Net Gains

Soccer has long been driven by instinct, tradition, and intuition—but this fast-moving, idea-driven book shows how analytics is reshaping how the game is played, managed, and understood around the world.

In Net Gains, ESPN writer Ryan O'Hanlon takes readers inside the clubs, front offices, and analytics departments pushing the sport forward. From cutting-edge teams to unconventional thinkers, he introduces the data scientists, coaches, and outsiders challenging the way soccer has always worked.

In the spirit of Moneyball and modern sports reporting, Net Gains reveals how data is challenging long-held beliefs about how soccer is played and understood.

Through a globe-spanning narrative, the book explores how new metrics and experimental approaches are redefining everything from possession and shot quality to player development and team strategy. Along the way, it reveals how a multibillion-dollar sport operated for decades with limited self-examination—and what happens when that begins to change.

As competing ideas collide, O'Hanlon shows how complexity, uncertainty, and human behavior continue to shape outcomes no spreadsheet can fully predict.

For fans, analysts, and curious readers alike, Net Gains offers a compelling look at how data, intuition, and decision-making intersect in one of the world's most unpredictable games.