Reuben's Brews’ Post

One of the things we hear a lot from players is how they wished they understood a little bit about the different positions they could specialize in. You may like strikers Ronaldo or Messi, but you might want to try out other positions that you may be better suited for. Today, we'll talk about defenders: A. Center-back (CB): The center-backs usually play in the central area of the defense, responsible for marking the opposing team's forwards and clearing the ball away from the goal. B. Full-back (RB/LB): Full-backs play on the right and left sides of the defense, respectively. They provide defensive cover, block crosses, and often join the attack by overlapping the midfielders. #unitedsoccerassociation #FYSA #floridasoccer #youthsoccer #soccerhistory #soccer #football #futbol #fifa #futebol #sport #premierleague #boyssoccer #girlssoccer

How many points are needed to reach the Champions League round of 16? 👉 A supercomputer with an Elo system tried to calculate this through 10,000 simulations of the single-round phase matches. ✅ The new CL format ▪ Number of teams: 36 ▪ Matches per team: 8 matches ▪ Maximum points: 24 points  ✅ The results ▪ To finish in the top 8 you need 15 points (on average). ▪ To reach the playoffs (9 - 24 places) you need 9 points (on average). ❌ With less than 8 points you are almost certainly eliminated ✅ To reach the playoffs (9th to 24th place) A team needs: ▪ 9 points (in 54% of cases) ▪ 8 points (in 23%) ❓Do you like the new UEFA Champions League format? 👇 post the flag of the nation of the winning team in the comments :) #footballbusiness #sportbiz #champions data: Eurosport

One of the things we hear a lot from players is how they wished they understood a little bit about the different positions they could specialize in. You may like strikers Ronaldo or Messi, but you might want to try out other positions that you may be better suited for. Today, we'll talk about defenders: A. Center-back (CB): The center-backs usually play in the central area of the defense, responsible for marking the opposing team's forwards and clearing the ball away from the goal. B. Full-back (RB/LB): Full-backs play on the right and left sides of the defense, respectively. They provide defensive cover, block crosses, and often join the attack by overlapping the midfielders. #unitedsoccerassociation #FYSA #floridasoccer #youthsoccer #soccerhistory #soccer #football #futbol #fifa #futebol #sport #premierleague #boyssoccer #girlssoccer

One of the things we hear a lot from players is how they wished they understood a little bit about the different positions they could specialize in. You may like strikers Ronaldo or Messi, but you might want to try out other positions that you may be better suited for. Today, we'll talk about defenders: A. Center-back (CB): The center-backs usually play in the central area of the defense, responsible for marking the opposing team's forwards and clearing the ball away from the goal. B. Full-back (RB/LB): Full-backs play on the right and left sides of the defense, respectively. They provide defensive cover, block crosses, and often join the attack by overlapping the midfielders. #unitedsoccerassociation #FYSA #floridasoccer #youthsoccer #soccerhistory #soccer #football #futbol #fifa #futebol #sport #premierleague #boyssoccer #girlssoccer

Player to Watch #31 FRANCO ESCOBAR Franco Escobar is a 29 year old right back from Argentina who plays for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS. There were rumors of him joining Inter Miami, but those have quieted down since Weigandt signed from Boca. Escobar is a fighter who has excellent defensive ability on top of his work rate. He can play centrally, and has been playing as a left back this year, making him extremely versatile. Let’s see what else makes him special. The following rankings are amongst outside backs (at least 1,350 minutes played) of FBRef's "men's next 14 competitions" comparison group in the last 360 days with data on a per 90 basis. This comparison group is a set of similar leagues. Defensively, he ranks in the top 10% for tackles and interceptions. He is strong in possession as well. He ranks in the top 30% for success take ons and top 10% in take on success rate. On top of this he ranks in the top 2% for pass accuracy and top 25% for completed passes. He ranks in the top 10% for non pen goals and top 20% for non pen expected goals, which is interesting given his usual defensive priorities. Transfermarkt estimates his value at $800k. His contract is up at the end of the season, but the Dynamo have a one year option. His versatility and tenacious defending are admirable. He's not the most impressive technically speaking, but he compliments his game with a more simple style of distribution and play when in possession, making him more effective. I believe he would excel as a wide center back in a back 3/5. It will be interesting to monitor him as the year progresses. I created the pizza plot below to depict Escobar’s percentile rank in some of the metrics mentioned above amongst other outside backs in FBRef’s "men's next 14 competitions" in the last 360 days with a minimum of 1,350 minutes played. All data is from FBRef, provided by Opta, and is on a per 90 basis. #soccer #football #socceranalytics #footballanalytics #datascout #technicalscout #fútbol #fu4tbolsudamericana #francoescobar #houstondynamo #franciscoculasso #agency #statsperform

