Every club in world football needs to consider its scouting methods. Pro clubs have scouts working for them that try to uncover the next big thing. Finding the right player can be worth millions to a club as well as potentially bringing success.
Some clubs have a reputation for bringing through players and finding stars in obscure leagues. Spotting that a player has what it takes to play in Serie A is not easy but it can make a huge impact and when the player comes in and rips it up in the Italian leagues they often then get bought by a huge club.
How the Process Works
Scouting works in a couple of ways. There are huge databases of statistics that are available to managers and scouting teams but watching players is also one of the most important things about scouting.
Modern technology has changed the way it is done and this is partially in conjunction with the gambling industry which has played such a big part in Italian football in recent years and decades. We have seen more streaming come into the world of gambling and this has had a knock-on effect in the world of sports.
The technology behind streaming relies on fast internet connections and good video quality. This is something that has been seen as more gambling companies shift to a live dealer casino style which involves connecting to a person on another end of a video connection. Players can make their decisions in real time. This technology is available to casinos and used to create virtual gaming rooms – it would have been unthinkable to stream at these speeds 10 or 20 years ago. It is now commonplace in the gambling industry and this has also helped it to become common in football. Even the lower league games and obscure fixtures that aren’t on television may have streams.
Streaming platforms allow Italian clubs to monitor players from virtually anywhere in the world. It is now possible to evaluate a player’s form and potential without physically attending a match. Clubs can track young talents across smaller European leagues with ease as well as in other parts of the world. This has significantly reduced the cost of travel and made it more feasible to follow up-and-coming players. Access to full games and highlight reels allows scouts to assess players in different scenarios. Databases of these videos including WYSCOUT and other tools have become popular as a way to track what players are doing and watch video footage of them.
Examples of Scouting Success
Juventus’ scouting network has been particularly successful in South America. The club has consistently unearthed talents from the region – smaller clubs need credit too and Paolo Dybala was scouted and signed from Argentina’s second division by Palermo before moving onto Juve and developing into one of Europe’s top forwards.
Even before the internet made things easier clubs were finding stars. Javier Zanetti has set many records in Serie A for foreign players (including the appearance record) and was picked up from Banfield in Argentina.
International fixtures give another chance for scouts to attend and watch potential players. Recently, scouts from Italian clubs attended a fixture against Belgium. Juventus are rumored to be looking at multiple players in this fixture with a view to making new signings.
Dušan Vlahović is another huge success story and Fiorentina picked up the striker when he was playing in Belgrade for Partizan. He’s now 24 and playing for Juve with rumors that he will end up going to the Premier League or even play for one of the biggest clubs in the rest of the world in the future. Madrid or Barca could come calling. Claudio Ranieri even seems to think the striker is better than Man City talisman Erling Haaland!
Italian clubs also rely on strong relationships with agents and feeder clubs to gain early access to potential stars. These relationships often span multiple continents and give clubs early insight into players that could be the next big thing. Many agents will tip off clubs about their clients long before they enter the spotlight, and this gives Italian clubs the chance to monitor and evaluate talent well in advance of their rivals. There is a constant battle to be the first to discover the next huge talent.
Conclusion
Italian clubs have also embraced the diversity of talent by signing players from all corners of the globe. This approach to building teams has allowed clubs to incorporate different styles and strengths into their squads. It is also a clever way of providing exposure in more countries. If a Serie A player is doing well then the country they are from may start to pay attention. African countries and Asian countries are particularly interested when a player gets picked up by a top European league and we see this bringing new commercial opportunities.