Roberto López del Campo’s Post

🧠 Modern football has redefined how teams organize, occupy, and manipulate space. Tactical evolution has turned space into one of the game’s most valuable assets. Controlling the ball is no longer enough. Teams must control the pitch, knowing when to compress or stretch it depending on the phase of play. From low defensive blocks that test the opponent’s patience to expansive attacking shapes that stretch opposition lines. Understanding spatial behavior has become a crucial objective for clubs, analysts, and coaching staffs. With this in mind, Driblab presents 'Spatial Coverage', a new pack of metrics that quantifies a team's shape, line height, compactness, and width in different game phases. This tool is designed to analyze tactical patterns and collective structures with unprecedented accuracy. Full info: https://lnkd.in/dcHGaEKd 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦 - 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Distance between the last outfield defender (excluding goalkeeper) and their own goal line. Useful to assess line height and defensive risk. - 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Average position of the deepest defensive line. Helps quantify how deep or aggressive the defensive block is. - 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Distance from both full-backs to their own goal, including their Y-position in possession. Reflects their involvement and structural positioning. - 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Vertical distance between the deepest and most advanced outfield players. Direct indicator of block compactness or vertical stretching. - 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮 Area of the bounding box surrounding all outfield players. Measures how much space the team is occupying. - 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵 (𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆) Width of the most advanced defensive line. Indicates how much horizontal space the team covers when defending. - 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵 (𝗜𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆) Width of the attacking line in possession. Reveals how the team stretches the pitch to create space. - 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗜𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆) Vertical distance between own goal and the offensive line. Highlights how deep or high the team positions itself when attacking -------------------------------------------------------- With this new metric pack, Driblab continues to expand the scope of tactical analysis, offering tools to monitor, compare, and optimize spatial structures with total precision. 'Spatial Coverage' brings clarity to traditionally subjective concepts like block compactness, attacking width, or positional depth. If you're a club, analyst, or football professional looking to integrate these insights into your workflow, contact us for a personalized demo. We’d be glad to show you the full potential of 'Spatial Coverage'.

“Is possession really about players… or about the life of the ball itself?” ⚽️🔍 In football, we often describe attacking play in terms of players: their runs, their positioning, their duels. But what if we shifted the lens and looked only at the ball — where it travels, how fast it moves, and how long it stays in different zones of the pitch? 👉 At the Football Intelligence & Performance Department at LALIGA, we developed a research model that does exactly this. Instead of focusing on individual involvement, we measure: 1️⃣ Time in zone — how long the ball remains in each defined sector of the pitch. 2️⃣ Ball speed — the average tempo of circulation within each zone. 3️⃣ Sequences of progression — the chain of zones that the ball passes through to reach the finalization phase. 💡 The result? A kind of “life history” of the ball during offensive phases. This allows us to identify patterns of possession: whether a team tends to pause in build-up, accelerate through half-spaces, or progress directly down the wings into finishing areas. Key insights for coaches and analysts 🔹 Teams don’t just differ in how much they possess, but in how they possess: some stretch circulation in their own half, others compress and accelerate in the opponent’s half. 🔹 The tempo of the ball matters as much as its location: sustained pauses in deep zones often invite pressure, while faster circulation in advanced zones correlates with higher chance creation. 🔹 By sequencing zones, we can reveal a team’s “offensive fingerprint” — the recurrent paths by which they try to destabilize opponents. Why this matters Possession has long been debated: is it about control, territory, or chance creation? Traditional metrics like % possession or passes completed tell only part of the story. By analyzing the ball’s trajectory through zones, we can bridge intuition with evidence, moving from abstract possession percentages to applied tactical clarity. Complementary studies have shown that possession effectiveness increases when circulation is both fast and vertically progressive. Our model aligns with this by quantifying where and how quickly the ball advances — offering staff a new way to evaluate offensive behavior beyond raw possession time. 🔍 For practitioners, this opens up questions such as: ❓ Does your team’s offensive identity rely on sustained circulation or quick zone-to-zone transitions? ❓ How does the speed of the ball — not just players — shape your ability to unbalance rivals? 👉 This work reflects our ongoing mission at LALIGA’s Football Intelligence & Performance Department: turning data into applied knowledge for the game. 🔗 Webs post: https://lnkd.in/dntMG6bR #FootballIntelligence #PerformanceAnalysis #FootballResearch #SportsScience #GameModel #Possession #LALIGA #Coaching #TacticalAnalysis #FootballScience #InnovationInFootball

