Balls.ie hosted an event in conjunction with the Science Gallery on 2 April last, examining the phenomenon of data in sport.
Balls.ie co-founder Ger Gilroy was joined by Financial Times journalist and author Simon Kuper and Dr. Tom Markham, head of strategic development at Sports Interactive (the people behind Football Manager) for a truly fascinating discussion.
The discussion ranged across many things including why England lose penalty shoot-outs, the best performing team in the League in terms of maximising resources and the overstating of the role of psychology in modern sport.
One of the most interesting moments was when Simon discussed how Daley Blind unwittingly helped Germany win the World Cup.
Watch the brilliant discussion below:
Here is the clip which interested the German analysts so much. Daley Blind shows the perfect way to defend a one-two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EmoMzV5QUc&feature=youtu.be
