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

have always been present within the five ma- LOSC LILLE BORUSSIA jor European leagues. The 50th Monthly Report HSC BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the make-up of these teams over the course of OGC FC SCHALKE 04 the decade with questions such as: how many FSV MAINZ 05 players did they use? What was the age of OLYMPIQUE TSG HOFFENHEIM players fielded? Their height? Their origins? ST-GERMAIN VFL WOLFSBURG RENNAIS WERDER 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 November. JUVENTUS FC MANCHESTER CITY

MILAN AC MANCHESTER UNITED

SS LAZIO TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

SSC NAPOLI

UDINESE CALCIO

ATHLETIC CLUB LIGA ATLÉTICO

FC

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- ATHTIC C 77 in squads. Very important differences exist A MCH 83

between clubs. At one extreme, Athletic Club FC ACOA 90

Bilbao only used 77 footballers in domestic OIA MAACH 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 OIA OTM 93 policies of the Basque club. TOTTHAM HOT 93 A MAI 95

The great stability observed at Athletic Club is MACHT CIT 96 contrasted with that of Genoa. Enrico Prezio- AA FC 97 si’s club used 205 players in fixtures 98 between 2010 and 2019. Sevilla and Rome, the MACHT IT two teams where worked as a sport- TO FC 99 ing director, are also among those who fielded CHA FC 103 the most footballers. These findings illustrate PARIS ST-GERMAIN 104 the emphasis placed on trading players in the MOTI HC 104

strategies of these clubs. OMI OAI 106

C AOI 109

IOO FC 112

ATTICO MAI 114

AIO 115

OMI MAI 117

T FC 121

OC I 122

FC CHA 04 123

M 123

IOI OA 123

F MAI 05 124

TOO FC 124

T HOFFHIM 125

F OF 127

ACIA CF 127

I CACIO 131

AS ST-ETIENNE 131

MIA AC 133

TA AI 135

C AO 135

ITAIOA 139

OC IC 144

A OMA 149

IA FC 160

ACF FIOTIA 161

OA CFC 205

2 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

Despite the 2016/17 season at Crystal Palace, Figure 3: % of domestic league minutes of the is the footballer who played most used player by club (2010-2019)

the greatest percentage of domestic league OMI MAI 84.2% teve Mandanda minutes for one of the 42 teams of the sample. FC ACOA 83.4% ionel Messi During the decade studied, the French - 80.9% Stéphane Ruffier keeper took part in 84.2% of minutes played AS ST-ETIENNE by . The highest value MACHT IT 77.1% avid de ea for an outfield player was recorded for Lionel A MCH 76.6% Thomas Müller Messi at Barcelona (83.4%). Paris St-Germain A MAI 74.2% is among the six teams whose most used C AOI 72.8% Marek Hamšík

footballers during the decade took part in less MOTI HC 72.6%

than half of the minutes played (, ITAIOA 71.3% Samir Handanović 49.6%). ATTICO MAI 71.0% Diego Godín

TO FC 70.6% Leighton Baines

A 69.8%

T FC 68.6%

MACHT CIT 68.0% avid ilva

ATHTIC C 65.9%

TOTTHAM HOT 65.5%

OIA OTM 64.0% Marcel Schmelzer

I CACIO 63.9% Danilo Larangeira

AA FC 63.8%

CHA FC 63.8% César Azpilicueta

ACIA CF 62.9% Dani Parejo

IOI OA 62.7% Cédric Carrasso

AIO 62.5% tefan adu

A OMA 61.8% aniele e ossi

OMI OAI 61.2%

TA AI 60.9% Romain Danzé

M 60.7% Theodor Gebre Selassie

F OF 58.5% Diego Benaglio

OIA MAACH 57.1% Oscar Wendt

IOO FC 56.3%

OC I 56.1%

C AO 55.6% Javi López

T HOFFHIM 55.3% Sebastian Rudy

FC CHA 04 54.9% Benedikt Höwedes

MIA AC 54.8% Ignazio Abate

F MAI 05 51.0% tefan ell

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 49.6% Thiago Silva

IA FC 44.7% ess avas

TOO FC 42.0% tienne idot

ACF FIOTIA 41.9% Manuel asqual

OA CFC 38.8% Mattia Perin

OC IC 38.1% avid Ospina

3 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

3. Age Figure 4: average age at matches played (2010- 2019)

Over the course of the 2010 decade, no team TOO FC 24.61 has fielded players as old as multiple- Ital T HOFFHIM 25.02

ian champions Juventus: 28.8 years of age A 25.12

on average when the matches were played. OC IC 25.20 Two other Italian clubs have the highest val- OMI OAI 25.52 ues: Inter (28.4 years of age) and Lazio (28.3 years of age). French and German teams are OIA OTM 25.61 over-represented among those having fielded FC CHA 04 25.61 the youngest players, with a minimum of 24.6 TA AI 25.78 years of age for Toulouse. OIA MAACH 26.03 TOTTHAM HOT 26.26

