21 Jan From PhD to the Pitch: When Research Becomes Real Soccer
An inside look at how an industrial PhD at SportAnalytics bridges academic research and real-world soccer analytics, turning theory into decisions on the pitch.
HOW DATA BECAME MY WAY INTO SOCCER
For many people, soccer and data live in separate worlds. For others, data is simply a way to describe what already happened on the pitch. My journey has been about discovering that data can become something more: a way to understand soccer deeply and support real decisions, in real time.
I am currently a PhD candidate involved in an industrial PhD program co-funded by SportAnalytics and the Università G. D’Annunzio di Chieti – Pescara. My academic background is in statistics, but my strongest and most consistent interest has always been soccer. During my master’s degree, it became increasingly clear that this was the only field capable of keeping my full attention, not just as a spectator, but as a system to be understood.
Around that time, an injury forced me to step away from playing. Unexpectedly, that moment pushed me closer to soccer analytics. As data and analytics were becoming more central to professional soccer, I realized that what I was studying could align with a real professional role in the sport.
ENTERING A CLOSED AND FAST-MOVING WORLD
Breaking into soccer analytics is not easy.
It is a competitive, fast-evolving, and often closed environment, with limited public resources and few clear entry points. Like many others, I spent a long time learning independently, experimenting, and trying to understand how analytics were actually used inside clubs.
The turning point came when I encountered an industrial PhD position jointly developed with SportAnalytics. It felt like one of those opportunities that rarely come twice, despite the commitment and sacrifices it required.
Once selected, I fully immersed myself in the project.
From the very beginning, the context was clear: this was not research for its own sake. Thanks to close interaction with my teammates at SportAnalytics, I quickly understood the level of rigor, responsibility, and real-world impact expected from my work.
WHEN RESEARCH MEETS THE REALITY OF SOCCER
One of the most motivating aspects of working at SportAnalytics is seeing how research outputs end up directly in the hands of analysts and coaching staffs.
Models are not built to remain in papers or notebooks: they are transformed into insights that support match analysis, performance analysis, opponent analysis, and scouting workflows.
This changes the way you think as a researcher. Very quickly, you learn that:
- elegance is not enough,
- complexity is not a goal,
- interpretability and usability matter as much as accuracy.
SportAnalytics operates in an environment where time and clarity are critical. Analysts and coaches need tools that improve both the quality and the speed of their work. Contributing to a product that optimizes analytical workflows across own-team monitoring, opponent preparation, and scouting has been a defining part of this experience.
MY ROLE: BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Today, my time is divided between academic research and industrial work within SportAnalytics.
On the academic side, my research focuses on player kinematic behaviors, with particular attention to the combined potential of tracking and event data. The objective is twofold: to address gaps in the current scientific literature, and to translate research outcomes into practical, usable tools for technical staffs.
This includes applied projects and a scoping review aimed at better understanding how tracking and event data can describe soccer behaviors that truly matter for performance and decision-making.
On the company side, I contribute to the validation and development of new metrics and algorithms, including physics-based and machine learning approaches. These are applied to performance analysis, and scouting tools designed to help clubs identify player profiles that match specific tactical and physical targets.
GROWING IN A SMALL, HIGH-IMPACT ENVIRONMENT
SportAnalytics is not a large company and that is part of its strength.
At SportAnalytics, much of our work focuses on supporting analysts and clubs in structuring match, opponent scouting, and performance analysis workflows that scale across first team and academy, while remaining flexible to coaching preferences.
Working in a small, highly skilled team means that even junior profiles are exposed to real responsibility, continuous feedback, and meaningful technical discussions. Growth happens quickly, both on a technical level and in terms of decision-making and critical thinking.
After one year, I can say with confidence that choosing this path was the right decision. It allows me to work every day on something I truly care about, combining scientific rigor with the realities of professional soccer.
WHY THIS MATTERS
This experience confirmed something important to me:
research does not lose value when it enters soccer, it gains urgency.
When models are built to inform real decisions, they are tested in the toughest possible environment. And when the bridge between academia and the pitch works well, everyone benefits: researchers, analysts, coaches, and ultimately the game itself.
— Francesco Esposito
PhD Candidate, Università G. D’Annunzio di Chieti – Pescara
Researcher & Data Scientist at SportAnalytics