One question has always been in my mind as a coach: how can we truly evaluate a player’s performance after a game?

More specifically:

• How can we make players aware of their performance in a clear and objective way?
  
  
• How can we communicate what is important for me during the game, and make it important for them too?
  
  
• And finally, how can all of this be expressed in numbers, without losing the real meaning of the game?
  
  

These questions guided me for a long time and pushed me to create a performance evaluation system that is simple, transparent, and shared with the players.

 

From Ideas to a Concrete System

After many analyses and reflections, I started from a few fundamental points:

1. The way the team plays
   Every evaluation system must reflect the team’s playing style. What we ask from players tactically and mentally must be rewarded (or penalized) accordingly.
   
   
2. What I believe is important to get a positive result
   Football is made of episodes. Some actions have more impact than others, and the system must reflect this reality.
   
   
3. What can realistically be measured through video analysis 
   The system had to fit the resources I had available. It needed to be practical, repeatable, and consistent.
   
   

Taking all this into account, I created a list of specific game actions and assigned a numerical value to each one — positive or negative, depending on whether the execution was successful or unsuccessful.

 

Sharing the Values with the Players

The final and most important step was discussion with the players.

I explained:

• What I considered important
  
  
• Why I assigned certain values to specific actions
  
  
• How these actions influenced the team and the result
  
  

But this was not a one-way process.

The players’ opinions were fundamental.
If players don’t believe the values are fair, or if they don’t recognize the performance index as meaningful, then the entire system fails. A shared understanding is essential for the system to work.

 

Example of Individual Performance Values

Below is an example of the performance indicators I used for an individual player:

• Ball recovered: +1
  
  
• Ball lost: -1
  
  
• Ball lost (not forced): -2
  
  
• Dangerous ball lost: -3
  
  
• 1v1 offensive won: +2
  
  
• 1v1 offensive lost: -1
  
  
• 1v1 defensive won: +1
  
  
• 1v1 defensive lost: -1
  
  
• Goal saved: +4
  
  
• Intelligent foul: +1
  
  
• Unnecessary foul: -1
  
  
• Foul received: +1
  
  
• 6th foul received: +2
  
  
• 6th foul committed: -2
  
  
• Second yellow card: -2
  
  
• Red card: -3
  
  
• Forward play: +1
  
  
• Participation in goal: +1
  
  
• Participation in goal chance: +1
  
  
• Participation in goal conceded: -1
  
  
• Participation in goal chance conceded: -1
  
  
• Shot on target: +1
  
  
• Goal scored: +5
  
  

The sum of all these actions produced a total performance value for each player.

 

Individual, Set, and Team Evaluation

Using the same logic, I was also able to calculate:

• The performance value of a Line up (4 players + goalkeeper)
  
  
• The contribution of each Line Up  during the game
  
  

This allowed coaches and players to clearly see:

• Individual contribution
  
  
• Line up contribution
  
  
• How different moments and lineups impacted the match
  
   
  
  

  Post-Match Feedback and Player Awareness

  After every match, I shared this analysis with the players.
  
  The objective was not judgment, but awareness:
  
  
• To help players analyze their own performance
  
  
• To understand where they could have done better
  
  
• In this way, numbers became a tool for learning, not just statistics.
  
  
• To clearly remind them what is important to win games
  
   
  
  

  Final Thoughts

  At the end of the story, every game is made of episodes.
  Every ball matters.
  
  Players should always have clear in their minds:
  
  
• What is important
  
  
• Which actions truly influence the result
  
  
• A clear and shared evaluation system helps transform these concepts into daily habits — on the pitch and in the players’ mindset.
  
  
• How their decisions affect the team
  
  

Contact me if you would like to receive the Numbers sheet for player's performance evaluation