There is a new way of looking over soccer tactics, conducting team practices, and giving management a better understanding of their soccer club and players: Performance Analysis. We are starting to see more companies provide information in regards to performance analysis — companies such as StatDNA and Opta provide club teams or fans information on how a certain player is performing and/or look at the team overall.

One company that is working with clubs around the world is Prozone. I recently interviewed Prozone’s U.S. Operations Manager Stewart Mairs, and discussed the company and the services they provide.

So who is Prozone? Prozone was established in 1995 and has been pioneering performance analysis for 19 years and have set the standard in performance analysis industry. Their mission is to deliver insight that has an on-field impact, through their technology and expertise in consultancy. One of their goals is to move into media, rugby, and multisport. Prozone’s U.S. office is located in Chicago, IL and run by Mairs who wears a number of different hats from being in charge of sales operations to account management to consulting.

Mairs has been with the company for 10 years and has seen first hand the change in the ways they use performance data. Mairs studied at Hull University in the area of Sports Science. Coming out of college he worked for Virgin Active Gym, in which, he applied for a position at Prozone. The only position available at Prozone was to be stationed out in the Middle East. Mairs moved abroad to Abu Dhabi and worked with Al Jazira FC for five years.

The main reasons why Mairs likes working for Prozone is because, for him, he believes they have always tried to be one step ahead of the game and work with hard working individuals who have been with the company for a long time. Most of the individuals have worked at soccer clubs and are driving to move the industry forward.

Prozone is changing and helping soccer’s management in three key areas: classroom, training, and in games. Prozone can track the movement of profiles, focus on attacking ends, and help find a defensive balance. The way they are able to do this is by collecting data. However, Mairs is a purist, and stresses the importance of how to collect and deliver the data. “There is a lot of talk about the use of data, but it needs to be applied correctly from the top down,” states Mairs. Prozone and Mairs focus on having reliable and accurate data in order to provide consistent services to their clients.

Prozone has contributed to different aspects of the game of soccer. Tracking data, predictions in future performances with goal expectancy, asset management and recruitment are areas that Prozone focuses on. They have the ability to examine characteristics and understand gaps in the teams’ rosters. “This can help a team value a player and put a price to his name,” said Mairs, thus giving the team a soccer decision on whether or not to sell the player or help improve his/her skills.

Over the years, Prozone has been growing in the US. When the company first started out, they were only working with one MLS team and four colleges. Now the number of teams have grown with some of their clients including Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC, Columbus Crew, DC United, and the Women’s U.S. National Team. One of their booming areas is the college game with roughly 150 universities all across the AAC, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC conferences using Prozone’s services.

However, there is still some resistance from MLS teams in using performance analysis. Mairs states that, the “majority of teams see the value in performance analysis, but there are several reasons why teams are holding back. Some of those reasons have to do with the cultural, economics, and the team’s main priorities on their agenda with performance analysis not being on the top of the list.”

Not all managers believe in the value of performance analysis and have their own methods of coaching. However, there are managers who do value the data, such as Sam Allardyce and Roberto Martinez. Mairs states that “Liverpool is doing some great work with the data being collected and Manchester City have up to 10 analysts working for the club.”

As mentioned before, Opta provides their data to the media and fans. Prozone is in the process of releasing a licensed software to the general public. With this affordable software, smaller colleges, high schools, amateur club teams, and fans will have the ability to analysis soccer games of their liking. Giving the general public access to this type of product can help change the cultural of U.S. soccer that is holding back the current MLS teams who are not taking advantage of performance analysis. Just as the U.S. coaching system is changing by generation to generation with different philosophies, so can the acceptance of using performance analysis and the back room staff.

Performance Analysis will not automatically make a soccer club successful. It is important to understand that when collecting data that a soccer club knows what to collect, how to breakdown that data, and present that data in a media that both the coaches and the players understand. This will better execute the ideas of a manager on the pitch and start to see some results taking the club to the next level. Prozone is helping and changing those clubs in the right direction.

One of the ways Prozone is leading in the industry is by offering courses using their technology and software for people like you and me. Prozone is offering courses both in the U.K. and the U.S. If you would like to get more information about taking the courses or more information about the company please visit them at prozonesports.com

One advantage that manager Roberto Martinez has in his goal to help the team qualify for Europe is his lucky run of games in the last two months of the season. The Spaniard showed his luck year after year with Wigan Athletic keeping them in the Premier League in prior seasons. Now Martinez is at the other end of the table fighting for a spot that would be massive boost for his new club. With Everton’s winning display on Sunday showing their never-say-die attitude against a Fulham team that was better than them in the first half, Martinez was very happy with the Toffees’ response in the second half, stating, “We never gave up and kept an important clean sheet in the first half and that allowed us to regroup. We then saw a performance full of guts and determination and a never-say-die attitude, which is needed as the platform in any winning team.”

