Gianluca’s South American tour
We asked Gianluca to sit down and write up his amazing experience of travelling around South America, demoing and installing PlayerMaker with some of the biggest clubs outside of Europe.
As a Peruvian, I thought I knew a bit about the South American passion for football. But seeing it first hand was something else. I’ve just returned from an epic trip around South and Central America, introducing clubs to PlayerMaker’s groundbreaking technology. Five weeks, five countries, and 19 clubs in total. There were many highlights, but if I had to pick one, it would be meeting Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the most successful coach in Brazilian Serie A history (ex Brazil and Real Madrid, now at Vasco da Gama). He’s got a reputation for being tight-lipped but when I showed him the PlayerMaker System he got pretty excited about all the ways you could use the data.
The most impressive thing I saw? Brazilian technique up close. Brazilians are just on another level because they play futsal when they’re 8 or 9 and play in reduced spaces. They’re famous for their ability to take players on — just think of Neymar or Willian. But I discovered that this doesn’t just happen by accident. At Fluminense I watched the U17s spend 30 minutes practising 1 on 1s, and similar sessions at other clubs. This is a Brazilian stamp. It was really cool to see it with my own eyes, and awesome to see that close control being done with our sensors.
After meeting some of the most important clubs in the continent, I’ve come to realize how far South American clubs have come in terms of methodological work and the detail they put into practice. PlayerMaker brings a lot of value to teams from a technical and tactical perspective and this translated into an amazing reception at each of the clubs we visited. Every door we knocked on was opened with a smile and an invitation to return. The understanding and appreciation for PlayerMaker by the clubs gives me hope that I will be back on that side of the world very soon.
back to grid
Company News | 20.06.2019
Academic study shows the efficacy of PlayerMaker load monitoring
The lowlight? Probably a brutal 24-hour journey (2 flights, a 6-hour wait and then an overnight bus) from San Jose in Costa Rica to Chillan in south-central Chile. Luckily I went there to visit 2nd division club Nublense and it was worth the travel. My visit to Nublense, our first South American client, was to help implement their systems with the head coach and sports scientist. Training at Nublense started at 7.30am, as soon as I arrived. Still, it was worth it for the beautiful views of the Andes and the warm welcome I received — lunch consisted of an enormous Chilean barbecue which I tucked into with the staff.
In Buenos Aires, I visited the three biggest clubs (Boca, River and Independiente) plus Argentinos Juniors, who are known as el semillero del mundo (seedbed of the world) for their ability to produce great players such as Maradona, Riquelme, Redondo and Cambiasso. PlayerMaker was new to these clubs but they are always looking to innovate and were really interested. The River Plate Reserves commented that the sensors were way more comfortable than GPS devices worn on the chest or back, which is always nice to hear.
I didn’t really know much about the Peruvian football scene so it was amazing to go and meet all the big clubs and learn all about it. Lima’s Sporting Cristal, for example, was an amazing surprise. Their academy, methodology and development ethics were unique and inspiring. It’s always a pleasure to go back home and there was plenty of time between training sessions for a good ceviche or a ‘lomo saltado’.