The CA Huracán Coaching Staff

 

Currently playing in the Argentinian Premier Division, Club Atlético Huracán have invested heavily in live video analysis. And that makes perfect sense when you consider the team of coaches and analysts who work there. Headed up by Diego Dabove, this is a team with extensive experience in the world of Argentine football.

 

Alongside assistant manager Guillermo Formica, we can find an old friend of the Nacsport family, Pablo Fornasari. Pablo has extensive experience of Argentine football, having previously worked at Godoy Cruz and Banfield. He is now Dabove¡s second assistant and is a key player on the Huracán bench when it comes to analysis.

The team is completed by two further top-level analysts, Diego Castello and Matías Herrera, both of who bring a wealth of knowledge when it comes to analysis. In the case of Castello, he has been a Nacsport user since his days at Club Deportivo Maipú, a team where he laid the foundations for the live analysis system that is used today at Huracán.

 

 

 

The Distribution of Live Analysis Tasks

 

Each of the four members of the coaching staff that assists Diego Dabove play a fundamental role in ensuring that live analysis has a direct impact on the game, from checking that the equipment works correctly to the implementation of strategy from the bench.

 

 

 

Prematch: Checks and Setting Up

 

The work of the analysts begins three hours before the start of the match. The two analysts, Diego Castello and Matías Herrera, arrive at the stadium with all the material needed to conduct their analysis. This is set up and checks are carried out to ensure everything is working smoothly.

 

Once the gear is set up, a further series of checks is carried out about an hour and half before kick off. These include:

 

• The signal strength of wifi masts

• Video streaming and the received quality

• That walkie talkies and other communication devices function correctly

 

These checks are needed to ensure the smooth running of the analysis operation. This can be difficult as the Argentinian stadiums where Huracán play generally attract an average of 30 - 60 thousand fans per match. This mass of humanity can cause interference in signal strengths, for example, which can sometimes make the work difficult.

 

 

 

During the Match: Live Analysis

 

Diego Castello and Matías Herrera get into an elevated position, usually a cabin or tower, from where they can film the entire field and tag the action that is happening. First and second assistant coaches, Pablo Fornasari and Guillermo Formica, on the other hand, sit on the bench alongside Diego Dabove.

 

The two analysts share the tasks during the game. One will be filming the action, whilst the other will be tagging the game, sending relevant clips to the bench and communicating with Pablo Fornasari through walkie talkies.

 

Using a tagging window that has been especially designed for live analysis, the game is tagged and the most relevant clips will be marked as favourites. This is a function which is available in the Nacsport live analysis environment and creates video clips which the analysts consider to be obligatory viewing for the bench, either during the game or a halftime.

 

But what type of clips do they consider to be favourites? Well, those that show the strengths and weaknesses that the team observes during the match. This can be of their own team or the opposition.

 

Video clips are complemented by comments made to the bench through walkie talkies. The analysts give their interpretation of the game as seen from their elevated position and perspective.

 

On the bench, Pablo Fornasari receives the video clips through an iPad and shares them with Formica, who will be the one that talks directly with the Dabove, who can also review any streamed video clips during breaks in play.

 

 

Occasionally, one of the analysts will be required to attend the locker room at halftime in order to show clips to the coaching staff. This isn’t a common occurrence, but can be part of the process.

 

 

A Nacsport License Which Allows for Streaming Images

 

Club Atlético Huracán use Nacsport Elite for their live analysis work. This is our flagship, top-of-the-range product which contains a comprehensive suite of analysis tools.

 

But live streaming can also be done in Nacsport Scout and Pro through the Play-by-Play table. You can learn about the different live analysis options available to our users through the side-by-side comparison on our website. 

In addition, we offer an even more advanced option for streaming live analysis. Nacsport Coach Station has been specifically designed for effective communication between analysts and the bench. With this program, you can stream, not just video clips, but live game data.

 

 

 

 

A Camera to Film the Match

 

Obviously, a camera is needed to film the game. In the case of Huracán, they use a Sony Handycam 440. This allows for filming in MP4 format in HD resolution, ensuring that sufficiently good quality images can be sent to the bench.

 

Of course, there are many other video cameras available on the market. The type you use will depend entirely on your needs and budget. Just make sure the camera meets the requirements for such a task.

 

If you want some recommendations about which camera to buy, check out this free hardware guide, which can be downloaded from our website.

 

 

 

A Computer that Meets the Minimum Requirements

 

Huracán uses HP computers with an i7 processor and 8GB of RAM for their analysis work. This perfectly suits their live analysis needs.

