Google and Liverpool FC Develop Tactics with Artificial Intelligence

The tool, named TacticAI, especially shines as a corner kick expert. "Mega interesting, what it can lead to," says a Danish researcher.

Liverpool FC is currently exploring the opportunity to refine their tactics with artificial intelligence. This revelation comes from a new study recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

The study is part of a striking collaboration between the Premier League club and Google DeepMind, which is Google's artificial intelligence research team.

Liverpool has provided the Google team with unique data, and the football club's head of research – they indeed have one – is a co-author of the study.

According to Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen, an associate professor at a Danish University and a sports researcher, "it's mega interesting, what this can lead to."

"The world of sports, like the rest of society, must adapt to the technological advancements coming from artificial intelligence," says Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen, who studies creativity in sports

"Therefore, big kudos to Liverpool for being open to trying different ideas," says the researcher, who was not involved in the new study.

Out of the three-year collaboration, the AI tool TacticAI was born.

According to the researchers behind it, TacticAI can function as an assistant to a coaching team, navigating a football world increasingly dominated by data.

The goal is not to replace the colorful (and highly paid) head coaches who shout and gesture from the sidelines. The overarching goal is simply to "maximize the chances of winning," as stated in a press release.

But how?

A Corner Kick Connoisseur

TacticAI excels in a specific aspect of advanced football play: the corner kick.

According to Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen, "it makes good sense" to focus on the corner kick, which "is less complex and dynamic than other phases of the game." He has written an article on how to better train set pieces. The same assessment comes from Marco Chiarandini, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Southern Denmark, who has researched the use of data in football and other sports:

Feeding AI with over 7,000 Corner Kicks

However, the new study by Google and Liverpool has not concluded that balloon balls or short corners are always best.

Specifically, the AI has refined players' runs and positions from the analysis of thousands of corner kicks, slightly increasing the danger of corner kicks by a few percentage points here and there. The Google researchers have thus fed their artificial intelligence with a dataset from Liverpool's recent seasons totaling 7,176 corner kicks – a regular 90-minute game has about 10-11 of them.

Through image analyses of the thousands of corner kicks, the AI has become exceptionally knowledgeable about how players move and position themselves in the box and – more crucially – who has the greatest chance of receiving the ball, depending on how it lands in the box.

The artificial intelligence has then used its expertise on corner kicks to create new corner kick formations that maximize the chances of what the entire game of football is about: putting the ball in the net. Experts from Liverpool favored the AI

The AI tool is "still in a development phase," states Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen.

So, while it may be fun that Google and Liverpool have teamed up in a research project, TacticAI – as far as is known – has not had an effect on what happens within the lines at Anfield – Liverpool's infamous home ground.

The artificial intelligence's corner kick creations have not been tested in the real world, neither on the training ground nor in a match.

So far, the researchers have only quality-checked their potential corner kick genius by having a range of experts from Liverpool choose between corner kick formations created by the artificial intelligence and those created by humans.

Here, the experts – three computer scientists, a video analyst, and an assistant coach from Liverpool – actually chose the AI-generated corner kicks over the human-made ones 90 percent of the time.

According to Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen, this indicates that the AI's approach to corner kicks must embody a certain level of creativity: "When they tend to favor the artificial intelligence, it must be because its suggestions are both different and better than those they come up with themselves. And the very definition of creativity is to solve a task in a new and useful way."

According to Marco Chiarandini, the researchers have done "a commendable job." However, he is somewhat skeptical of the team of experts they used to verify the corner kicks.

"Apart from the assistant coach, the others are not necessarily real experts in what happens on the field. I would like to see what a couple of former players have to say. And I would like to hear from more than five," says Marco Chiarandini.

Will AI Revolutionize Football?

In a press release, TacticAI is described as a tool that can "revolutionize the sport for players, coaches, and fans."

Whether a revolution is in sight remains to be seen. But there is no doubt that artificial intelligence – as in other parts of society – will leave its mark on elite football and sports in general, says Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen.

"One risk is that all training and tactics become too instrumental and directed by the coaches based on specific play patterns generated by artificial intelligence, without allowing players a say. We know this is bad for motivation and thus for participation in sports," says the associate professor.

"It is therefore important to explore how artificial intelligence can enrich the experience of various sports activities – not just how it can help to improve performance and win matches at the elite level," he adds.

In the world of chess, the chess computer and artificial intelligence have created new insights and strategies. For instance, edge pawns – the outermost pawns on the board – have been given new significance in the chess world because of strategies from the chess computer.

Can a similar novelty occur in football?

"Football is so complex and unpredictable by nature," says Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen first and then adds:

"But yes, I would not be surprised if there are some exciting and different ways to execute corner kicks in the future. And from a spectator perspective, that's great."

Marco Chiarandini also notes that the technology "will probably be useful," but interjects:

"Football will still be a game of the moment – and thank goodness for that."

However, he mentions that it is "somewhat ironic" that Liverpool, in particular, has made use of the AI tool, as they conceded a "quite creative goal from a corner kick" against Manchester City a few weeks ago.

"The goal was created by a clever move from Alexis Mac Allister (Argentinian Liverpool player, ed.), who left his position in a way that skirted the edge of the rules. But I doubt this creativity was generated by AI," concludes Marco Chiarandini.