Okay, so I’ve been meaning to get into soccer stats for a while, and the Almería vs. Girona match seemed like a good place to start. Honestly, I just picked it because the names sounded cool, no deep strategic reason there!
Getting Started
First thing I did was just… watch the game. I mean, you gotta start somewhere, right? I found a replay online – surprisingly easy, actually. Poured myself a big cup of coffee, grabbed a notepad, and settled in.
Taking Notes… Lots of Notes
Initially, I just jotted down anything that seemed important. Goals, obviously, but also things like, who was controlling the ball most of the time? Who was getting lots of shots, even if they didn’t score? I scribbled down player numbers, times of big events, everything. It looked like a mess, to be honest, like a toddler got ahold of my notebook.
- First Half: Almería seemed stronger at the start. Lots of pressure.
- Girona Goal! (around 20 min): Didn’t see that coming! My notes just say “Girona #9 – fast!”
- Almería frustrated? Yellow card for #23 (I think? Bad handwriting…)
Trying to Make Sense of It
After the game, I stared at my notes, feeling a little lost. All these scribbles… what did they mean? That’s when I realized I needed some kind of system. So, I started making lists:
- Shots on Goal: Counted them up for each team.
- Possession: This was tougher. I basically just estimated who had the ball more during each part of the game. Super rough, I know.
- Fouls: Easy enough, just tally them up from the notes.
The Results (Sort Of)
It wasn’t pretty, but I did get some insights. Even with my messy notes, I could see that Girona, even though they seemed to have the ball less, were way more efficient with their shots. Almería had more shots overall, but Girona made theirs count.
This whole thing was way more work than I expected. It definitely showed me that I need a better system. Maybe some kind of app or template? I think there were a lot of other stats but I record so rough, maybe next time I should take my time to record more details.
Anyway, it was a fun experiment. Definitely made me appreciate the work that goes into those fancy sports stats you see on TV!
