Besides the tactical side of the game, scouting is one of the most important tools in Football Manager for achieving long term success.

In recent editions, a new addition came to scouting departments: analysts.

That's why today's interview had to be with one of the great talents in match analysis in Portugal, João Araújo, analyst for the Futebol Clube do Porto under-19 team.

POP: As an analyst, the year you moved up to professional football was also the year the analyst role appeared in Football Manager, a role previously included in the Scouts of the game. Do you think it was a step towards realism? And how did you react to appearing in FM?

João Araújo: Yes, it brings the game closer to the reality we live in football today; they are very distinct roles. For those who play FM and like detail, there is one more thing to keep them entertained and make their teams more competitive.

I found it really funny and obviously felt proud. I always kept playing FM, CM back then, and after all these years being able to appear in the game shows me that the whole journey so far has been worth it, from my student days, childhood and adolescence, to adulthood now, focusing on what I always wanted: being involved in football.

POP: There are three specific attributes in the game: Presenting reports, Team data analysis and Individual player data analysis. What do you think of the attributes chosen, and which one do you feel most comfortable with in your professional life?

João Araújo: Those three attributes are important because they cover qualitative and quantitative information, not only to discover and interpret what the opponent is hiding, but also to give us valid information about our own team and its current moment; it brings the game closer to reality, always with due distance. In my professional life I've always felt more comfortable with qualitative/descriptive information, with what I see and take from analysing the game, but always paying close attention to quantitative data; when well filtered and interpreted, it is crucial to the information you pass on.

POP: Although you mainly work on decoding tactical systems and their dynamics as an analyst, you can also offer input on possible player signings. At Leixões, did you ever look up how certain targets of yours were rated in the game, even if just as a final layer of information to validate your opinion?

João Araújo: We're talking about FM, perhaps the biggest player database in the world, where the values given to players are ever closer to what they really are, as are the values given for their future potential. Yes, there was curiosity to look at some players, to try to find more information about them.

POP: And outside work, when you see a player from a less known team having a good game on TV, have you never been curious to see how he's rated in FM?

João Araújo: Not so much now, because I don't have much time to play hehe, but yes, especially at big tournaments, Euros and World Cups, but more curious about the young talents coming through. One Euros that fascinated me was the 2007 under-21s, which the Netherlands won, and I started following some stars who were emerging, like Drenthe, Maduro, Vlaar and Babel.

POP: Going back to the start, how did your interest in analysing team behaviour come about? Did you have a football background? And what do you find harder: analysing youth or senior games?

João Araújo: This interest in analysing the game always existed, and at a certain point in my life I decided it would be my way into professional football. As well as playing football when I was younger, I began my journey as a youth coach, while doing analyses of various teams and posting them on social media.

In youth or senior football there are excellent game ideas that make my work of picking apart the opponent appealing; the big difference for me is the information available. In senior football we have access to several platforms to watch games, which unfortunately doesn't happen in youth football. In the 2nd Liga, for example, there's an agreement between clubs/analysts to put their home games on a platform so every team can study each other on equal terms.

POP: And where did the CM/FM bug come in amid all that?

João Araújo: It was at school; at the time I only played PlayStation and the usual football games. I became a fan and never stopped playing, buying the new versions year after year.

POP: Did you spend many hours playing and like exploring the database in search of possible stars still unknown to most people?

João Araújo: Yes, I spent a lot of time playing, especially during school holidays, real all-nighters. I would hire several olheiros and send them everywhere to find those unknowns. I remember two in particular: Radoslaw Kaluzny, a Polish defensive midfielder who played for Energie Cottbus, and striker Gianni Comandini, an Italian who played for Vicenza and moved to Milan.

POP: André Villas-Boas played CM, then moved into scouting and analysis and later became a manager. Have you ever thought about being a manager, and is it still your goal to do it at senior level?

João Araújo: Right now I don't have that desire; I'm enjoying my role in football and I still have a lot to develop and learn. Not wanting it for now doesn't mean I don't feel prepared for the role; in the future, who knows.

POP: What direction would you like FM to take in the future? Stay a tactical strategy game or become something more graphical, like FIFA?

João Araújo: I think the future of the game is to keep being a simulator linked to tactical strategy, where whoever plays can have more and more variables to control, more decisions to make, and can create an identity in the teams they manage.

POP: Tell us a funny story about your experiences with the game?

João Araújo: I remember winning the Champions playing on a friend's computer while he was away for a few hours, I can't remember why (my computer was old and super slow so I fed my addiction on his). When he got back I told him I'd won the final 1-0 and the scorer was an unknown, a certain Luca Toni, and we laughed at that name so many times, an unknown who years later became a reference at the teams he played for and in the Italian national team.

Quick answer

1st edition?

CM 99/00

Favourite edition?

I don't have a favourite

Favourite league to play in?

Portuguese and Italian

Favourite team to manage besides FC Porto?

Ajax and Inter Milan

Which do you prefer: Current ability rating or Future potential rating? Future potential rating

Which country would you like to go to to analyse teams?

Italy and England

Posse, Kick and Rush ou misto?

Posse

Anyone who wants to follow a bit of his work can do so at: Laboratório do Mister