Technical observers providing invaluable analysis for coaches
Monday, January 20, 2025
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"We try to analyse games in a way that coaches will be happy to read," says Rafa Benítez on his role in compiling reports for the technical observers' group.
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"It's crucial that we can translate what is seen in matches, either in club competitions or national-team competitions, into actionable insight for the development of youth players."
With these words, Olivier Doglia, head of technical education and development at UEFA, is conveying one of the central aims of the European governing body's performance analysis work.
This work is carried out by the performance analysis unit in tandem with the UEFA technical observers' group and the regular production of articles for the FedEx Performance Zone is just one part of their output, which also includes in-depth technical reports for every club and national-team competition.
As Doglia explains in the video above, the purpose is for both clubs and national associations across Europe to benefit from the tactical insights produced. To this end, content from games is converted into a format which is accessible to everyone, whether they be grassroots coaches, those working at the elite end of the game, or football fans.
UEFA's technical observer programme dates back to the 1990s when the production of technical reports began and it has expanded in recent seasons to incorporate input from the technical analysis unit, with observers working closely together with analysts when assessing games.
2024/25 tactical analysis
Champions League-winning coach Rafa Benítez is a regular presence at matches in his role as a member of the technical observers' group, and he explains: "You're taking notes during the game to see if players are doing something special, something that's making the difference."
As a game unfolds, he will be in contact with an analyst at UEFA HQ in Nyon, sharing his insights, and the resulting analysis is used for articles on UEFA.com as well as in the end-of-season technical reports. "We try to analyse games in a way that coaches will be happy to read about and also fans," adds Benítez.
"The content covers so many different aspects whether it be individual players or team performances," says David Moyes, a UEFA Conference League-winning coach and another member of the observers' group. "It's great we're able to analyse so many different aspects of the game."
In order to ensure that no detail is missed, UEFA's analysts use seven different camera angles and have access to event and tracking data. The process on each matchday concludes with the support of a video telestration analyst who illustrates the video clips chosen to explain the key tactical or individual performance features identified.
Actionable insights
UEFA's wish is to provide a meaningful tool for coaches by highlighting trends in the game as well as specific tactical points, and the content produced is used in coaching seminars across Europe as well as on the ground within both national associations and clubs.
By way of example, José Pedro Silva, an analyst with the Portuguese Football Federation, says that he uses UEFA's technical reports in his work with Portugal's women's national team. "The reports that UEFA make about the games in their different tournaments are very useful as they allow us to see the trends of where the game is headed," he explains. For Silva they serve additionally as "a benchmark to understand where our team are and our performance compared with the major teams."
An example at club level, meanwhile, comes from Gerhard Waldhart, an analyst working with Wolfsburg's women's team who explains in the video below how "in one match we played last season I used the UEFA insights".
As Waldhart elaborates: "It's very important to have the analysis from UEFA because you get a lot of deeper insights. You have specific things that are highlighted, and you can share them with your team and discuss them with the squad in one-to-one sessions and also present them to your coaching staff."
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