FIFA’s player ratings are the culmination of 5.4million data points that span the game’s clubs and footie stars – and the Herculean task of compiling these stats is overseen by just one bloke.
Michael Mueller-Moehring leads a team of 9,000 data reviewers: a network of scouts, coaches and season ticket-holders whose job it is to watch as many matches as possible.
Their subjective analysis is even more influential on Fifa’s player ratings than EA’s own advanced stats and trends.
“We have many leagues in the game; no stats provider could offer us data for all these leagues, teams and players,” Mueller-Moehring told ESPN.
“This is also the reason why we use this online database because it’s not possible to buy this data some way — it just doesn’t exist.”
The stats alone can’t cover the vast amount of clubs and players in the game – and lack the context the scouts’ insights bring to it.
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“The stats are, in most cases, not taking into account very specific circumstances,” Mueller-Moehring explains.
“When you look at passing completion, if you play for Bayern Munich or if you play for Manchester City or if you play for Pep Guardiola, if your system is based on possession, you will have more successful passes than other players, but this doesn’t necessarily make you a better passer.
“And when you look at attributes like trapping and ball control, there is data, but the data never gives you the specific situations. Same for tackling.”
But, in the case of rookies, the statisticians start with guesswork.
“All you know about this player is his name, date of birth and his position — and his position may be as precise as, ‘Oh, he’s a midfielder.’,”Mueller-Moehring says.
“We guess a little bit … until our people have seen the player in action.”
Pinpointing a player’s “mental make-up” is also crucial – this is another area where stats often come up short.
“If Messi were playing in the Irish league, his attributes would drop simply because he’s not on the highest level anymore,” Mueller-Moehring explains.
“We want to base our ratings on actual performance data.”
FIFA 19 is expected on September 28, 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch. Keep on following us also through our social Facebook and Twitter for other news and information.
