How Benfica uses technology and data science to be one of the world's best football clubs

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Data tracking and technology has become as important to big football teams as their armies of coaching staff.

An array of sensors, GPS tracking systems and state-of-the-art gym facilities are now part and parcel of the world's wealthiest teams.

Earlier this month, Sport Lisboa e Benfica - one of Portugal's most historic and successful clubs - gave Wired access to their training ground and youth academy 'Caixa Futebol Campus'.

The tech-heavy training school houses some of the most advanced sport science data and tracking systems in the world. 

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Benfica's state-of-the-art training facilities, propped up by its data systems, have helped them to win four domestic Primeira Liga titles on the trot on top of earning more than £270 million ($350m) in player transfer fees in the past six years

These systems have helped Benfica win four domestic Primeira Liga titles on the trot, on top of earning more than £270 million ($350 million) in player transfer fees over the past six years.

'Until recently, the players went into the field and it was up to them,' former Benfica and Portugal striker Nuno Gomes, now general manager of the Caixa Futebol Campus, told Wired.

'Now, data is another tool to help us to improve the players and the team.' 

The Caixa campus consists of seven grass pitches, two artificial fields and a 360S facility – a 'playable' indoor lab that records player agility and accuracy.

The 360S lab includes canons to fire footballs at players and LED lights to provide ever-changing targets, as well as an array of sensors and computers.

Benfica's Caixa Campus includes a halls of residence for 65 youth team members, who are put to the test each day as they try and break into the club's first team.

Sport Lisboa e Benfica - one of Portugal's most historic and successful clubs - has some of the world's most advanced sporting data systems at its youth academy 'Caixa Futebol Campus', including the 360S training lab (pictured) kitted with LED lights and football canons

'It is not an easy job for them,' Mr Gomes said.

'But it is their dream, and we are here to help them to achieve their goal of being professional footballers.'

Benfica have a lucrative track record of training up little-known youth players and selling them for tens of millions of pounds.

They make as much money from nurturing, training, and selling players as they do from actual football. 

The team use data systems powered by Microsoft Azure (screen grab pictured) to collect information about each of its players and create a tailor-made training regime

The club's investment has paid off as it now both grows its own talent - limiting the need for expensive incoming transfers - and acts as a feeder club for the wealthier giants of Europe.

Much of this success is driven by the club's unrivalled training facilities and data science teams.

'The programme here is working,' Mr Gomes said, hinting at Benfica's 36 domestic league titles.

'But we want more. It's our philosophy to be the club that innovates and be the first club in Portugal to have new technologies.

'Innovation can help us to always be the number one.'

Once youth team members enter the esteemed campus, their every move is tracked and stored in a giant 'data pool'.

Data scientists track how many hours of sleep players have had, which players recover better, how much a player will grow, and much more.

They use GPS tracking to gather player speed, distance covered, and average heart rate per game.

Using this data, each player receives a tailor made training programme, helping to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and keeping them free from injury.

'The challenge today in sports science is to use data modelling to allow us to make better decisions,' club CEO Domingos Soares de Oliveira told Wired.

'Our approach is to find the right talent at the right time.

'But we always believe that technology and innovation can help us to perform better.'

Almost every aspect of a player at Caixa Futebol Campus is monitored: How much they eat and train; how fast they tire or recover; even how they feel mentally.

Benfica winger Eliseu Pereira dos Santos spun around on a moped in the team's dressing room after they won this year's domestic Primeira Liga title

All this is analysed by Benfica LAB under the supervision of its head of operations Bruno Mendes.

At LAB an army of experts take the raw player data and merge it into usable information.

LAB's systems optimise match readiness, define personalised training schedules and prevent injury.

'Using machine learning and predictive analysis, we can learn the facts that lead to success,' Mr Mendes told Wired.

'Players can then use these learnings to optimise performance and continually improve.'

Joao Copeto, one of Benfica's chief information officers, added: 'The big advantage we have now is machine learning.

The club's investment in data  has paid off as it now both grows its own talent - limiting the need for expensive incoming transfers - and acts as a feeder club for the wealthier giants of Europe (stock image)

'Five years ago, we had to use our own data centres and servers to do the computations. Now we use Microsoft Azure, which is very powerful.'

Benfica has been investing in its advanced facilities for eight years, and were one of the first clubs to introduce machine learning to their training systems.

'Every club is looking for prediction models,' Mr Copeto said.

'We have very good models for player stress and for fatigue, but now machine learning can help to explore this even more.'