OC I 26.29

ACIA CF 26.36

F MAI 05 26.38

IOO FC 26.41

M 26.48

IOI OA 26.51

AA FC 26.59

F OF 26.59

C AO 26.59

ATTICO MAI 26.73

ATHTIC C 26.74

I CACIO 26.74

AS ST-ETIENNE 26.88

OMI MAI 26.94

A MAI 26.95

MACHT IT 27.09

MOTI HC 27.11

ACF FIOTIA 27.16

A MCH 27.17

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 27.20

IA FC 27.32

MIA AC 27.48

MACHT CIT 27.54

OA CFC 27.59

FC ACOA 27.62

CHA FC 27.64

A OMA 27.84

C AOI 27.86

TO FC 27.86

AIO 28.28

ITAIOA 28.38

T FC 28.81

4 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

Eight of the nine clubs having on average re- Figure 5: average age at the time of recruitment cruited the oldest players are Italians, with a (2010-2019) maximum of 26.6 years of age for Lazio. Keen A 23.38 to win titles, Paris St-Germain and Manches- 23.51 ter City have also targeted experienced play- OIA OTM 23.51 ers. However, with the arrival of Guardiola, A MAI 23.54 Manchester City has changed its strategy by T HOFFHIM 23.99 recruiting younger footballers, similar to the OIA MAACH 24.14 policies pursued by other major teams such M 24.45

as Real Madrid (23.5 years of age at the time TOO FC 24.45

of recruitment) or Liverpool (24.6 years of age). OC I 24.48

OC IC 24.56

IOO FC 24.61

MACHT IT 24.64

F MAI 05 24.67

CHA FC 24.69

OMI OAI 24.77

AA FC 24.83

FC CHA 04 24.87

TOTTHAM HOT 24.92

IOI OA 24.97

I CACIO 25.03

ACIA CF 25.11

F OF 25.19

ATHTIC C 25.23

TA AI 25.27

A MCH 25.32

FC ACOA 25.38

ATTICO MAI 25.39

MOTI HC 25.44

TO FC 25.45

C AO 25.51

AS ST-ETIENNE 25.58

OMI MAI 25.60

IA FC 25.69

MACHT CIT 25.73

C AOI 25.78

ITAIOA 25.80

ACF FIOTIA 25.93

A OMA 25.95

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 26.09

OA CFC 26.16

MIA AC 26.18

T FC 26.29

AIO 26.56

5 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

4. Height Figure 6: average height of players used (2010- 2019)

Analysis in terms of height also highlights im- FC ACOA 178.66 portant differences with regard to leagues and OC I 179.96

clubs. Barcelona used the shortest players in OC IC 180.19

absolute terms (178.66 cm on average). The OMI OAI 180.68 Catalan club is followed by five French and C AO 180.74 three other Spanish teams. At the opposite end of the scale, six of the seven clubs having ACIA CF 180.86 fielded the tallest footballers are German, with MOTI HC 181.00 a maximum value of 185.05 cm for Schalke 04. IA FC 181.15 The height of the Juventus players was also OMI MAI 181.22 relatively high: 183.76 cm (5th place). C AOI 181.40

TO FC 181.61

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 181.74

MACHT CIT 181.77

AS ST-ETIENNE 181.82

ATTICO MAI 181.84

TA AI 181.88

IOI OA 181.93

IOO FC 181.97

AA FC 182.09

A MAI 182.12

TOO FC 182.17

ITAIOA 182.19

I CACIO 182.33

OA CFC 182.46

ATHTIC C 182.49

A MCH 182.59

MIA AC 182.81

TOTTHAM HOT 182.97

OIA MAACH 183.08

AIO 183.25

A OMA 183.32

ACF FIOTIA 183.33

F MAI 05 183.33

CHA FC 183.33

MACHT IT 183.35

OIA OTM 183.39

M 183.73

T FC 183.76

A 183.98

T HOFFHIM 184.31

F OF 184.66

FC CHA 04 185.05

6 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

5. Origins Figure 7: % of minutes of expatriate players (2010-2019)

The unique case of Athletic Club also stands ATHTIC C 3.7% out in the analysis of the percentage of min- AS ST-ETIENNE 17.9%

utes played by footballers having grown up MONTPELLIER HSC 27.8%

outside of the association of their employ- STADE RENNAIS 30.8% er club, standing at a meagre 3.7% (Aymeric RCD ESPANYOL 31.1% Laporte). At the opposite end, the 12 teams where expatriates played the highest propor- OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE 31.5% tion of domestic league minutes are English BAYER LEVERKUSEN 31.6% and Italians, with a maximum of 83.9% for Ar- OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS 31.8% senal. This percentage is above 80% also at TOO FC 34.1% Inter and Chelsea. OGC NICE 34.1%

