Top of the big era

As the conversation unfolded, Zhou Buqi finally understood how powerful the professor of statistics at Oxford University was.

He is the top leader in the field of data analysis in the UK.

Experts from many data companies in the UK are disciples and grandchildren of Professor Marcus Sotoy, and followed his guidance on this road of data analysis.

After more introductions, Zhou Buqi has a deep understanding of this industry.

The data research method used in European football before is called traditional analysis (analysis), which focuses on game videos and basic data. What he promotes is the concept of big data, which is called data analysis (analytics), and there is an essential difference between the two. Big data analysis is not limited to one or a few games, but a point of view obtained through the aggregation of big data accumulated in different leagues and seasons.

In this regard, the development of European football is too lagging behind.

Because some people in football believe that football is an accidental sport and does not need to obey the principles of analysis. Not only does it not promote the progress of the industry, but many older bosses are still resisting this trend, thinking that a football game is a contest between two teams, not a competition of computing power between two computers.

This is far behind the United States.

Like the NBA.

Under the influence of Bill James in baseball, data analysis has rapidly spread to all fields of the sports industry. For example, in basketball, in the next few seasons, there will be a wave of three-pointers in the "small ball era".

Many people say that it was brought up by the superstar Curry.

This is true, but not entirely true.

There are too many superstars in the history of the NBA. I have never seen any player who can turn his style of play into a trend of the times. Jordan can't do it, and O'Neal can't do it either.

The fundamental reason is that Jordan is a god and O'Neal is a demigod, both of which are irreproducible, and players of the same type can hardly see it.

Curry is different.

He has great replicability, outside shooters do not need exaggerated physical conditions, and the selection range has also been broadened. Under the data analysis, the small guard's three-point long shot is the most effective scoring method under the cold data!

Coupled with the data analysis in the market, fans don't like to see the slow pace of relying on the inside to fight bulldozers in the past, but like to watch the fast-paced offensive and defensive transitions, which has also changed the identification of foul rules from a commercial point of view.

Then, basketball changed completely.

Zhou Buqi agrees with many of Professor Sotoy's viewpoints, even the development direction of football tactics in the future.

For example, the free kick wall he just mentioned requires players to lie on the ground.

besides--

"Through statistical analysis we will see that long-range shots are inefficient attempts with a low probability of scoring. To score a goal, the team should still shoot from close range. This is a statistic of goal expectation. Even if the ball is passed into the penalty area Here, there is a great possibility of being cleared by the opponent's defender, but the overall expectation is still higher than long-range shots."

"The goal rate of heading the ball is much lower than that of shooting with the feet, and it is not even as good as the reverse foot. Therefore, it should be more encouraged to shoot with the feet instead of using the head. When designing tactics, we should focus more on the feet and walk more on the ground."

"Counterattack is the most efficient means of scoring."

"For a weak team, the lower the ball possession rate, the lower the probability of conceding the ball; for a strong team, the higher the ball possession rate, the lower the probability of conceding the ball. Therefore, the weak team should actively give up the ball possession, and the higher the ball possession rate, the lower the ball possession rate. The less, the lower the expectation of conceding goals; the stronger teams should strive for more possession, and the more possession, the lower the expectation of conceding goals."

"Slow-paced teams are more likely to maintain long-term stability, and fast-paced teams are more likely to lose upsets. However, fast-paced teams have higher ratings and are more recognized in the commercial market."

After the professor finished the last paragraph, Zhou Buqi's eyes lit up.

Because David Gill just told him one thing a while ago, that is, the board of directors of the Premier League just passed a topic, which is to encourage the Premier League teams to improve the pace of the game. It is necessary to change the slow game style and long pass style of play of some teams, which will damage the brand image of the Premier League.

The goal is directed at Benitez's Liverpool.

It seems that people in the Premier League do not understand marketing. The faster the pace of the Premier League and the faster the transition between offense and defense, the better it looks! Broadcasting rights can only be sold at a higher price!

Well, behind this is also the shadow of the golden pair of David Gill and Ferguson.

