Sevilla have been working with Nacsport for some years now. At various stages, both the first team and the youth teams have used our video analysis software to improve their performance.

This working relationship has allowed us access to the Analysis Department and learn about the work they are doing. In this blog, we’ll talk to some of the key analysts at the club and take a peek at their work, discovering its origins, structure and organisation while getting an exclusive look at their workflows.

We’ve split this fascinating case study into two parts, the second of which you can read here.

The Origins of Analysis at Sevilla FC

“Sevilla is a club which has always been committed to innovation”, says Ramón Vázquez, analyst and one of the people responsible for the growth of the Analysis Department.

“We saw that a growing trend in the world of football and acted on it to create a department responsible for analysing everything that happened on the pitch.

“Although I was responsible for the genesis of the project, in reality, it has been a collaborative effort. We have the full support of Monchi [Sports Director] and the invaluable input of colleagues such as Jesús Olivera [general coordinator of the Sports Department and Head of New Technology] and Miguel Ángel Gómez. They were key to the projects and, without their help, it’s doubtful that this project would have gotten off the ground.”

After an intense period of groundwork, the Analysis Department at Sevilla finally saw the light of day in April 2016 with the aim of having it fully operational by the beginning of the following season.

“Those months were like our preseason”, says Vázquez. “We had to lay the foundations for the work and organise ourselves. At the end of this season, we put our support behind Sevilla Atlético [Sevilla’s reserve team], which was fighting for promotion to the 2nd division at the time, although it was more of a background role as we were just getting started.”

The Analysis Department began with four analysts, Ramón Vázquez, José Alberto Martínez, Juan Antonio Guzmán and Daniel del Valle, who were tasked with analysing all football at Sevilla, including Sevilla Atlético and the youth teams. The project was accepted by the coaches with gusto, so much so that a 5th analyst, Álvaro Caja, had to be added in the middle of the first full season!

And since then, due to hard work and success, the Analysis Department has continued to grow. There are now nine analysts working at the club, including José Manuel Corbacho, who is in charge of the women’s team.

A Great Success

“We started with one goal in mind”, says Ramón, “but today, we encompass much more. Our main focus continues to be on analysing games and training sessions but, at the request of other coaches, we’ve branched out to other areas such as strength building, physical training and motor skills.”

The Analysis Department now acts as a reinforcement to many areas of the club, all with the same goal...to improve performance.

“We adapt daily to the needs of the club. We support coaches from other areas or departments, helping them whenever video analysis is beneficial.”

The Analysis Department at Sevilla is something of a breeding ground for Spanish analysts. Take Daniel del Valle, for example. A member of the original team at Sevilla, he is now a performance analyst at Real Valladolid. In addition, Juan Antonio Guzmán now concentrates fully on Sevilla Atlético, the only reserve team, apart from that of Barcelona, playing in the professional leagues.

The structure has also evolved, with two new analysts, Alejandro Bendaña and Alonso López, who are in charge of analysing the dozen or so teams which comprise the youth teams.

All of this growth would have been impossible without the trust put in the Analysis Department by the club. This is confirmed by Ramón Vázquez himself.

“The club is well aware of the importance of analysis and makes significant investments, not only in personnel, but also in infrastructure and facilities. Without the support of the club, the Analysis Department would not function as well as it has for so many years.” 

Working for the Common Good

The interaction between analysts and other departments at the club is extraordinary, especially in terms of both organisation and daily development and, at Nacsport, we’re proud to be a part of it with the 10 Nacsport licenses currently used by the department.

“We have almost daily contact with the coaching staff, to whom we provide information filtered through the established criteria we work with”, continues Ramón, referencing the various methods of collecting and disseminating data which have been worked on and agreed with the Methodology Department.

Likewise, the Analysis Department also supports the Footballing Academy and Technical Department. In these areas, the analysis serves as audiovisual reinforcement to detect errors and weaknesses.

And there’s more…

“Sometimes we work with the Rehabilitation Department, presenting videos to injured players which help them focus on the rehab process.

“Our objective is to identify situations, register them and, from there, export to a large database we are creating. This is where the data is processed from which we prepare reports. In addition, we export all the work to an Excel file and, from there, we work hand-in-hand with the Big Data department”, reveals Ramón.

Nacsport: Time and Efficiency

"We want Sevilla’s youth to benefit as much as possible from our work”, concludes Ramón. “To ensure this, we filter data and videos and, with Nacsport, the job would be unfeasible. This software saves us time and enriches our work. With nothing more than a few button presses, we can get the job done. The time saved is amazing and it allows us to be much more efficient, allowing us to focus on improving teams and players.”