Bundesliga technological leader on Claudio Pizarro, Jefferson Farfán and Paolo Guerrero: “With national heroes like them our digital indicators go very high”

Through artificial intelligence and real-time data analysis, an unimaginable amount of information is collected, which, once processed, opens a series of useful scenarios for clubs. AWS spokesperson Julie Souza explains it well:

“In a soccer match, approximately 3.6 million data points are generated. We use optical cameras, sensors placed on the players and even chips on the ball to collect information that was previously impossible to process in real time, but is now possible,” he said this year at an event in Teutonic lands.

All this avalanche of data becomes useful information for coaches, analysts and even fans, who while they are in the stands of the stadium receive this data in real time.

Peru always present in the Bundesliga

The talk, in which we participated together with journalists from Argentina and Mexico, began with an explanation about how this ecosystem works.

“There are many data collectors worldwide and then there are official and unofficial match data, which do not coincide. Everything we call official match data is something that we capture on our own, distribute and try to get it into all the media and clubs; but there is also unofficial data out there, which you can hardly protect,” Weber said.

To the technological leader in the Bundesliga We asked him about the relationship of the Peruvian fan with the German championship, forged in the times in which Claudio Pizarro, Paolo Guerrero y Jefferson Farfan They were our best ambassadors, and the use of these new technologies. He told us the following:

• “For example, we have a couple of South American players in the Bundesliga and we believe that the app user in Peru is more interested in following players from Latin America over those from Asia. So, you have the app experience. That’s how we try to approach it. We want to create a dedicated experience for Latin America, so that people from Peru for example, have access to specific things that they can relate to. Which is happening in the app, but also in what we call globally produced products, i.e. the world feed for the local television channel.”
• “I’m not sure how you can watch the Bundesliga in Peru, I’m sure there are some sports channels that cover it. Then there are, you know, the TV channels, but they may not be experts on the Bundesliga. So the idea is that we really provide B2B (business to business) services to our media partners, so that they can have access and use this for their format. For example, a pre-Bundesliga program can have access to pre-loaded material, using some AI to make it faster and improve the experience.”
• “Of course I remember Pizarro, Farfán and Guerrero… How can we forget them! With these cases, what we realize is that as long as he is like a local hero and more national heroes arrive in the Bundesliga, our indicators, such as digital KPIs, which are data, go very high, towards the limits, because it is really remarkable that a player like that has that reach on social networks. And if they reach the Bundesliga, they bring with them all that reach and that is how our league benefits from those players local”.

The football that awaits us

Moving on to what is currently happening in the German championship and the use of data analysis, Hendrik Weber detailed the local league teams that are taking advantage of these new technologies offered by AWS. Below are the highlights of the meeting:

• “On the scouting side, I think there are six or seven clubs that are a little bit ahead. By budgets and capabilities, there are the bigger ones like Bayern and Dortmund, but there are smaller clubs like Hoffenheim, which has a very strong footprint with technology. They are very data-oriented and have a very high-profile approach there on the scouting side. Eintracht Frankfurt is also very advanced, using a lot of technology and data-driven aspects.”
• “Now, clubs recruit data engineers, data analysts, they have access to all the software products there are. But for me, it’s my opinion, there is still a lot of trial and error. And then there is still that small step where you need to meet with a player, sit down with him, meet the family and so on; then we see if there is a fit or there is not a fit.”
• “About the risks in data handling and new technologies, there always are, that’s why we have a process with a human in the loop in everything that comes out with content. Since we as a league and rights holders need to be 100% sure that there is nothing wrong and nothing false. The stories, for example, are created in a completely automated way, but the last 1% someone sits there, reviews, checks and publishes it. It’s like a full circle because it starts with humans, then the machine and goes back to being “Personally, I totally believe in human-centered AI.”