In the beginning, there were no jersey numbers.  Simple.  In today’s game from the U10 youth level (or even below) to the FIFA World Cup that would seem extraordinary.  Numbering allows for better game and player management, quick identification and coach communication. Its part of the modern game.  

Though there was some use of numbering in the early 1900s, it was the English 1933 FA Cup final which is marked the real debut  of the use of shirt numbers.  Everton were numbered 1-11, and Manchester City were given the numbers 12-22.  In a strange twist, City decided to give goalkeeper number 22, and assigned the numbers in descending order.  In 1939 numbers on the back of players’ shirts became mandatory in the English Football League although many teams had used them before.

The move to a fixed number being assigned to each player in a squad was initiated for the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland, where each man in a country’s 22-man squad wore a specific number for the duration of the tournament.  Thus creating the relationship between a player and a roster number.  Previous to this the jersey number had a specific relation to the position on the pitch – the obvious being the Goalkeeper was always assigned the No 1.

Though there are differing versions of number assignment, the traditional use of the numbers in a 11 a side team (on a 5-3-2 formation and we are talking in the 1960s) went something like this:

1 = Goalkeeper
2 = Right Fullback
3 = Left Fullback
4 = Centre Half/Back
5 = Centre Half/Back
6 = Centre Half/Back
7 = Right Wing/Midfield
8 = Centre Midfield.
9 = Centre Forward
10 = Centre Forward
11 = Left Wing/Midfield

In the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups Argentina decided to allocate jersey numbers on an alphabetical basis to their players. This resulted in the great playmaker Osvaldo Ardiles donning the No 1 jersey, Maradonna ended up with No 10.   Superstition

In 1993, England’s Football Association switched to persistent squad numbers, abandoning the mandatory use of 1–11 for the starting line-up.  It became standard in the FA Premier League in the 1993-94 season, with names printed above the numbers. Most European top leagues adopted the system over the next five years and today few soccer teams from 10 year old up don’t have assigned jersey numbers to players.

To coincide with the 2011 NSCAA Annual Convention we are proud to announce the release of the latest version of Statzpack v2.0 with the following features.

• works on iPhone/iPod/iPad
• 5 -7-9-11 a side team size
• in flight game stats as you record
• revised pricing service range
• improved website dashboard analysis
• improved game scheduling interface 

So if you are a current user, or want to take a trial download the FREE Statzpack app from the iTunes store today.   Plus, this does not mean we will slowing up our development of the system.  We have much much more in the pipeline for 2011.And, if you sign up before end of January, you can avail of a 30% discount.

Dynamo Select were looking for a way to track team statistics and analyze those stats post-match to develop their players and plan training sessions. The club also needed to track playing time for each individual player to ensure equal playing time for the coach, and to communicate this data to the player’s parents. Andrew Naudin is the manager of Dynamo 95-96, a Division 2, U15 boys soccer team from Houston, Texas. He came across Statzpack at the end of 2009 and hasn’t looked back.

“As well as tracking performance measures, a very simple output that the system gives us is a record of the amount of time each player has on the field. It’s calculated automatically. It’s very important for me as a coach, the players and the parents that we have this information and with Statzpack it’s all there for you, you don’t need to manually input the info, no pen and paper, or spreadsheets.” says coach Andrew.

For the 2009-2010 season, Andrew purchased an iPhone and subscribed to StatzSoccer. According to Andrew, Statzsoccer, with it’s easy to use interface and ability to customize stats collection based on Dynamo Select 95-96’s needs, made it easy to track and share data with individual players and easy to show parents stats and information on their child’s progress as a player.   

“After a few practice sessions with the App we quickly became familiar with the user interface. The support team at Statzpack dealt with all our questions, and importantly listened to our ideas for the App. With the data being sent up to the website done in the background, it was pretty cool to see the data build up on the website. We have saved hours with this system.”

Not only does StatzSoccer enable Andrew to track the teams stats live on the field, it also automatically syncs with the Statzpack.com website where the data is presented in charts and tables, making it easier for players and their parents to understand. All the tables and charts are produced for you.   With StatzSoccer each individual player can be given a login and the Dynamos intend to use this feature next season so that players can log in and see their own stats.  For Andrew and the Dynamos team, StatzSoccer not only addressed their issues regarding stats recording, the automatic syncing of the data with the website also allowed players and parents to become more involved with and gain a deeper understanding of player performance. 

