“We have found the ISF platform to be extremely helpful in managing our day-to-day operation.”
Managing player pathways
Monitoring pathways is a major challenge for national federations, especially when many eligible players, at all ages, are attached to different clubs around the world.
In their recent 3-0 victory UEFA Nations League over Germany, Netherlands fielded a starting eleven who played their domestic football in six different countries.
While it is not uncommon for national teams to call-up players from around the world, the process behind monitoring and evaluating is crucial, not only for the current players in the squad, but also those who are knocking on the door, and may be options in future years.
KNVB has been working exclusively with Stats Perform since 2012 to enhance the way the they strategically manage national team players’ pathways.
Through the application of the ISF product and Opta data, KNVB can access detailed biographical information and video on all elite Dutch players, in every age group, in addition to managing all internal reports and other player-related information entered by KNVB staff.
Monitoring players from the age of 11
This partnership allows KNVB to access information on every registered player from the age of 11 upwards, which includes more than 180,000 players who appear in 30,000 domestic matches played every year. The end result is that in a six-year period, KNVB have built a comprehensive archive of player and team information, for coaching and support staff to manage each player’s development pathway through every age group.
Accessing and applying this information effectively is crucial. Meeting on a weekly basis, national team scouts – at all levels – meet to discuss and evaluate players in the system and monitor recent performances.
Alongside the federation’s work in identifying and selecting players in different age groups, scouts and analysts are also working with Stats Perform tools on a match-by-match basis as they assess upcoming opponents and review their own performance, integrating qualitative information, Opta data and video footage to create holistic, thorough reports.
Insight from Steijn Spreij, KNVB Performance Analyst:
“Back in 2012 we were searching for a platform where we could access video for all of our players, as well as management tools where we could log each player’s performance through every age group.
“Having implemented the ISF, we have found the platform to be extremely helpful in managing our day-to-day operation. Stats Perform has been flexible in adapting their technology to meet our own requirements for managing data, so that we can monitor players from the age of 11, through to the senior team, within one single database.”
