Assessing the performances of soccer players

Abstract

A key question within sports analytics is how to analyze match data in order to objectively assess a player’s performance during a match. This paper summarizes our recent attempts to address this question for soccer. First, we look at how to assign a value to each on-the-ball action a soccer player performs during a match. Second, we explore how these values depend on the level of mental pressure that the player experienced when performing the action. We conclude by briefly highlighting some potential applications of this work.