 

Again, there is a wide range of computers available on the market. We recommend that you check out the minimum and recommended requirements for using Nacsport for live analysis on our website.

 

Likewise, the hardware guide that we mentioned above contains a section on recommended computers. Download it and have a browse. There is also a section in this book for capture devices, which we will talk more about below.

 

 

 

A Video Capture Device to Connect the Camera to the Computer

You have to be aware that the camera cannot be connected directly to the computer when streaming live images. A capture device is needed, which digitises the footage so that it can be read by the computer.

 

At Huracán they use an Avermedia Extremecap UVC/HDMI. This is one of the devices which has been tested and confirmed to work seamlessly with Nacsport. You can find other alternatives in this page of our website, for both Windows and Mac.

 

 

An Mast and Router to Set Up a Local Network

 

Huracán uses a wifi mast and router from Ubiquiti for their live streaming. This is a reliable brand which offers a strong signal at a decent range. These two devices create aclosed local network where only the two work computers can be connected, meaning that there is minimum interference.

 

 

 

Two iPads to Receive Streamed Video

 

At Huracán, they have two iPads which are used as a receiving device for video streams. One is an iPad Pro and the other an eight generation iPad. The basic difference is in the size of the device. The larger on is generally used on match day to give the best possible view of the action.

 

Whilst Huracán uses iPads, the truth is that any device with a web browser can be used to receive images. This could be an Android tablet, a second computer, or even a mobile phone.

 

Este es el caso particular del equipo de análisis de Huracán, pero lo cierto es que el dispositivo receptor puede ser cualquiera que cuente con un navegador web: puede ser otra tableta, una computadora o incluso un teléfono móvil. 

 

 

 

How to Connect the Equipment for Live Analysis

 

Again, there are many different ways to conduct a live analysis with Nacsport, but we’ll concentrate on the setup at Club Atlético Huracán.

 

 

The Setup on the Bench 

 

The whole process begins with the setup of the equipment on the bench.

 

The router is configured and the iPads are connected to the wifi network. Remember, we’re talking about a local network here, so no internet connection is actually needed.

 

A wifi mast takes the signal from the router and emits it to where the analysts are positioned in the stadium.

 

The router is connected to both the mast and a battery. In fact, both mast and router are powered by battery.

 

 

Signal Reception and Connection to the Analysts

 

The mast near the bench sends a signal which is picked up by a second mast which is located near to where the analysts are positioned. This means that a point-to-point connection is established.

 

The receptor is connected to the computer via LAN cable, which gives a more reliable connection. Downstair, on the bench, a cable is not needed as the signal intensity will already be high.

 

 

Starting a Live Stream

 

Once all the equipment has been connected and the signal working, the Nacsport live analysis environment is opened.

 

The software displays the IP address that will be shared with the other devices in the network. Once all devices are connected, the process of sending data through the Play-by-Play table can begin and the live analysis can commence.

 

 

Two Lines of Communication: Audiovisual and Verbal

 

Throughout this article, we’ve referred to the walkie talkies that the team uses. Although not strictly necessary, they do facilitate the entire communication process.

 

In fact, during a live analysis process at Huracán has two distinct methods of communication, verbal, which is done with walkie talkies, and audio visual, which is the streaming of a Nacsport analysis.

 

These are two complementary methods of communication which provide extra information to both the bench and the analysts.

 

 

 

Tagging Window for Live Analysis

 

At Huracán, they have a dedicated tagging window which has been created specifically for live analysis. This contains a limited number of buttons, all of which are automatic with a pre-time of 20 seconds.

 

Why has it been set up this way? Well, when using automatic buttons, game actions can be tagged with just one click. The analysts at Huracán do this using keyboard shortcuts which save time and make the process easier.

 

With regards to the chosen Pre time of 20 secs, their experience dictates that this is the typical amount of time needed to observe a full play.

 

Their live analysis tagging window looks like this:

 

 

This template is only used for live analysis and the collected data is discarded shortly after. Going forward, the analysts use a range of tagging windows which allow for a much deeper analysis of different aspects of the game. These include one for the analysis of set pieces and another for opposition analysis.

 

 

A Word of Thanks

 

From all of us here at Nacsport, we would like to thank everyone at Huracán and their head coach, Diego Dabove, for authorising the publication of this article.

 

We’d also like to thank all members of the coaching staff, especially Diego Castle and Matías Herrera, who provided us with the majority of information and the materials which are included in this blog.

 

Thank you all for your collaboration.