In the second part of the big SPOX interview with Billy Beane, Vice President of Baseball Operations at Oakland Athletics, the Moneyball pioneer talks about adapting his analytical approach to football. He explains his passion for football and talks about his work at AZ Alkmaar. His connection to football greats such as Arsene Wenger and Jürgen Klinsmann is also discussed.
SPOX: Billy Beane, you’ve been part of the Oakland A’s front office in the MLB for almost two decades. Of course, baseball is the most American sport of all, apart from football. But you once said about yourself,”I can’t get enough of Soccer.” Can you explain that statement, please? Where does your love for “Soccer”come from?
Beane: In this round I prefer to say “Soccer”(laughs) I have become a big football fan in the last 15,16 years. My first interest in sport came when I was in the UK and saw how passionately fans cheer on their clubs. Over the years I have met some people, for example Jürgen Klinsmann – we have become close friends over the years. But for me it was just the passion, the emotions of the fans and the history of the sport itself. All this was very interesting for me.
SPOX: And then it became love?
Beane: In the end I became an admirer of these athletes. I saw it with my own eyes when I was a guest at Tottenham – a friend of mine was managing director of Tottenham Hotspur. When I watched these athletes train, I was thrilled by their athletics. If these guys had grown up in the States, many of them would have played baseball: they might be playing for the New York Yankees today, not for Tottenham or Arsenal.
SPOX: Are you getting anything at all from the games in Europe in the USA?
Beane: The great thing here in the States is that we probably have more access to football matches in Europe than anywhere else. Although I’ve been having trouble watching my Bundesliga games for the last few years…. But I always say: The rest of the world can’t be so wrong. It is not without reason the biggest sport in the world and I really wanted to find out why. And I did that.
SPOX: You’ve also been to a World Cup.
Beane: Yes, 2006. This World Cup was perhaps my best sporting experience ever. And the best cultural experience I’ve ever had – and I had some great experiences here in the States, including the World Series. I was fortunate enough to be in the match between Germany and Poland. A great rivalry and the German fans with their songs before the game and the flags they had painted on their faces…. I had goose bumps when I experienced this passion of the people, in their country, for their sport. And of course Germany won. At that time Bastian Schweinsteiger was much younger than today. (laughs) Philipp Lahm was not retired and I think Michael Ballack was the captain. It was a great team that made it to the semi-finals. It was outstanding. Again, it’s just great that we now have access to this sport. And as we speak, Germany will now also have access to baseball – the sport we are passionately pursuing here.
SPOX: As an American, would you say that the World Cup is bigger than the Super Bowl or the World Series?
Beane: If I could attend only one of these events, I would choose the World Cup. It is simply something special to bring the whole world together in one country for one month. What I particularly liked about Germany was how flawlessly it mastered this challenge. And of course the possibility to take the train to the games. We were mainly in Munich and it was easy to take the train. And I must have eaten three doner kebabs a day. You could go out and see people from all over the world coming together in the public squares of Sweden, Spain and the rest of the world. I don’t know where else to find it – perhaps at the Olympic Games. But that was amazing for me. Yes, I would choose the World Cup.
SPOX: You are well known for your famous and revolutionary “Moneyball”model. In short, they use sabermetrics, i. e. in-depth statistics, to evaluate players. In baseball you were very successful and it is well known that you have been working as a consultant at AZ Alkmaar for two years. How did this happen?
Beane: I am already in my third year and very proud of this cooperation and of what the club has already achieved. A very close friend of mine, Robert Eenhoorn, who comes from the Netherlands and has a unique background, is the general director of AZ Alkmaar and asked me if I could help him. He used to play for the Yankees at MLB and went to college in the States. And as a big fan it was an outstanding experience for me to get to know Robert and his whole staff there. It is not a big club and therefore really remarkable and exciting to watch from a distance what was built there.
SPOX: What exactly do you do?
Beane: Robert and I talk to each other a couple of times a week and we email each other more often. I’m very proud of that, partly because of the team’s successes. Not only on the field, but also off the beaten track. It’s a very healthy business. I can’t go into detail, but most of what we do here is based on objective information and data. I’m helping the club build an analytical team to help them make objective decisions for players and predict player performance. Robert is one of the most intelligent young football officials on the continent and it was really fun to share his success with him.
SPOX: Can you tell us a little more about how your analytical approach could be applied in football?
Beane: He will, I know he will. You see, this is true of all companies: all companies and all sports have access to data and information and these companies are pushing ahead with their decisions – including football. If you do not use this data and do not make use of your access to information, you will lose the connection. I can certainly look at the way in which some football clubs make decisions and then tell you whether or not they use modern analytics, simply by the way in which they make their decisions. There are a few smaller clubs that are very successful with this approach. But because they are smaller clubs, this is not necessarily obvious. The fact is, it’s being used.
SPOX: To the same extent as in baseball?
Beane: I don’t think so – which is probably a great opportunity. Because in baseball these days, if you don’t do it, you’re gonna fall way back. It’s not just about the title: everybody does it, because otherwise you won’t be able to play at the top. And this also applies to every other business.
SPOX: You address smaller football clubs. Have you heard of this association in Denmark?
Beane: Midtjyland! That’s what I meant! And Brentford. They have the same owner (Matthew Benham, note:”They have the same owner. the red.).
SPOX: Midtjylland is fully committed to the Moneyball revolution. Are you also involved there?
Beane: Oh, no, I just know them. I’m pursuing her career, so I know the club. As I said, they are smaller clubs, so people don’t necessarily notice what is happening. But the club has communicated some of its actions very clearly. By the way – and I don’t think this is going to be so popular here – I’m following the Red Bull Club a little bit, the one in Germany.
SPOX: RB Leipzig.
Beane: I think this is a fascinating story and has a different perspective than the fans in Germany. I know it’s not a traditional club. But I find their business model and what they have created amazing when viewed from a different perspective. Even if it doesn’t necessarily make the German fans happy.
SPOX: You are more in favour of the American way…
Beane: Yes! I find it fascinating – and I know I’m talking about my head and neck here. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Dortmund, but it’s a really fascinating business story when you look at what RB has built up. I’m having a hard time keeping my fingers crossed for them.
Page 1: Bean about WM 2006, AZ Alkmaar and the Red Bull Club
Page 2: Moneyball explains admiration of Wenger and Klinsmann