⚽️The 3 Types of Speed Every Soccer Player Needs When people think of speed in football, they often picture a player sprinting down the wing. But speed in the game is multidimensional—and science shows that the best players use different types of speed depending on the action. 🔑 1. Acceleration • Football action: Beating an opponent to the ball, breaking free for a through pass. • Research shows >80% of sprints in soccer are <20m, often starting from a standing or rolling start (Faude et al., 2012). The first 3–5 steps are decisive. 🔑 2. Maximum Sprint Speed • Football action: Outrunning a defender in open space, recovery runs. • Top speed matters less often, but when it does, it can be match-defining. A higher max velocity provides a bigger “speed reserve” to sustain high-intensity actions longer (Haugen et al., 2014). 🔑 3. Change of Direction & Agility • Football action: Quick cuts, pressing, or reacting to an opponent’s movement. • COD isn’t just physical—it’s perceptual. Agility includes reading cues and making split-second movement decisions (Sheppard & Young, 2006). 📚 The Evidence Science shows that these three forms of speed underpin the majority of decisive football moments—goals, assists, interceptions, and defensive recoveries (Faude et al., 2012). ⚡ Our Philosophy At Speed Lab: Football Edition, we train speed in context—building acceleration, max velocity, and agility around football actions, not in isolation. Because in the game, speed isn’t just about running fast—it’s about making the right movement at the right time.

⚽️The 3 Types of Speed Every Soccer Player Needs When people think of speed in football, they often picture a player sprinting down the wing. But speed in the game is multidimensional—and science shows that the best players use different types of speed depending on the action. 🔑 1. Acceleration • Football action: Beating an opponent to the ball, breaking free for a through pass. • Research shows >80% of sprints in soccer are <20m, often starting from a standing or rolling start (Faude et al., 2012). The first 3–5 steps are decisive. 🔑 2. Maximum Sprint Speed • Football action: Outrunning a defender in open space, recovery runs. • Top speed matters less often, but when it does, it can be match-defining. A higher max velocity provides a bigger “speed reserve” to sustain high-intensity actions longer (Haugen et al., 2014). 🔑 3. Change of Direction & Agility • Football action: Quick cuts, pressing, or reacting to an opponent’s movement. • COD isn’t just physical—it’s perceptual. Agility includes reading cues and making split-second movement decisions (Sheppard & Young, 2006). 📚 The Evidence Science shows that these three forms of speed underpin the majority of decisive football moments—goals, assists, interceptions, and defensive recoveries (Faude et al., 2012). ⚡ Our Philosophy At Speed Lab: Football Edition, we train speed in context—building acceleration, max velocity, and agility around football actions, not in isolation. Because in the game, speed isn’t just about running fast—it’s about making the right movement at the right time.

“If the ball leads and the block doesn’t follow, you break.” 🔍 What if we measured defensive organisation by what truly drives it—the ball—and not by global averages? In our latest work from the Football Intelligence & Performance Department at LALIGA, we put a common belief to the test: “Compactness wins.” The data says: compactness wins only when it’s right for where the ball is. Width and depth that look fine with the ball wide can be a liability when the ball is central—and vice versa. 💡 What we built (in plain terms): ➡️ A live, ball-referenced model that tracks the defending outfield players and the ball across 4 lanes × 4 depth zones (16 “cells”). ➡️ It measures convex-hull compactness, cone symmetry from the ball to the four wide reference players, and line height via distance to own goal. ➡️ It uses team-specific baselines (identity matters) so alerts are meaningful for your way of defending—high press, mid-block or low block. 🧾 How we challenged assumptions: ▶️ Instead of league-wide thresholds, we learned normal bands per team and cell. ▶️ We looked for moments where behaviour drifted from those bands—not because players ran less, but because the block lost synchrony with the ball (often during switches). 🔹 Key takeaways for coaches & analysts 1️⃣ Coach by ball cell, not by averages. Define what “good shape” is in each lane/quarter. Your “compact” can be too wide or too deep depending on the ball’s location. 2️⃣ The bands are your metronome. The four wide players (two defenders, two midfielders) keep lateral rhythm. When the ball-to-band cones lose symmetry—especially on the far side—entries and cut-backs rise. 3️⃣ Identity-aware thresholds reduce noise. High-line teams can tolerate bigger hulls high up; reactive teams can sit deeper—until width inflates with the ball central. One standard fits no one. 4️⃣ Switches amplify risk. When the ball moves fast across lanes, fragile shapes break. Train the second shift, not just the first jump. 5️⃣ From alert to action. Live flags are only useful if they change behaviour: use short video clips + simple rules (“far side sprints to hold cone”; “step when ball leaves wing”) to close the loop. 📈 Why this matters beyond our study ☑️ Evidence across football science shows that coordinated lateral shifts and controlled line height reduce central entries and shots; our model turns that principle into real-time coaching cues. ☑️ Another consistent insight: possession profile changes defensive exposure. Teams that defend less often still need faster re-sync when they do defend—the model helps detect those rare but decisive lapses. 🔗 Applied post: https://lnkd.in/d3kyWQw8

