Tricks

Looking at North Macedonia's obscure warmups heading into its match against Ukraine, there is no surprise it later lost. As fun as it looked, with the players racing up the pitch and passing the ball between each other using upturned cones, it didn't seem like the appropriate warmup for the Euro 2020 Group C match on Thursday. 

As the world heals from the pandemic, pick-up matches are on their way back as well. Pick-up matches exemplify all the best parts of soccer: intense rivalries, healthy competition and the opportunity to sharpen your skills.

It was a foggy Saturday morning soccer match and I was defending the goal spectating the action going on the field. I had stopped a few shots earlier in the match and my confidence was quickly rising. Thoughts raced through my head, realizing that I was about to officially record my first clean sheet of the season. Then as clear as day the ball was passed to me, and as I went to stop it with my foot it slowly but surely skipped right below my outstretched foot and into the awaiting net behind me.

When it comes to data and analytics in football, most people prefer looking at the statistical relationship between goals/assists and how that’s going to influence the performance of this goddamn Fantasy Premier League team that’s been tanking since December. 

Just captain Harry Kane and be done with it.

But there’s an overlooked statistic that jams well with probability theory, namely, the player with the most nutmegs in Europe this season is probably the greatest footballer alive.