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Toulouse president Damien Comolli insists that his club\u2019s use of data is the reason behind their success rather than \u201cfootball wisdom\u201d.<\/p>\n
The entire football operation of the Ligue 1 club, who beat Liverpool in the Europa League last week, is entirely driven by data, from player and manager recruitment to which set-pieces to use in a match and when.<\/p>\n
It is bearing fruit as promotion from Ligue 2 in 2022 was followed by success in last season\u2019s Coupe de France, which earned them their ticket to European football this season.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CromV-KMPHD<\/p>\n
And Comolli, who worked at Tottenham and Liverpool as sporting director, believes all their success comes from their use and understanding of the data.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur whole football operation is driven by data, whether it his how we recruit a coach or sign a player, the way we play, the way we attack, the way we defend, from where we shoot, from where we cross, where we press,\u201d Comolli said at Web Summit in Lisbon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to optimise the wage bill and transfer budget using data. Data is part of our culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we gain a competitive advantage is we have decided to stick by data compared to the football wisdom. We are very disciplined at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment we are struggling in the league, doing well in Europe. But with underlying data, we don\u2019t look at results.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day after the game, none of the pages of the match report will contain the result. It will show the underlying data, why we lost or why we won.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a bridge between the mathematics and science and the football people. Those individuals that can translate the data that is applicable to coaches and understandable to everyone, that bridge is absolutely key.\u201d<\/p>\n
The use of data and artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more prominent in today\u2019s game and Comolli believes it will have a big impact in the future of the game.<\/p>\n
He thinks that it will be particularly important in injury prevention.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last four seasons our player availability for per game has been at 95 per cent, the highest in France,\u201d Comolli added. \u201cWe are constantly using data to measure player\u2019s loads, we are are using AI to measure in-game data.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the future it will help coaches make better decisions, when to make a substitution, when to make a tactical adjustment or not make one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe played at Anfield, we were losing 4-1, our best striker was still on the pitch and we had a game a few days later. I messaged the analyst, \u2018Why is he still on the pitch?\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis data was showing he was in the red, so we brought him off. He went on to score in the next four games, maybe if we played him for longer he would have got injured or fatigued.\u201d<\/p>\n