Sports Business Journal’s Game Changers conference was the PLACE for innovative and courageous leadership in sports and the people I met were INCREDIBLE! The core challenges I heard people care about include: - How do we personalize the fan experience across the entire buyer journey? - How do we leverage data to deliver the right story at the right time to fans? - How do we embed inspiration and motivation into our entire marketing engine? - Where is AI applicable and where is it not? The opportunity for tech to drive innovation and fan engagement is ripe for the taking. Who are the leaders that will see the opportunity and strike? I’m betting on the courageous Game Changers Class of 2025 - congratulations ladies! 🍾 🎉 #gamechangers #sportsbusinessjournal #womenssports #womeninsports

❌ 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞. ✅ 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱, 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. Linear thinking imagines progress as predictable. 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑥 𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒. But real development doesn’t follow steps. Players plateau, regress, then leap forward. Teams fluctuate, reorganise, collapse, recover. Systems evolve through interaction, not instruction. 📖 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫: • 𝐸𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑧-𝐿𝑎𝑧𝑜 𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑙. (2025): In handball, non-linear training improved players’ ability to 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. Linear training only improved isolated precision tasks with poor transfer to match play. • 𝑌𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑙. (2025): Non-linear approaches held their advantage when contexts were 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. In dynamic environments like football, linear progressions broke down. • 𝐶ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑙. (2025): Simplification improved skill acquisition only when activities stayed 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭. Step-by-step drills stripped away the adaptive benefit. ⚙️ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞: • 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐦: Instead of “U12 → U13 → U14” as a ladder of topics, design 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 that reappear with greater complexity (e.g., pressing principles revisited across ages with changing constraints). • 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧: Replace “technical before tactical” blocks with 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑠. Example: passing technique is coached inside a positional game where space and pressure demand adaptation. • 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬: Expect non-linear growth. A player regressing for 3 months may still be adapting in unseen areas. 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠. • 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬: Build MDT interactions (coaches, S&C, analysts) around 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝𝑠. Example: injury data feeds session design, which feeds tactical adaptation, which loops back into medical reporting. 📌 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. For leaders, the challenge is clear: 👉 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟? 👉 𝑂𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒? #FootballDevelopment #AcademyFootball #TalentDevelopment #EcologicalDynamics #HighPerformanceFootball #FootballLeadership #FootballCoaching #CoachingScience

A football (not "soccer" 👀 ) approach on “Spend Management” (Or at least how I personally view it! ) Well, as a Brazilian and passionate fan, I like to compare career to football to try and understand the business patterns and help me better prepare for the game. Maybe this can help you too 😊 While most organizations still treat spend management as a finance exercise the best teams today understand that everyone on the field needs to know the playbook. It's about more than just keeping score; it's about making sure every pass and every play contributes to winning the match. Here’s how I associate spend topics with my passion 😁 : A) RISK ASSESSMENT is like DEFENDING against surprises. While always watching the other team, anticipate risks with suppliers or market shifts that could lead to a turnover. B) CONTROLLING THE MIDFIELD is pretty much like BEHAVORIAL SPEND: It is far better to focus on the 'why' behind the passing, not just the number of passes. It’s about building a smarter rhythm to avoid unnecessary runs or wasteful shots. C) The use of TECHNOLOGY for automation, accuracy and speed (always controversial) is kinda like VAR: AI tools are like a virtual assistant referee, helping to spot missed calls or errors and speed up plays, so the team can keep their momentum. But it MUST be used with care as we also can make mistakes even with the technology at hand. D) CULTURE (Align spend with business goals ) is nothing but “PLAYING WITHOUT THE BALL”. They make sure everyone understands how their individual effort, from the goalkeeper to the striker, helps score the ultimate goal. Some people hate modern football and will take longer to adapt (or never will 💀 ). But, it is here, and this shift turns every team member into a valuable player on the field, not just a spectator. So yeah, what do you think is the most important position for a team to win in today's game? (And of course I’ll use VAR to help me illustrate with the image below 🤣 :)

