Further Reading: Introduction to Soccer Analytics

This annotated bibliography provides resources for deeper exploration of topics introduced in Chapter 1.

Essential Books

The Numbers Game

Anderson, Chris and Sally, David (2013)

The first major book applying rigorous statistical analysis to soccer. Accessible to general audiences while introducing concepts like expected goals and match randomness. Excellent starting point for understanding why analytics matters.

Best for: Beginners wanting an engaging introduction

Soccernomics (4th Edition)

Kuper, Simon and Szymanski, Stefan (2022)

Combines economics and data analysis to examine soccer's biggest questions: why some countries produce more talent, how to value players, whether managers matter. Updated editions incorporate recent analytical developments.

Best for: Understanding the business and economics of analytics

Football Hackers

Biermann, Christoph (2019)

Profiles the people and clubs driving soccer's analytical revolution. Includes detailed accounts of work at Liverpool, Brentford, Midtjylland, and others. Excellent for understanding organizational approaches.

Best for: Learning how analytics operates inside clubs

Zonal Marking / The Mixer

Cox, Michael (2019, 2017)

While not analytics books per se, these tactical histories explain how soccer thinking has evolved—essential context for understanding what analytics measures and why.

Best for: Developing tactical understanding to complement analytical skills

Moneyball

Lewis, Michael (2003)

The book that brought sports analytics to mainstream attention. Though focused on baseball, the core lessons about market inefficiency and evidence-based decision making apply directly to soccer.

Best for: Understanding the analytical philosophy that underlies modern sports analytics

Academic Papers

Expected Goals Foundations

"Attacking Contributions: Markov Models for Football" Rudd, Sarah (2011)

Early work developing possession value concepts that influenced xG development. Available online through various sources.

"Large-Scale Analysis of Soccer Matches Using Spatiotemporal Tracking Data" Lucey, Patrick et al. (2014)

Foundational paper on analyzing tracking data, demonstrating how spatial analysis can evaluate soccer performance.

Player Evaluation

"Actions Speak Louder than Goals: Valuing Player Actions in Soccer" Decroos, Tom et al. (2019)

Introduces the VAEP framework for valuing all on-ball actions, not just shots. Influential in academic and applied settings.

"Decomposing the Immeasurable Sport" Spearman, William (2018)

StatsBomb Conference presentation introducing pitch control models. Foundational for spatial analysis.

Online Resources

Websites and Blogs

StatsBomb Blog (statsbomb.com) Industry-leading articles on methodology and applications. Free data resources and tutorials.

American Soccer Analysis (americansocceranalysis.com) Excellent analysis focused on MLS with methodological explanations.

The Athletic (theathletic.com) Subscription required. Employs several analysts who produce accessible, high-quality work.

FBref (fbref.com) Free statistics resource powered by StatsBomb data. Essential reference.

Video Resources

Friends of Tracking (YouTube) Academic lectures on soccer analytics from leading researchers. Covers methodology in depth.

Tifo Football (YouTube) Accessible tactical analysis that provides context for analytical work.

StatsBomb Conference Recordings (YouTube) Annual conference presentations from industry practitioners and researchers.

Communities

Twitter/X #SoccerAnalytics Active community of analysts, researchers, and enthusiasts sharing work and discussion.

Reddit r/SoccerAnalytics Discussion forum for methodology, career questions, and analysis sharing.

Journals

Journal of Sports Analytics (IOS Press)

Peer-reviewed research on sports analytics methodology. Soccer-focused papers appear regularly.

Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports (De Gruyter)

Long-running academic journal covering analytical methods across sports.

International Journal of Computer Science in Sport

Computer science approaches to sports analysis, including machine learning applications.

Conferences

StatsBomb Conference (Annual)

Industry-focused conference with presentations from clubs, data providers, and researchers. Recordings available online.

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (Annual)

Multi-sport conference featuring soccer track. Research paper competition highlights cutting-edge work.

Barça Sports Analytics Summit (Annual)

FC Barcelona's conference bringing together researchers and practitioners.

OptaPro Forum / Stats Perform Conference (Annual)

Industry conference organized by major data provider.

Recommended Reading Sequence

For Beginners: 1. The Numbers Game (engaging introduction) 2. Soccernomics (business context) 3. StatsBomb blog articles (methodology) 4. Friends of Tracking videos (technical depth)

For Technical Readers: 1. Academic papers above 2. Friends of Tracking lecture series 3. StatsBomb Conference recordings 4. Journal articles in specific areas of interest

For Career-Focused Readers: 1. Football Hackers (organizational context) 2. LinkedIn profiles of current analysts 3. Twitter community engagement 4. Portfolio building based on open data

Data Resources

Free Data

• StatsBomb Open Data (github.com/statsbomb/open-data)
• FBref (fbref.com)
• Understat (understat.com)
• Transfermarkt (transfermarkt.com)

Commercial Data (for reference)

• Opta / Stats Perform (statsperform.com)
• StatsBomb (statsbomb.com)
• Wyscout (wyscout.com)
• InStat (instatsport.com)
• Second Spectrum (secondspectrum.com)

Chapter-Specific Deep Dives

For readers wanting more on specific Chapter 1 topics:

Continue to Chapter 2: Data Sources and Collection in Soccer