So we asked Andrew what his most favorite features of Statzpack were:

1) Ability to use the product on the field in real time.
2) Records playing time for each individual player
3) Individual player login allows players to view their own stats
4) You can create custom actions, allowing him to record whatever stats they want.

Statzpack wishes the Dynamos 95-96 U15’s Div. II team the best of luck for the upcoming soccer season!

So let’s test your awareness.  Watch this video and let us know how you get on.

It’s said that an average coach will see around 55% of what actually happens in the game, and that same average coach will remember 35% of the events one day after the game.  We’d say that was pretty good.  Often coaches aren’t even quite sure what the score is during a game.   We’ve all been there right?   So looking back over a season how do we really do?  It’s pretty  clear, if we dont record the game stats, the probability is that we won’t remember them, and we sure will not be able to share them.   As coaches we just dont have the capacity to accurately ‘remember the data’. We’re human, after all.

Statzpack are proud to announce ourselves as corporate members of the NSCAA - National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The largest association of coaches in the world is well known for it’s coaching education and annual national convention, attended by Statzpack in Baltimore last year.  The Soccer Journal is an official publication of the NSCAA, produced exclusively for soccer coaches. Keep your eyes peeled for Statzpack in The Soccer Journal in coming months.

A quick google search for ’soccer statistics’ pulls up an interesting article in the New York Times from 2008.  With quite an impressive comment section as well.

According to the by-line “Carl Bialik examines the way numbers are used, and abused.”  The article is somewhat well written, explaining how teams are using much more advanced statistical tracking programs such as Pro-Zone, and what the right applications are for those programs.  Also, chalking up pure luck to the success of many soccer teams (which is completely false in my opinion.)

The benchmark for sports statistics is Sabremetrics, and the book Moneyball, written by Michael Lewis.  In it, Lewis describes the rise of the Oakland A’s baseball team through the use of complex statistical analysis to best predict the outcome of a match.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is a book by Michael M. Lewis, released in 2003, about the general manager of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, Billy Beane, and his rather unconventional approach to running that organization. The central premise of Moneyball is that the collected wisdom of baseball insiders (including players, managers, coaches, scouts, and the front office) over the past century is subjective and often flawed. Statistics like 60 yard dash times, RBIs, and batting average that are typically used to gauge players are relics of a 19th-century view of the game and the statistics that were available at the time - ArmChairGM

The divide between soccer and baseball is the fluidity of the game.  Baseball can be determined by a few variables (pitcher, batter, count for instance) whereas in soccer, there are hundreds of variables which come into play each time a statistic is kept.

Critics state, “Statistics cannot accurately predict the score of a game, because numbers alone cannot predict a player’s performance.”

Exactly, we all know that.  Anyone who thinks stats can predict the outcome alone is foolish.  Soccer is a game that is often decided by a few events which result in a goal or a defensive lapse conceding a goal to your opponent.

If you know your right back is not able to string passes out of the backfield to the midfielders, then maybe it is time for a switch.  Most teams do not keep track of stats, so they don’t know the time to replace a player, and when to keep him in.

The important idea to remember is a combination of statistics and a coaches intuition can greatly improve your chance at winning, or fielding the most successful team out of your given options.

They say that women are better multi-taskers than men but when it comes to recording stats during a game it’s vital to cut down the number of tasks regardless of gender!  Many people who start to use Statzpack for the first time tell us, ‘I really found it hard to record the stats and watch the game’.  Well that’s probably because you can’t do both at the same time.  You’ll certainly find it hard to cheer on your team and record meaningful accurate stats.  Even more difficult if you are actually coaching or one of the team is your child J.   It’s important to create for yourself an ‘observation environment’ away from vocal crowds or from your buddies chatting about the night before.  Ideally you should have one person with you who is tuned in the game and will help you with game info during the match.  Arrive early so you do not get stuck sitting in a row where you have to let people in and out past you or in a place where your view can be obstructed. And if needed where a hat that says ‘Do not disturb’ on the front.  Or even as one user from Vancouver, Canada told us  ‘It’s easy, I just sit up on the bench, away from the guys, plug in my earphones, kick into Bruce Springsteen, watch the game, and record the stats.’  Good idea, just watch the battery level on the iPod touch!