Football Data Analyst

Yiannis
Kastritis

I analyse how players and teams create, concede, and transition value — combining tracking and event data to produce insights across off-ball movement, defensive transitions, opposition analysis, and player profiling.

View my work
5Portfolio projects
MScFootball Data Analytics
3Club environments
NHSData & decision-making

"My background in sports therapy and healthcare gives me a different lens — pattern recognition, physical performance, and structured thinking under pressure."

Selected projects

01 — Flagship

Off-Ball Run Value in Transitions

A deeper investigation into what makes off-ball runs valuable — focusing specifically on transition situations using SkillCorner open tracking data (A-League). Context, timing, and movement combinations explain run value far better than run type alone. Late-phase runs generate 3× more threat than early runs. Cross-receiver combinations with forward and support runs produce 2–3× more value than isolated movements. Player profiles reveal three distinct transition roles: finisher, facilitator, and connector.

Tracking Data SkillCorner xThreat Sequence Analysis Player Profiling Physical Intensity
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02 — Series

Off-Ball Movement & Attacking Threat

The first project in a two-part series using SkillCorner open tracking data (A-League). Quantifies how off-ball runs contribute to attacking value across all phases of play. Cross-receiver runs generate ~5× more xThreat than support runs. Transitions significantly amplify run value. Movement consistently progresses play into central high-value zones.

Tracking Data SkillCorner xThreat Run Classification Player Profiling
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03 — MSc Thesis

Tactical Role Profiling & Clustering

MSc thesis project redefining player roles using PCA and K-Means clustering across La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A. Delivered as a live interactive Streamlit dashboard with radar charts, player comparison tools, and tactical role filters — built for scouting workflows.

Live App PCA K-Means Streamlit Scouting
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04 — Pipeline

Regain → Progression Pipeline

Linking defensive actions to attacking outcomes by tracking what happens in the seconds immediately after a team wins the ball back. Analyses how teams convert defensive moments into structured attacks — bridging defensive and offensive phases of play.

Transitions Event Data Pipeline Phase Analysis
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Interactive scouting dashboard

Live App

Tactical Role Profiling Dashboard

An interactive Streamlit application built from my MSc thesis. Explore player roles and performance metrics across Europe's top leagues — designed to support scouting workflows and tactical decision-making.

  • Positional dashboards — Defenders, Midfielders, Forwards
  • Tactical role filters by data-driven cluster group
  • Player comparison via radar & bar charts
  • PCA-derived Key Performance Areas
  • Custom metric selection & raw data table
Launch app
football-role-clustering.streamlit.app
Position
Midfielders ▾
Tactical Role
Ball-Winning Midfielder ▾

A different kind of analyst

I'm an early-career football data analyst with a hybrid background combining tactical football analysis, data analytics, and sports therapy and healthcare.

My work sits at the intersection of tactical insight and data-driven analysis, with a particular focus on off-ball movement, transitions, and spatial behaviour — areas where tracking data is reshaping how we understand the game.

Before moving fully into data, I worked as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse with the NHS — an environment that built strong pattern recognition, structured decision-making, and the ability to communicate complex findings to non-technical stakeholders. That background translates directly into how I approach football data.

I hold an MSc in Football Data Analytics and have worked in real football environments across scouting, opposition analysis, and club governance — including time with Portland Thorns (NWSL), US Mondorf, and Athenians FC.

My MSc Sports Therapy dissertation examined the effects of static versus dynamic stretching on sprint performance — academic research that directly informs how I interpret physical performance data in football analytics today.

Technical

Pythonpandas Streamlitmatplotlib seabornSQLTableau

Data & Methods

Tracking DataEvent Data PCAK-Means xThreatSpatial Analysis

Football & Domain

Off-ball MovementTransitions Opposition AnalysisPlayer Profiling BiomechanicsLoad & Fatigue

Academic Research

Sprint PerformanceExperimental Design Statistical AnalysisBiomechanics Sports Science

Where I've worked

Portland Thorns
via Sports Data Campus

Applied Opposition Analysis — NWSL Context

Applied opposition analysis project developed through Sports Data Campus, structured around a Portland Thorns (NWSL) scenario. Used IMPECT-style event data to identify patterns around regains, box entries, and transitions — delivered as a coach-facing report within a professional analysis framework.

US Mondorf
Video Scout

Video Scout

Match analysis, player evaluation reports, and tactical observation in a real football environment. Developed the ability to communicate data insights clearly in football language.

Athenians FC
Club
Board Member Tactical Analyst Video Analyst Player

Multi-role Club Involvement

Involved at Athenians FC across four dimensions — as a board member contributing to club-level decisions, as a tactical and video analyst producing match and opponent analysis, and as a player with first-hand understanding of game structures from within the environment.

NHS
Healthcare

Diabetes Specialist Nurse

Decision-making under pressure, pattern recognition from complex data, and structured communication with non-technical stakeholders. A background that directly informs how I approach analytical problems in football — particularly in physical performance and load management contexts.

Let's talk football data

Open to roles at data companies, clubs, and hybrid analysis environments. Particularly interested in tracking data, off-ball movement, and transition analysis.