Data Mining and Machine Learning in Sports - Success Metrics for Elite Goalkeepers in European Football Leagues

This brief highlights the factors associated with good goalkeeping techniques and their impact on goalkeepers' performance in elite European football leagues. The goalkeeping performances of 1600 goalkeepers from five consecutive seasons across the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, and German Bundesliga are studied. The findings from this brief are useful for identifying the success metrices of top-class goalkeepers that help stakeholders to devise strategies to further enhance their performances and empower talent identification experts with pertinent information for mapping out future high-performance goalkeepers.


Dr. Rabiu Muazu Musa holds a PhD in Sports Science from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia. He obtained his MSc in Sports Science from UniSZA and his BSc in Physical and Health Education at Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. He is currently a senior lecturer at the Centre for Fundamental and Continuing Education, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. His research activity focuses on the development of multivariate and machine-learning models for athletic performance. His research interests include sports performance analysis, health promotion, sport
and exercise science, talent identification, test, and measurement as well as machine learning in sports.


Dr. Anwar P.P. Abdul Majeed graduated with a first-class honours B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Universiti
Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. He obtained an MSc. in Nuclear Engineering from Imperial College London, United Kingdom. He then received his PhD in Rehabilitation Robotics from the Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). He is currently serving as an Associate Professor at the School of Robotics, XJTLU. Prior to joining XJTLU, he was a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) and the Head of Programme (Bachelor of Manufacturing Engineering Technology (Industrial Automation)) at the Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering Technology, UMP. He is also currently serving as an adjunct lecturer at UCSI University, Malaysia. Dr Anwar is also a Visiting Research Fellow at EUREKA Robotics Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. His research interest
includes rehabilitation robotics, computational mechanics, applied mechanics, sports engineering, renewable and nuclear energy, sports performance analysis as well as machine learning.


Ms. Aina Munirah Ab Rasid has an academic background in health psychology, specializing in sport science.
She completed her master's degree at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, focusing on the practical application of sport science principles. Prior to her master's degree, she earned a bachelor's degree in biomedical Electronics Engineering from Universiti Malaysia Perlis in 2020. Driven by her passion for sports, Aina decided to pursue advanced studies in sports science, utilizing her engineering background to explore various facets of the field, including performance analysis, sports analytics, sports biomechanics, and instrumentation in sports.


Dr. Mohamad Razali Abdullah obtained his Bachelor of Physical Education in 1989 from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). He obtained his MSc in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff in 1998 and in 2007 he received his PhD in Sports Science from UPM. His research interests include motor control, sports biomechanics, motor performance and machine learning in sports. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health Science Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia