Football scouting · Recruitment · Data
RicardoAlmeida
I scout players for CF União de Lamas, and I built the tools I use to do it.
- Currently
- Scout — CF União de Lamas
- Based in
- Portugal
00In short
I came to scouting from coaching, which is where I learned to watch players. Data helps me decide who is worth watching; it has never told me whether a player can play. Most of the job is choosing what is worth recording, and writing it so that someone else can use it.
01What I do
Watching and assessing players
I watch matches live and on video, and write up what I saw against the same framework every time, so that two reports can be compared and a verdict can be revisited months later.
Reading the data
I use statistical exports to narrow a league to a list worth watching — profiles by position, percentiles against comparable players, and two players side by side.
Building the tools
I built the two tools I use every week. What the department needed either did not exist or cost more than a club at this level can spend.
02What I have built
Two tools I made for my own work, and the observation work they exist to serve.
03About
How I got here
I spent several years coaching in youth football before moving into scouting. That is where I learned to watch players, and it is still how I think about assessing them.