Using data analytics to capture the strategic and financial decision-making of Europe's top football club.

Since soccer is the most prominent sport in Europe—not to mention the world—it is no wonder that deep strategizing has become the norm in its management models. In this study we extract from real data the hidden and nontrivial relationships that have developed within the game in order to further the current understanding of how a team's performance is premised on its tactical and financial choices. We adopt, for the first time—in combination with an ordered logit model—inequality indexes at the team level. Our analysis uses a large and unique dataset that includes all of the teams from the top five European national championship leagues, including detailed player and team statistics. The results differ between the top-tier and medium-to-bottom tier teams and highlight an overall strategic evolution over the last decade. • This research has contributed to filling the gap that exists in the current literature on the key success factors of soccer teams • Our results highlight a change that has occurred in Europe over the last decade • In recent years, winning teams have adopted a community-based game system that features leaders who trigger this mechanism • The implication of our research is that leadership is just one element required to achieve success. • Our paper highlights the necessary levers for the creation of sporting and financial value for sporting enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]