TSG HOFFENHEIM 38.5%

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX 40.0%

OC I 43.2%

FC SCHALKE 04 43.4%

BORUSSIA DORTMUND 49.0%

BAYERN MÜNCHEN 50.6%

JUVENTUS FC 50.8%

FSV MAINZ 05 51.4%

FC BARCELONA 51.5%

MILAN AC 51.5%

WERDER BREMEN 53.4%

VALENCIA CF 53.6%

GENOA CFC 56.4%

EVERTON FC 56.8%

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH 57.7%

SEVILLA FC 59.6%

ATLÉTICO MADRID 60.4%

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 60.9%

REAL MADRID 62.0%

VFL WOLFSBURG 63.0%

MANCHESTER UNITED 63.3%

LIVERPOOL FC 64.5%

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 65.8%

ACF FIORENTINA 67.6%

AS ROMA 70.8%

SS LAZIO 72.5%

SSC NAPOLI 73.0%

UDINESE CALCIO 77.1%

MANCHESTER CITY 77.4%

CHA FC 80.1%

INTERNAZIONALE 83.4%

ARSENAL FC 83.9%

7 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

With the exception of Athletic Club, all of the Figure 8: number of different origins (2010- teams present in the big-5 between 2010 and 2019) 2019 fielded players from at least 18 different ATHTIC C 2 countries. Although giving considerable room 18 for expatriates, the most competitive teams ATTICO MAI tend to concentrate their international re- AS ST-ETIENNE 18 cruitment on a relatively limited number of FC BARCELONA 19 origins: 18 for Atlético Madrid, 19 for Barcelona PARIS ST-GERMAIN 19 and Paris St-Germain, 20 for Real Madrid and OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS 19

Bayern. AS Rome holds the record (37 different A MAI 20

origins during the decade studied). BAYERN MÜNCHEN 20

MONTPELLIER HSC 21

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH 22

VALENCIA CF 23

OGC NICE 23

OMI MAI 23

BAYER LEVERKUSEN 25

RCD ESPANYOL 26

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX 26

SSC NAPOLI 26

STADE RENNAIS 26

BORUSSIA DORTMUND 26

TOO FC 26

JUVENTUS FC 27

MILAN AC 27

IOO FC 27

CHA FC 27

AIO 28

IA FC 28

MANCHESTER CITY 29

ARSENAL FC 29

WERDER BREMEN 29

MANCHESTER UNITED 30

INTERNAZIONALE 30

TSG HOFFENHEIM 30

VFL WOLFSBURG 31

EVERTON FC 31

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 31

UDINESE CALCIO 31

ACF FIORENTINA 32

OC I 32

FSV MAINZ 05 33

FC SCHALKE 04 34

GENOA CFC 36

A OMA 37

8 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

6. Training Figure 9: % of minutes of club-trained players (2010-2019)

Athletic Club is the only team where club- ATHTIC C 61.3% trained footballers (at least three seasons be- FC ACOA 46.1%

tween 15 and 21 years of age in situ) played OMI OAI 35.9%

a majority of domestic league minutes: 61.3%. TOO FC 33.8% Barcelona also has a high value 46.1%. At the MOTI HC 31.9% opposite end, many Italian and English teams are at the bottom of the rankings. Despite the A MCH 30.2% recruitment of many young talents, Manches- TA AI 28.4% ter City is the club where players from the AA FC 28.4% youth academy accounted for the lowest level FC CHA 04 27.4% of minutes: 2.1%. MACHT IT 26.2%

ATTICO MAI 25.4%

C AO 23.3%

IOI OA 22.1%

AS ST-ETIENNE 19.0%

A MAI 18.9%

TOTTHAM HOT 18.3%

A 17.5%

MIA AC 17.4%

M 17.1%

OIA MAACH 16.7%

A OMA 15.9%

OC I 14.8%

ACIA CF 13.9%

OIA OTM 13.3%

IA FC 12.7%

F MAI 05 12.7%

OC IC 12.5%

TO FC 12.3%

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 12.2%

IOO FC 11.8%

F OF 10.6%

T HOFFHIM 8.5%

T FC 8.5%

OMI MAI 8.1%

OA CFC 7.6%

C AOI 7.6%

CHA FC 7.3%

ACF FIOTIA 7.0%

AIO 4.2%

I CACIO 3.6%

ITAIOA 2.8%

MACHT CIT 2.1%

9 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

7. Finances Figure 10: average expenditure per paying fee transfer, € Million (2010-2019)

The indicator of the cost of paying fee trans- MOTI HC 2.13 €€ fers spotlights the major disparities in clubs’ TOO FC 2.26 €€