Due to many reasons this season, Manchester United's performance was not stable enough and they lost many games, allowing Liverpool to firmly occupy the top spot in the Premier League. Once handled well, Liverpool may really win the championship!

You know, since the establishment of the Premier League, Liverpool has never won the championship, and the few chances to win the championship were ruthlessly killed by Ferguson.

As a purebred Manchester United man, Ferguson certainly does not want to let his rival win the first Premier League title when he is about to retire. It just so happens that David Gill is the vice-chairman of the Premier League and has a huge influence. Some external means can be used to influence and intervene in Liverpool's tactical play and team performance.

Thinking of this, Zhou Buqi was very moved.

Sir Alex Ferguson must not be fired, not only cannot be fired, but a statue must be erected to commemorate his great achievements. There is also David Gill, he is only in his forties this year, and he has to continue to be reused.

Because Manchester United won the Premier League and Champions League double last season, David Gill raised his salary by 100,000 pounds, and his annual salary became 850,000 pounds. Zhou Buqi thinks that it can be more generous.

Next, Professor Sotoy showed some of his research results, such as judging a striker's scoring ability should be proportional to his marginal points data. The definition of his own marginal points data is that whichever player scores more key goals (the first or second goal of the side), he is more capable.

In addition, he refuted the misconception that strikers are worth more than defenders.

Through data analysis, it is found that the championship depends most on the blue-collar players on the defensive end, who are often underestimated and misunderstood. And those chasing boys in the front line catch all the eyes with shots and goals, but at the same time they are the kings of destruction in the back line to prevent the team from conceding goals.

Professor Sotoy said bluntly: "Football is not a sport full of heroes and superstars, but a sport full of idiots and mistakes."

...

This trip to Oxford has been fruitful.

In the field of data analysis, the level of the UK is very high, not only the champion of Europe, but also not much worse than the United States. The three iron triangles of scientific research, University of London, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford, are the most prestigious scientific research sites in Europe.

The analysis of big data involves mathematics, statistics, logic, and knowledge in related fields such as computer science and artificial intelligence. It is the most cutting-edge topic in the world.

It's no wonder that football is lagging behind in this aspect. With the income of the football club, it really can't afford to hire those excellent big data analysts.

Then Ziweixing can only do it.

For such a technology company, this is actually an investment in a scientific research project. As for whether it can make money through the football industry in the future, it is not important at all.

Big data processing is an important direction of future technological development, and it is also an important part of the development of cloud computing engineering and artificial intelligence.

Lu Qi smiled and said: "This way of thinking is correct. It is difficult to achieve breakthrough results in pure laboratory research. We must combine scientific research and application, and find and change problems in the process of application. Solved The technical problem will also be broken through the application problem. In the field of football, if the research on football big data is really done, it will be a good technical precipitation for Ziweixing, which can be applied to other fields.”

Zhou Buqi said: "You misunderstood me. I really do football not because of hobbies or feelings. I really want to make money. If it is just a personal hobby, I will do it myself, and I will not let Ziweixing do it. Football is just a Cutting into the entrance. If football is done well, then other sports will come naturally, too?"

Lu Qi raised his eyebrows, "Is there a more ambitious plan?"

Zhou Buqi said: "There are many plans, but the road has to be taken step by step. The first thing to pass is the data barrier, which is the core element of developing digital business in the sports industry. This time, Professor Sotoy introduced several of his students. You will contact me later. Well, find someone who is in charge and let him take charge of this independently operated subsidiary. It is best to be British."

"These are trivial things." Lu Qi waved his hand, he was more interested in the big boss's ambitions, "What do you think about the sports industry?"

Zhou Buqi said: "The future is the age of entertainment. Entertainment is mainly divided into three parts, film and television, games, and sports. If Ziwei Star wants to become a giant, it must grab the track. But the existing tracks are all The Silicon Valley giants have been divided up, and there is not much left for us. There is no choice in the horizontal direction, and it is like looking vertically.”

Lu Qi nodded, "Movies and sports."