🇬🇧 🔹 From Chapman to Guardiola: when a coach changes football The history of football has been shaped by coaches who went beyond the role of simple tacticians, becoming visionaries capable of rewriting the game 🏛️⚽. 👔 Herbert Chapman In the 1930s, he marked a historical turning point. With the WM system, he introduced a new tactical arrangement that balanced defense and attack. But his impact went beyond the pitch: shirt numbering 🔢 modernization of club facilities🏟️ a more managerial conception of the coach’s role. Chapman was among the first to realize that a coach should also guide the cultural and organizational evolution of a club. 🇳🇱 Rinus Michels In the 1970s, he ushered football into a total revolution. Through his “total football”, he made roles fluid 🔄 and interchangeable, turning rigid systems into dynamic principles: collective pressing constant mobility centrality of play off the ball. Michels redefined the very idea of a team: no longer a sum of individuals, but a living organism in continuous transformation. 🇮🇹 Arrigo Sacchi In the 1980s, his Milan introduced a new dimension of pressing and synchronization. Sacchi broke with the dogma of individual talent: “You don’t need eleven stars, but eleven men who know how to move together.” Compact lines, a high defensive block, and organized aggression 🔺: principles that inspired generations of coaches. His contribution was also cultural: football as a scientific discipline, based on method and systematic study. 🇪🇸 Pep Guardiola Today, he represents both synthesis and innovation. He inherited the legacy of Cruyff and Michels, integrating it with the new resources of modern football: data analysis 📊 digital technologies 💻 holistic approach to team management 🌍 From “tiki-taka” to “position play”, Guardiola has shown how a coach can adapt historical models while at the same time anticipating future trends 🔮. 📚 From Chapman’s managerial spirit to Michels’ collective vision, from Sacchi’s tactical science to Guardiola’s innovative research, the common thread is clear: the coaches who changed football were forerunners of the future, able to interpret their historical context and transform it into a new identity of play. Through them, football is not only a sport: it is history, culture, and vision.

In football, style is intentional. At the youth level, the way an academy instructs its players is as much a determining factor in how they perform during matches as it is in how the academy talents evolve and improve in their overall abilities and understanding of the game. One overlooked but telling metric in how African football talents are being shaped and trained in their teams is by how often and in what patterns a team delivers the ball into the penalty box. For most, crosses are just one of the quick ways a team chooses to get the ball into the box, with no story or no strategy. But our analyzed data on Afriskaut tells us different. It tells us there is more nuance to African football than just hoofing the ball up-pitch and hoping for the best. Crosses, we see, reflects structure, philosophy, and the type of players an academy is deliberately producing. Our data from the Afriskaut GFAA U17 National League shows that: - Universal FA and Lahaiba lead with 8 crosses each into the box - KGH Sports follows with 5 - Mayas FA and Gift FA with 4 each At the other end, Afia Banju, Menmar Sports, Banjul FA and Excellence FA managed just one apiece. For academies like Universal FA and Lahaiba this signals a philosophy built on width. Systems like these develop wingers and fullbacks who can stretch defenses and create space. For those with fewer crosses it suggests a different profile. Compact football, central playmaking or reliance on individual brilliance. Neither is wrong. Each builds a distinct identity, which matters to clubs and scouts assessing potential. This is where Afriskaut adds value. We are not only tracking goals and appearances. We are codifying the decisions and movements that show how young players think. Our database allows scouts, clubs and agents to benchmark talent with precision and align prospects with the tactical profiles they need. Whether your system thrives on width, control, or fast transitions, Afriskaut highlights the players who can slot in seamlessly and accelerate performance. See how African football teams and academies are thinking and patterning their game to your favorite footballing philosophies and styles here - Afriskaut.com