Some said that the Spaniard did not have the experience to take a mid-table team to the next level. Especially, since Martinez was not able to keep his previous team, Wigan Athletic, up in the Premier League last season, being relegated to the Championship. Some people even thought Martinez was even a bit ambitious when he stated he would take Everton into Europe. However, one man that did believe in the young manager was Bill Kenwright, Everton’s chairman. It did not take long for the chairman to make his decision to hire Martinez as the next Everton manager. Now with the Premier League winding down, Everton is still chasing that final spot for either the Europa League or the Champions League.

Roberto Martinez is not the only one surprising people around the league. Under his management, players such as Seamus Coleman, Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu, James McCarthy and John Stones have all taken full advantage of the opportunities they have been given this season. These players are very young, but full of confidence that they can compete with the big boys of the Premier League. This confidence comes from their manager and the senior players on the squad. With the likes of Leighton Baines, Gareth Barry, Sylvain Distin, Leon Osman and Tim Howard helping the younger players, Roberto Martinez seems to have found a right balance within the team.

If Everton does manage to qualify for Europe next season, there will be more games to be played and Martinez will need to look into signing more players over the summer transfer window. This season, Everton has been hit with injuries to key players, with the current squad not having a lot of depth on their bench.

Signing new players is one of the toughest jobs a football manager has to focus on. He not only needs to sign the right player but he also needs to work on the financial side of the transfers.  Everton is not known for having millions to spend on players the way Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham do. These six teams are the ones that consistently fight for a European spot. Their sponsorship deals vary from £12-30 million a year. Everton has recently announced an extension with Chang, a Thai brewing company, as their sponsor. The new deal could be worth around £16 million over the next three years. This is a massive difference between Everton and the other top teams. However, Martinez does not let the numbers in the sponsorship deal discourage him.

The Spaniard has overall done a fantastic job in signing players either on a permanent basis or as a loan. There is the Lacina Traore transfer that occurred in the January window that did not work out too well, with the player suffering an injury and has only being featured in one FA Cup match. Not every deal is certain and an injury can occur to any player. Most of the signings, however, have all produced thus far. Gareth Barry seemed to rejuvenate his career, in the midfield, with a move away from Manchester City. Deulofeu and McCarthy have both been players who can change a game with each scoring a game-winning goal. Roberto Martinez is renowned for his long hours reviewing and studying players. Some people may think that only looking at the soccer player’s statistics can tell a manager if this player is worth signing. The Toffees’ manager takes it a step forward explaining that the player not only needs good statistics but also a good attitude both on and off the field.

One thing is for sure, Everton seem to have a new attitude under Martinez with everyone at the club believing they can qualify for Europe either this season or in the near future. Many fans have backed the new Toffees’ manager from the start with his positive attitude, changed philosophy and different style of play at the club, making it entertaining and exciting for the fans and everyone around the league. Could this be the year that Everton add more success to their rich history? The manager, his staff, players, the chairman, and the fans all think so.

For more Everton news, analysis and opinion, visit the Everton team page.

Most soccer fans are anxiously waiting to see the year’s most anticipated games to be played this summer at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Millions of Spanish-speaking fans in the United States will tune-in to ESPN Deportes to get the latest up-to-date coverage that will be offered, but who will be the voices they will hear?

ESPN Deportes has announced that Hugo Sanchez, a former Real Madrid and Mexican national team striker, will be added to their lineup as one of the correspondents who will analyze and share his expertise on the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Soccer fans may remember Hugo Sanchez as a player who scored many goals for club and country, winning La Liga’s Pichichi (top goal scorer award) five times in the later ‘80s. Sanchez was also a manager for teams such as UNAM Pumas (MEX), UD Almeria (ESP) and the Mexican national team. During his career as a player and a manager, Sanchez is always a person that has a way with words. He is not afraid to speak his mind, right or wrong, which offers an interesting perspective on the game and could also be very entertaining.

Hugo Sanchez will be teaming up with other former players, such as, Mario Kempes (leading goal scorer for the 1978 World Cup for Argentina), Jared Borgetti (all-time leading scorer for the Mexican national team), and expert soccer journalist Jorge Ramos (ESPN analysis for Jorge Ramos y Su Banda). ESPN Deportes believes that with such a mix group of contributors they will offer the fans an all-round coverage of tactics, strategies, opinions, and predictions of the games. The coverage of the games will be available across television, radio, online and mobile, giving the fans the most up-to-date information.

ESPN Deportes can count on Sanchez to get his point across when analyzing the month long soccer event and giving viewers a different aspect of the game. Sanchez will be a valuable asset to the contributors’ booth and will mix well with the other correspondents.