Player to Watch #26 YEIMAR GÓMEZ ANDRADE Yeimar Gómez Andrade is a 31 year old Colombian center back who plays for the Seattle Sounders in the MLS. He’s been a pillar in Seattle’s backline ever since his arrival in 2020, helping achieve CONCACAF Champions League glory in 2022. Let’s see what makes him so special. The following rankings are amongst center backs (at least 1,350 minutes played) of FBRef's "men's next 14 competitions" comparison group in the last 360 days with data on a per 90 basis. This comparison group is a set of similar leagues. Defensively, he ranks in the top 10% for tackles and interceptions, specifically top 2% in interceptions. He also ranks in the top 15% in recoveries. His distribution is quite impressive as well. He ranks in the top 35% for pass accuracy, top 20% for progressive passes, and top 10% in passes to the final third. On top of this he ranks in the top 15% for expected threat. He is very strong in possession on top of his distribution. The combination of the two makes him very strong in progression, which is ever so important for center backs. He ranks in the top 35% for touches, top 15% for touches in the middle third, and top 25% for carries into the final third. On top of all of his numbers, he is a no nonsense center back, with excellent pace, strength, aerial ability, work rate, and defensive positioning. Transfermarkt values him at $3.5 million. His contract is up at the end of this season, but he has a 1 year club option. Given his importance, I would bet on them renewing, but you never know. Wherever he is he will be a great asset. I created the pizza plot below to depict Andrade’s percentile rank in some of the metrics mentioned above amongst other center backs in FBRef’s "men's next 14 competitions" in the last 360 days with a minimum of 1,350 minutes played. All data is from FBRef, provided by Opta, and is on a per 90 basis. #soccer #football #socceranalytics #footballanalytics #datascout #technicalscout #fútbol #fútbolsudamericana #yeimargómezandrade #seattlesounders #QSAOK #agency #statsperform

One of the things we hear a lot from players is how they wished they understood a little bit about the different positions they could specialize in. You may like strikers Ronaldo or Messi, but you might want to try out other positions that you may be better suited for. Today, we'll talk about defenders: A. Center-back (CB): The center-backs usually play in the central area of the defense, responsible for marking the opposing team's forwards and clearing the ball away from the goal. B. Full-back (RB/LB): Full-backs play on the right and left sides of the defense, respectively. They provide defensive cover, block crosses, and often join the attack by overlapping the midfielders. #unitedsoccerassociation #FYSA #floridasoccer #youthsoccer #soccerhistory #soccer #football #futbol #fifa #futebol #sport #premierleague #boyssoccer #girlssoccer

SERGIO BUSQUETS APPRECIATION POST Inter Miami kicks off the MLS tomorrow night with a game at home against Real Salt Lake and we are big favorites to win it all. Of course Messi's play will be hugely important if Inter Miami is to win the MLS, but I believe Sergio Busquets might be just as important. The chart below shows exactly what Busquets gives Inter Miami, excellent progression of play in possession. The pass flow map shows where most of his passes originate and end. The length of the arrows is the average length of passes originating in that zone, while the direction is the average direction of the passes for each zone. The stronger the shade of white; the more passes from that zone. This is exactly what you would want your holding midfielder's pass flow chart to look like. He is connecting the back line with the attack, and looking to go forward. Busquets really makes going forward look as easy as playing it back to the center backs, and that is why he is so good. If Inter Miami is to win the MLS, they will surely need Busquets to stay fit and perform at the high level he usually does. The data comes from the six MLS games including Inter Miami that StatsBomb has publicly made available. Busquets played in 11 matches in the MLS overall last season. #soccer #football #socceranalytics #footballanalytics #performanceanalysis #sergiobusquets #intermiami #mlssoccer #statsbomb

SCOUT REPORT - WESLEY GASSOVA Having been linked to Premier League clubs such as Crystal Palace and West Ham, I though I'd take a deeper look at Corinthians 19-year-old winger, Wesley Gassova. I first saw Wesley for Corinthians SUB20 in Paulis SUB20 and a few of his traits really stood out. + Strong in 1v1s with his ability to shift his body from static situations explosively. + Can twist and turn/change direction quickly, even at high speeds. + Draws players to him and opens space for others. + Holds the width and then uses it to cut inside superbly and bring others into play. + Maintains close control and can use it to get out of tight situations. + Plays fast and forward frequently. + Effective in transitions. + Not afraid to shoot. - Balance in some situations - brushed off the ball easily when off balance. - Floats too many crosses in, needs to work on accuracy and use swerve. - Shooting, still needs improvement. What do you think? #premierleague #wesleygassova #football #scouting #scoutreport

Let's talk about high footballing performance with a little objective analysis. The top 2 scorers for the champions are Kane and Mbappé with 8 goals each. Until a few years ago, it was Ronaldo and Messi with twice as many goals. This suggests that the current crop of players are not yet up to the standard of the two stars who put on a show and drove defences mad with their inability to stop them. My question is this: have the coaches improved their tactical preparation for the defensive phase, or are today's players no match for Ronaldo and Messi ⚽? what do you think ? #uefachampionleague #football #uefa #analisi #performance #sports