual arrival of a data-driven culture at the club.
Even fans are being drawn into the game. The traditional scarf with the club's colors and crest is being fitted with a sensor to monitor the heart rate, body temperature and emotional state of the citizens.
These are examples of Manchester City's love affair with numbers , a combination that has paid off with them winning four of the six Premier League titles under Guardiola and heading for another title in the 22-23 season.
Guardiola is a data driven example
The coach's obsession with studying the game in depth resulted in an overall success rate of over 75% and the team's best performance in the history of the Champions League, finishing second in 2021. That year, the club was participating in the tournament for the 11th time - this corresponded to just 16% of the 66 total editions, while the greatest champion Real Madrid, for example, reached 77% of the editions played.