Big-5 Weekly Post - Issue 54

The CIES Football Observatory is happy to inform that the 54th issue of the Big-5 Weekly Post has been published. As usual, the first Big-5 Weekly Post of the month presents the best performing players in the big-5 leagues.

This edition focuses on the performance of big-5 league footballers from the start of November until games of the last matchday.

The most surprising result is the first position in the Italian general ranking of Omar El Kaddouri, a Belgian-Moroccan 23 year-old attacking midfielder loaned by Napoli to Torino.

At the second place is the 19 year-old Domenico Berardi who already greatly contributed to the promotion achieved by Sassuolo last season. He was signed by Juventus during last transfer window, but remained on loan at Sassuolo in order to gain experience.

Several players signed at the start of the season have adapted perfectly to their new work environment and are to be found in the top 3 positions of the general table in their respective league: Navas (1st in England), Isco (1st in Spain), Bale (2nd in Spain), Thauvin (2nd in France) and Son (2nd in Germany).

Based on data provided by our partner OptaPro, the CIES Football Observatory rankings take into account pitch productivity in five key areas of the game: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution and recovery (see below for more details). By weighting each indicator according to the strength of its correlation with club results, we obtain a general index highlighting the most decisive footballers.

The rankings of the best performing players in the five major European championships per area of the game can be found in the Big-5 Weekly Post. This can now be downloaded from the CIES Football Observatory website.

Methodological note: specifications of indicators

•    Shooting measures the effectiveness of players to shoot and score goals, excluding penalties
•    Chance creation refers to the ability of players to put teammates into shooting positions, with particular emphasis on goal assists
•    Take on highlights footballers who are both productive and efficient in dribbling, crossing and winning corners
•    Distribution refers to the ability of players to make accurate passes, above all in the opposition half
•    Recovery brings to the fore players whose tackling and interceptions minimise the chances for opponents to score goals and shoot, especially from close rang