How soccer scouts identify talented players

Figures & data

Table 1. Questions in the questionnaire, per section of the questionnaire.

Section	Question number^a	Question	Scale
Scouts perception of predicting performance	1	“At what age can you reliably predict if a player has the potential to participate in professional soccer?”	Age in years (e.g. 14 or 17 years old)
Attributes relevant for future performance	1	“Describe a maximum of five attributes that you take into account when observing a player in your respective age cohort and that you consider to be predictive of future soccer performance”	Open
	2	“Please rank the attributes you described in the previous question from 1 = most predictive to 5 = least predictive”	Rank
Scoring and combining information	1	“Before observing a player, I already know which attributes I will evaluate”	Likert (1 = never to 5 = always)
	2	“When observing a player, I evaluate each attribute I find important separately”
	3	“I evaluate different players – of the same age and playing position – on the same attributes”
	4	“After observing a player, I sum my scores on the independently evaluated attributes to form my final prediction”
	5	“After observing a player, I use my overall impression of the player’s attributes to form my final prediction”

^a The question number per section of the questionnaire.

Figure 1. Age at which scouts perceive they can predict performance, stratified by age cohort of players scouted (error bars indicate ± SD). Each dot indicates a scout answer.

Table 2. Attributes scouts considered predictive of future soccer performance, in terms of total frequency (k) and the number of times each attribute was considered most predictive (1st).

Performance category	Attribute	k	1st
Technical	Technical skills or technique with the ball^a	82 (50%)	34 (74%)
	Ball control	25 (15%)	6 (13%)
	(Skills related to) transitioning^a	11 (7%)	1 (>2%)
	(Skills related to) defending^a	9 (6%)	1 (>2%)
	Pass intention or accuracy	9 (6%)	1 (>2%)
	First touch	6 (%)	0 (0%)
	(Skills and abilities related to) attacking^a	5 (3%)	1 (>2%)
	Shooting or shot technique	5 (3%)	0 (0%)
	Two legged	3 (2%)	1 (>2%)
	Dribbling	2 (1%)	0 (0%)
	Applying pressure	1 (<1%)	0 (0%)
	Blocking	1 (<1%)	0 (0%)
	Building up offensively	1 (<1%)	0 (0%)
	Disrupting the offensive build up	1 (<1%)	1 (>2%)
	Preventing goal scoring opportunities	1 (<1%)	0 (0%)
	Scoring goals	1 (<1%)	0 (0%)
	Performance category total	163 (28%)	46 (37%)
Tactical and perceptual-cognitive	Game sense and awareness	53 (40%)	11 (39%)
	Speed of handling	23 (17%)	7 (25%)
	Positioning or moving without the ball	19 (14%)	2 (7%)
	Vision, perception, seeing teammates and opponents, gaze behaviour	19 (14%)	2 (7%)
	Decision-making	8 (6%)	5 (18%)
	Tactical skills^a	6 (5%)	0 (0%)
	Football intelligence	4 (>3%)	1 (4%)
	Performance category total	132 (22%)	28 (22%)
Physical, physiological, and motor skills	Physiological or motor skills^a	38 (30%)	15 (58%)
	Sprinting speed	36 (28%)	4 (15%)
	Physical attributes^a	23 (18%)	2 (8%)
	Coordination	7 (5%)	0 (0%)
	Body composition or athletic build	6 (5%)	2 (8%)
	Agility	4 (3%)	1 (<4%)
	Strength in duels	4 (3%)	0 (0%)
	Explosiveness	3 (2%)	0 (0%)
	Length	3 (2%)	1 (<4%)
	Mobility	2 (2%)	0 (0%)
	Movement rhythm	1 (1%)	1 (<4%)
	Stability	1 (1%)	0 (0%)
	Performance category total	128 (22%)	26 (21%)
Personality-related and mental skills	Winning mindset or mentality	32 (26%)	6 (33%)
	Drive or intrinsic motivation	31 (25%)	9 (50%)
	Personality-related attributes^a	17 (14%)	1 (<6%)
	Perseverance, resilience, or toughness	11 (9%)	1 (<6%)
	Behaviour on and off the pitch	7 (6%)	1 (<6%)
	Coachability or fast learner	7 (6%)	0 (0%)
	Assertiveness or dominance	5 (4%)	0 (0%)
	Coaching other players or leadership	5 (4%)	0 (0%)
	Positive attitude	4 (3%)	0 (0%)
	Performance or goal oriented	2 (<2%)	0 (0%)
	Focus or concentration	2 (<2%)	0 (0%)
	Self-confidence	1 (<1%)	0 (0%)
	Performance category total	124 (21%)	18 (14%)
Miscellaneous	Team understanding, involving teammates	12 (26%)	1 (14%)
	Communication	10 (21%)	0 (0%)
	Undefined^b	8 (17%)	3 (43%)
	X-factor	5 (11%)	0 (0%)
	Innate talent (nature)	3 (6%)	2 (29%)
	Adaptability	2 (4%)	0 (0%)
	Biological age	2 (4%)	0 (0%)
	Calendar age	2 (4%)	1 (14%)
	Appearance	1 (>2%)	0 (0%)
	Education level	1 (>2%)	0 (0%)
	Lifestyle	1 (>2%)	0 (0%)
	Performance category total	47 (8%)	7 (6%)
	Grand total	594	125

Notes: Results are presented as absolute number of answers with percentage in brackets. Percentages per attribute refer to the percentage within performance category, whereas percentages per "performance category total" row refer to the percentage of grand total number of answers. Note: the total frequency for the attributes does not sum to k = 625 (i.e. 5 × 125), because multiple scouts listed fewer than 5 predictors.

^a Indicates an answer that can be considered a “general” domain, rather than a more specific predictor.

^b Answers that did not contain enough content information to be considered a predictor and could not be assigned to a performance category (e.g. “matching the playing style of club […]”).

Figure 2. Response percentages to the statements on the different aspects of structures that scouts apply when assessing players.

Data availability statement

The dataset associated with the main analyses can be accessed through a Dataverse repository (https://doi.org/10.34894/LKDXFD). The data has been made available without restrictions and can be accessed by all interested parties.