AWS on the pitch in Bundesliga to enhance real-time game analysis
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| 11 February 2021
While on the pitch Bayern Munich are cruising to a nine successive championship, off the pitch TV coverage of the top flight German football league, the Bundesliga, is becoming a lot more interesting with viewing boosted by machine learning and analytics services from AWS.
AWS Bundesliga Most Pressed Player 11Feb2021
The enhancements are fundamentally designed to bring deeper insights to the game of football and enhance the fan experience with new advanced statistics including Most Pressed Player, Attacking Zones and Average Positions - Trends.

The new Match Facts – Most Pressed Player is a key match statistic in the home of the tactic of gegenpressing which has been used by German managers and in particular, with much success, by Jürgen Klopp. Most Pressed Player shows how often a player in possession of the ball experiences a significant pressure situation by measuring the number of opposing players involved, their distance to the player, as well as the direction of every players’ movement. This will also compare the number of pressing situations a player faces while in possession of the ball with the average number of pressure situations faced by their teammates, helping determine which players are under the most pressure.

Attacking Zones, which shows fans where their favourite team is attacking and which side of the pitch they view as most likely to score from. It divides the last third of the pitch into four equally sized Attacking Zones. Every time the attacking team enters one of these zones, either by dribbling or with a pass, the ball possession algorithm counts an attack and displays it in the graphic. The objective of this advanced statistic is to show fans where their favourite team is attacking and which side of the pitch they seem to view as most likely to score.

Average Positions – Trends, which shows how changes to a team’s tactical formation can impact a match’s outcome, has been available since the 2019-2020 season. It offers the flexibility to analyse any portion of the game, rather than just at the half or the game’s end. Media partners and commentators can now choose which time spans to analyse and then compare those sections of the match, making it easier to identify tactical trends.

Bundesliga Match Facts will be generated by gathering and analysing data from live game video feeds as they’re streamed into AWS systems. Fans will see these insights as graphics during broadcasts and in the official Bundesliga app throughout the 2020/2021 season and beyond. The data is then provided back to broadcast viewers around the world in real-time as statistics. These statistics help audiences better understand areas like decision-making on the pitch and the probability of a goal for each shot.

The three new Match Facts will better showcase the action on the pitch and give fans, coaches, players, and commentators visual support for analysing a team’s decision making. They will debut during Matchday 21 on 12 February 2021 featuring RB Leipzig vs. FC Augsburg.

“Every Bundesliga match generates data that can improve play and help fans better understand team strategies, and we are making tremendous strides in leveraging the vast amount of data in our archives and from our league’s current games to develop and roll-out new Match Facts. The advanced statistics that we’re creating with AWS give fans an even deeper appreciation for how the game is played,” said Andreas Heyden, executive vice president of digital innovations for DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga. “Together with AWS, we’re delivering a new perspective on what happens on the field and offering a new and engaging way for fans to follow their favourite teams.”

“Expanding our work with Bundesliga means more fans will gain an appreciation for the incredible talent on the field and the decisions made by teams, at the same time as the league differentiates itself through the use of advanced analytics to improve the quality of play,” added Klaus Buerg, general manager for AWS Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Amazon Web Services EMEA. “In just one year since the launch of Match Facts, AWS and Bundesliga have created statistics that are giving fans around the world a completely new way to experience the game. The pace of innovation we’ve achieved in rolling out these advanced stats will excite even the most rabid fans, help teams shape their strategies, and introduce a whole new generation to the intricacies of football.”