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The Role of Technology in Brazil’s World Cup Dream

09 Oct, 2021

6 Min Read

By Tony Sprangers

With thousands of Brazilian players playing professionally worldwide, it’s an arduous task for the Brazilian national team analysts to track and identify the best talents for selection, especially with a World Cup on the horizon.

In this article, we learn how five-time world champions use a full suite of technology solutions to scout players, develop them for the national team, and work towards their goal of World Cup glory.

Having cut his teeth in the analysis teams of Brazilian club giants Corinthians and Atletico Paranaense, Bruno Baquete had a solid grounding in his career before progressing to performance analyst with the Brazil National Team beginning with his involvement in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The Brazil National Men’s Team known as the Seleção, work in two key time periods when preparing for a tournament - the pre-call up and during call-up stages.

“Before the call-up stage we analyse all of our athletes, including those around the world and within Brazil,” said Baquete. “Essentially, we analyze the games in the stadiums and via video analysis where we create and database footage that has strategic importance to our selection and development processes.

This is especially useful during this pandemic period, as we can't go to the stadiums. During the pre-call-up stage for player selection, video analysis is a fundamental tool for us to obtain images of the athletes for discussion.”

The Seleção are in the process of building their squad towards next year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

When analyzing players to call up to the Seleção squad, Baquete and his partners need hard evidence to prove a player’s worth, in terms of selection. It’s through video analysis that they can effectively measure specific elements of performance that make a player suitable for the team.

“The first thing is to understand our team strategy and game model, then we can analyze and search for statistical information for a player based on these references,” said Baquete. “For example, if I need a player who completes a lot of forward passes, I will use the software to analyze and verify a player with these qualities.

I don't just want a player who completes many forward passes, but also the quality of those passes, and video allows me to have a more complete analysis where I can see accurately how the player also performs in terms of positional strategy on the field.

Some players we call up can already play in the game model we want, while for others we can use analysis to create a project where we show them different models and pave a way for them to learn how we want to play in the national team.”

The Brazilian analysis team capturing video and live coding during an international match.

The call-up phase of selection is aided using the Wyscout API - the tool that allows them to automatically get data for the Seleção coaching and analysis staff for players they are tracking from all around the world.

“For the players we are interested in around the world, we deposit all of the information in our database using the Wyscout API and within the platform we have the information to generate a customized report to analyze what we need from these athletes,” said Baquete. “Then we can watch videos on the Wyscout platform, which is connected to our entire database, to complete the analysis of the athlete and connect the statistics with visual evidence.

So there is a connection between the qualitative and quantitative data. When I pull these two datasets from the same database, I can connect to a statistical action, for example a pass or a finish, with the video.

Therefore, I can integrate both datasets. Combined with information from Hudl Sportscode, which is the basis of our analysis work every day, we can create an integrated cycle, a grand solution that accelerates our analysis process.

“For the players we are interested in around the world, we deposit all of the information in our database using the Wyscout API and within the platform we have the information to generate a customized report to analyze what we need from these athletes". Bruno Baquete - Performance Analyst, Brazil CBF

The sharing of images and data has become faster and technology is taking us in this direction. But what was already a challenge in the past, becomes even more challenging with the accelerated pace of everything as we have to rapidly filter all of the data that we are receiving.

It is an ever-growing challenge; we are getting more data, more rapidly. The Wyscout API allows us to create increasingly powerful filters so we can arrive at the needed data we need, faster.”

The Seleção combines all of their high-performance video and data solutions into one integrated platform. The connectivity of Hudl Pro Suite allows Baquete to seamlessly link together workflows in a shorter time span. This is crucial in national team setups where there is a limited amount of time where the players and coaches are in camp together.

“With the national team we previously had a situation where we had to switch between different analysis tools, and the problem with this was there was no interoperability,” said Baquete. “There was once a lot of storing in one place, then exporting to another. Now with everything integrated, it facilitates our entire workflow, because more connectivity is better.

Analysis on the go: Using Hudl Sportscode while in transit between match locations.

The global football calendar is already so full with club football and we only have a small amount of time to generate complete analysis with the national team, so we must have a connected solution to relay information as quickly as possible.”

For example, the analysts with the Seleção can use the Pro Suite platform to download match footage from Wyscout, code the footage in Hudl Sportscode, then export to Hudl or Studio to apply telestration and graphics.

“With the arrival of Studio, we now have a situation where we can close the loop within our analysis workflow,” said Baquete. “We want integration and speed in the national team environment, so for us to be able to simply grab a video, add it to the software, add designs then return to the organizer all in one platform is extremely important.

Another important detail in Studio is the automation when I pull the game report which automatically pulls the name of the athlete along with their playing number connected to the design.

I don't need to copy the name, to enter player numbers, to search for the game report, or search for whether he played or didn't play, it's all there automatically. These are key details that make a difference, that streamline the process.”

"The analysts with the Seleção can use the Pro Suite platform to download match footage from Wyscout, code the footage in Hudl Sportscode, then export to Hudl or Studio to apply telestration and graphics". Bruno Baquete - Performance Analyst, Brazil CBF

All roads lead towards the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar for the Seleção and the strategic use of video and data to inform selection for the tournament will be a (huge) contributing factor towards the potential success of the team. Baquete will be no stranger to this environment as it will be his second World Cup campaign.

“I had the opportunity to work in the last World Cup and I saw how difficult they are, because every team prepares a lot, they're the best national teams in the world and it's a short tournament,” explained Baquete. “When you get to the knockout round, you have 90 minutes to decide on every bit of work you did over the last four years, so every detail is important.

To pull the best information, to generate qualified analysis, our area is important. But in the end, the grand protagonist is the athlete. We give the data to the trainers, so they can create all of their processes to help the athletes feel good, to be in top shape and make the best decisions.

We always speak about how the human factor is important, Tite is a guy who defends this a lot, the human factor involved in the entire process. We always aim to transfer data, information and analysis to include the human factor as well, which is fundamental so they can feel best in the team environment.

I hope I am able to contribute to our grand objective. All of us as Brazilians, we want this title, we are seeking this, trying to improve everyday.

It's our dream, to arrive at the next World Cup and be able to compete and earn the right to be champions.”

Our brand new advanced, easy-to-use telestration - Learn more about Studio.

High-performance video and data on one connected platform - This is Hudl Pro Suite.