Spiideo Pitch Control for Soccer
What is pitch control for soccer? How does the expert use it?
Take control of play with powerful positional data visualization
Positioning on the soccer pitch determines whether a player has space to attack and time to make game-winning decisions and whether there are gaps in defense for the opposition to exploit. But with control of the pitch often determined by microscopic movements, judging the impact of positioning and relaying this information to players based on video footage alone can be challenging.
Spiideo Perform’s new Pitch Control visualization offers an additional tool for coaches to analyze team shape and movement and offers visual evidence of how the spatial relationships between each player impact play.
Available now for AutoData Soccer LIVE users, Pitch Control visualizations are automatically generated from positional data for every player — both home and away — captured by Spiideo’s AI camera solutions. Every second of play is analyzed, providing effortless insight into spatial control across each area of the pitch throughout a game.
Enhanced development through visual learning
Pitch Control offers a variety of game-changing opportunities. Coaches can use past game footage to analyze the opposition’s back line for vulnerabilities or the density of their own defense during different phases of play. Philadelphia Union, an early user of the tool, uses it to study the space behind the ball when in possession, for instance.
But it’s not only a crucial tool for coaches, but also for those out on the pitch. Caught up in the pace of the game, players might feel that they were well-positioned during a particular play. However, Pitch Control’s simplified, bird’s-eye view might tell a different story that helps them to realize and learn from in-game mistakes.
They might look at a scoring chance, pull up the map and be able to see where that space opened up and what they might have done to close down that space. That’s where it ends up being really helpful and that’s why the whole platform is incredibly invaluable to us.
An affordable solution for every level of the game
Space control visualization tools have been available for a few years, but past solutions were out of reach for all but those with large budgets and vast resources — until now. Spiideo’s Pitch Control levels the playing field, enabling teams at every level to benefit from game-changing positional data visualization at an affordable price.
At Philadelphia Union, the cost-effectiveness of Spiideo’s solution means that the tool, once reserved for those at the senior level, can now be deployed throughout its youth ranks to accelerate individual development and prepare its future stars for life at the top.
When they become a first-team player, there won’t be that ‘What am I looking at? How do I ingest this?’ moment. We’ll avoid that, which is why the platform has been invaluable to us. The under-10s are using video the exact same way on the exact same platform, so as kids matriculate through the program, there’s no learning curve to get to the first team.