Messi’s Best Kept Secret: The Computer Program that assisted his World Cup glory

Adarsh explores the computer program that has helped Lionel Messi become the best footballer in the world

Rubén Saavedra used to study gene therapy and spinal cord regeneration using rats and mice. Bruno Dagnino meanwhile was researching neural activity in the visual cortex of monkeys and humans. But when the two Ph.D. candidates met at the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, it wasn’t their research on animals that was their biggest topic of discussion; it was football!

Saavedra was from Barcelona, the city where Lionel Messi was plying his trade, while Dagnino was from Argentina, the country Messi represents at the world stage. As it turned out, Dagnino was also a Barca fan. So it’s safe to assume that they must have discussed at length about how good Leo was and how much better he could get.

That fateful discussion led to the founding of an AI-powered tracking data solution that would eventually help Messi get even better at football. The two of them, along with a third friend, Enzo Angilletta, who was into video production, founded Metrica Sports in 2014.

What does Metrica do?

Metrica Sports employs the use of pattern recognition which helps in identifying formations and tactics. Footballers – both professional and amateur – can use the software to improve their tactical knowledge and maximize their performance levels. They can create their own clips and visuals of every part of the game, whether it is pressing the opposition in their own half or defending set pieces and corners.

Metrica analyzes performances by generating Automated Tracking Data (ATD) with their AI-driven Cloud Engine. When processing ATD in the Cloud Engine, the system recognizes the 11 players of each team at each moment in time, allowing the user to analyze different aspects of the game. The various aspects that can be analyzed include team compactness, packing metrics, tactical lines, pitch control computation among others.

Another interesting thing about Metrica is that it can extract data from any camera, whether it is a drone, a scouting feed, a tactical camera or even a mobile phone. The option to upload your own game footage onto the software means that even an amateur footballer or manager can try and emulate the tactics of the best managers in the world.

If you’re interested, there is a version of Metrica which is absolutely free. You can access it here:

How does Metrica work?

Metrica CEO Saavedra makes it sound simple when he talks about how the programme works:

“I see football described as a pyramid – but a better way of looking at it is to compare it to an iceberg. Above the surface are the elite clubs, players and coaches, like Barcelona, Lionel Messi and Ronald Koeman at the club I support. But the biggest part of the iceberg is below the surface, out of sight, and are the clubs, players and coaches at the smaller clubs – and also the fans.”

Metrica CEO Rubén Saveedra gives a visual demo of how it works

“They would love to use technology in the same way that millions of recreational runners and cyclists use apps and GPS systems to monitor and improve their performances. The problem was that it was always too expensive to purchase – until now. At Metrica, we have spent the last seven years working with the top clubs because, I’ll be honest, that’s where the money is. But now we want to democratise football by offering everyone the same tool that is used by elite professionals.

“After all, football is a game that belongs to the whole world.”

And the founders of the software are obsessed with Messi. So much so that even the website’s logo has been derived from a photo of the Argentina captain dribbling.

Who uses Metrica?

Client confidentiality means that Saavedra is not allowed to talk openly about the players and clubs that use Metrica. But it is widely believed that the Spain and Portugal national teams make use of the software as do Spanish clubs Barcelona and Villarreal. Santos in Brazil, OGC Nice in France as well as Chicago Fire and Seattle Sounders in the USA also reportedly make use of Metrica to monitor and improve player performance.

As of today, Metrica provides data and video analysis to more than 80 football teams in 27 countries. And of course, since his time in Barcelona, Messi is believed to have analyzed his own performances and dribbling using Metrica.

The Last Word

Messi playing his second World Cup final, after having already announced that the match against France will be his last World Cup, finally got his hands on the one trophy that has eluded him so far.

Bruno, Rubén and Enzo know that they have also played a little part in that success!

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