"More than that." Zhou Buqi paused, "For example, in the field of e-commerce, it is impossible to compete with Amazon. Don't even think about it. But Amazon is a comprehensive e-commerce platform, and you can find opportunities in vertical fields. .For example, Farfetch, which was previously invested, is an e-commerce provider of fashion and trendy products, which can beat Amazon in terms of categories. The same is true for sports.”

"Sports e-commerce?"

"I plan to operate the official websites of clubs all over Europe. The official websites of these clubs all have the functions of online booking and selling official jerseys and souvenirs. This is actually an e-commerce."

"this……"

Lu Qi's eyes widened, and suddenly he felt that the whole strategic idea had gone through.

If you only do data analysis, and then sell the results or software of the data analysis to football clubs... Damn! How much money can this make?

He's not a fan, so he doesn't have a deep understanding of the industry.

It can be heard that there will be opportunities to develop into sports vertical e-commerce in the future, so this is a comprehensive understanding. The concept of "e-commerce" has much more potential than "football".

Zhou Buqi went on to say: "The ticket booking function on the football official website is actually only for booking tickets. After booking tickets, you have to go offline to pay and pick up the tickets. If you don't pick them up after the expiration date, they will be invalid. This is the same as the current domestic phone booking. It’s like a train ticket, and the efficiency of the entire process is too low. Earlier we talked about the ecological concept of ‘Internet + Movies’, didn’t we mean that we wanted to acquire the ticketing website Fandango in the United States?”

Lu Qi said: "It's not the same. To buy a ticket on Fandango, you need to pay online. If you don't go to pick up the ticket offline, there will be no refund after the expiration date."

Zhou Buqi waved his hand, "Actually, they are all the same, they are all backward, and now they are all smartphones. How troublesome is it to buy tickets online and then go to the cinema to pick them up offline?"

"you mean……"

"Digital movie tickets are combined with valid certificates. Get a machine and scan valid certificates to pass inspection. Valid certificates are equivalent to movie tickets. How convenient is this? Football is the same. The official website's ticket booking system is too complicated. It’s complicated and inefficient, so there can be digital tickets.”

"Well, it is indeed a direction."

Lu Qi nodded, looking worried.

Zhou Buqi said: "If Helo on the mobile phone is developed, this product can be built into a super app, which can be connected with these services through Helo. It even includes payment platforms. But this is all imagination. This framework has been built. You have also seen the influence of football. Didn’t you say that Oxford University’s artificial intelligence is very powerful?”

"Yes, very powerful."

"When doing big data analysis for football, you can't collect all the data through people, right? You have to rely on artificial intelligence programs, right?"

"Huh?" Lu Qi looked surprised, "You mean..."

Zhou Buqi said: "You have also seen how influential football is in the UK. In the name of studying football big data analysis, we have cooperated with Oxford University to carry out research on some artificial intelligence topics."

Lu Qi was very excited, "Yes, this is a good idea!"

If you want to cooperate with a university of this level, you don't have to have money, and you have to face layers of scrutiny. In order to cooperate with foreign universities, some domestic technology companies have a humble attitude. Not to mention spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year, but also actively expressing that all research results belong to the university, and I don’t want anything, as long as I can do research and study together...

With football as a shield, many problems can be easily solved.

What safety hazards can football have?

Do whatever you want to study!

The British authorities only have reasons to support it, and there is no possibility of opposition.

Zhou Buqi said: "The football industry must be reformed, and it must develop in the direction of data business. However, I am not interested in promoting the wave of football reform. The best one. The slogan of sports is that it has nothing to do with politics, and doing some cooperative research in high-tech fields through the sports entrance can avoid unnecessary troubles.”

Lu Qi nodded again and again, suddenly admired, this roundabout strategy is really clever, "Oxford University is the university with the most scientific research expenditure and the most conversion results in the UK, and it ranks first in the UK in terms of creating spin-off companies. One of them is called Innovations company whose main business is the transfer of technology property rights.”

Zhou Buqi waved his hand, saying that he didn't understand, "If you are interested, go back to China, communicate with the technical committee, and communicate with Shen Xiangyang."