CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report n°50 - December 2019
Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
Drs Raffaele Poli, Loïc Ravenel and Roger Besson
1. Introduction Figure 1: study sample
AS ST-ETIENNE BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Over the decade that is about to end, 42 clubs GIRONDINS BORDEAUX BAYERN MÜNCHEN LIGUE 1 LIGUE
have always been present within the five ma- LOSC LILLE BORUSSIA DORTMUND jor European leagues. The 50th Monthly Report BUNDESLIGA MONTPELLIER HSC BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the make-up of these teams over the course of OGC NICE FC SCHALKE 04 the decade with questions such as: how many OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS FSV MAINZ 05 players did they use? What was the age of OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE TSG HOFFENHEIM players fielded? Their height? Their origins? PARIS ST-GERMAIN VFL WOLFSBURG STADE RENNAIS WERDER BREMEN The analysis also includes an economic di- TOULOUSE FC mension by taking into account the transfer fees spent or received (including bonuses) ACF FIORENTINA ARSENAL FC AS ROMA CHELSEA FC since the 1st January 2010 by the 42 clubs A SERIE studied. For all variables, the data for 2019 re- GENOA CFC EVERTON FC fer to the period from the 1st January to the 15 INTERNAZIONALE LIVERPOOL FC PREMIER LEAGUE November. JUVENTUS FC MANCHESTER CITY
MILAN AC MANCHESTER UNITED
SS LAZIO TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
SSC NAPOLI
UDINESE CALCIO
ATHLETIC CLUB LIGA ATLÉTICO MADRID
FC BARCELONA
RCD ESPANYOL
REAL MADRID
SEVILLA FC
VALENCIA CF
1 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
2. Turnover Figure 2: number of players used in domestic league games (2010-2019)
A first element of analysis is the turnover with- ATH TIC C 77 in squads. Very important differences exist A M CH 83
between clubs. At one extreme, Athletic Club FC A C O A 90
Bilbao only used 77 footballers in domestic O IA M A ACH 91 league matches played during the decade A 92 studied. This result reflects the crucial impor- tance given to the question of identity in the O IA O TM 93 policies of the Basque club. TOTT HAM HOT 93 A MA I 95
The great stability observed at Athletic Club is MA CH T CIT 96 contrasted with that of Genoa. Enrico Prezio- A A FC 97 si’s club used 205 players in Serie A fixtures 98 between 2010 and 2019. Sevilla and Rome, the MA CH T IT two teams where Monchi worked as a sport- TO FC 99 ing director, are also among those who fielded CH A FC 103 the most footballers. These findings illustrate PARIS ST-GERMAIN 104 the emphasis placed on trading players in the MO T I H C 104
strategies of these clubs. O M I O AI 106