financial means. Manchester United tops the AS ST-ETIENNE 2.60 €€

list (an average of €32 million per paid trans- I CACIO 2.68 €€ fer), followed closely by Paris St-Germain (€30 F MAI 05 2.80 €€ million). Four other teams invested on average more than €20 million per paying fee trans- M 2.98 €€ fer during the decade studied: Barcelona, Real OA CFC 3.08 €€€ Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea. At the C AO 3.30 €€€ opposite end, three French clubs had the low- IOI OA 3.32 €€€ est values, with a minimum of about €2 mil- T HOFFHIM 3.35 €€€

lion for Montpellier. OC IC 3.76 €€€

TA AI 3.99 €€€

ACF FIOTIA 4.11 €€€€

OC I 4.52 €€€€

AIO 5.07 €€€€€

ATHTIC C 5.97 €€€€€

FC CHA 04 6.00 €€€€€

OIA MAACH 6.05 €€€€€€

IA FC 6.23 €€€€€€

F OF 6.44 €€€€€€

OMI MAI 7.64 €€€€€€€

A 8.04 €€€€€€€€

OMI OAI 8.65 €€€€€€€€

ACIA CF 9.46 €€€€€€€€€

C AOI 9.53 €€€€€€€€€

A OMA 9.60 €€€€€€€€€

OIA OTM 11.11 €€€€€€€€€€€

MIA AC 12.83 €€€€€€€€€€€€

ITAIOA 13.36 €€€€€€€€€€€€€

TO FC 14.95 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€

TOTTHAM HOT 15.83 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

T FC 16.18 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

ATTICO MAI 17.15 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

A MCH 17.29 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

AA FC 18.73 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

IOO FC 19.55 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

CHA FC 21.72 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

MACHT CIT 22.08 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

A MAI 23.93 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

FC ACOA 24.46 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

PARIS ST-GERMAIN 30.14 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

MACHT IT 32.21 €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

10 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

Only 16 of the 42 teams analysed have a posi- Figure 11: net balance for transfer operations, € tive net balance for transfer operations carried Million (2010-2019) out between 2010 and 2019. The maximum OC I 249.3 was recorded for LOSC Lille (+€249 million). 193.3 None of the seven clubs always present in the OA CFC Premier League during the 2010s has a positive OMI OAI 174.3 net balance. Four teams have considerably I CACIO 168.3 negative net balances: Manchester City, Paris T HOFFHIM 139.1 St-Germain, Manchester United and Barcelo- ATHTIC C 113.6

na. The cumulative deficit of these four clubs MOTI HC 110.8

is over €3.5 billion. C AO 94.1

IA FC 85.8

AS ST-ETIENNE 81.4

IOI OA 77.4

TOO FC 65.8

TA AI 61.7

OC IC 51.4

F MAI 05 35.9

OIA OTM 32.1

ACF FIOTIA -1.8

M -2.6

A -22.8

OIA MAACH -24.5

ACIA CF -30.5

AIO -56.0

A OMA -68.9

FC CHA 04 -84.5

OMI MAI -95.5

ATTICO MAI -100.4

TOTTHAM HOT -143.9

F OF -146.1

C AOI -161.9

IOO FC -277.0

TO FC -296.5

A MCH -307.9

AA FC -365.7

ITAIOA -391.1

CHA FC -395.4

T FC -413.7

A MAI -425.0

MIA AC -438.8

FC ACOA -720.5

MACHT IT -832.6

PARIS ST-GERMAIN -901.3

MACHT CIT -1090.8

11 Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

8. Conclusion

The study shows the importance of the dif- ferences in strategies pursued by teams when composing their squads. The unique case of Athletic Club Bilbao is reflected in almost all the indicators analysed. The Basque team car- ries on with success a strategic model based on an extremely strong regional anchoring. This model has become increasingly rare with the commercialisation of football and its glo- balisation, in particular at the level of the five major European championships. Barcelona’s case shows that territorial anchor- ing can be a plus even for a global club. The numerous trophies obtained during the last decade are indeed for the most part linked to the exceptional qualities of home-grown play- ers such as , , Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué or . More recent- ly, the change in the strategic orientation of Chelsea towards giving more room to players from the youth academy, without a loss in competitiveness, indicates that the deterrito- rialisation of football remains a choice rather than an obligation. The analysis of strategies for squad composi- tion during the 2010s thus shows that although money is more than ever a key factor, other el- ements come into play. Squad stability stem- ming from good strategic planning, as well as the ability of clubs to get the best out of the talents trained in their youth academies and to stimulate a strong sense of belonging to all parties concerned (players, staff, supporters, etc.), remain crucial success criteria even in the today’s hyper-commercial and globalised environment.

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