Daily Schmankerl: Bayern players and executives take pay cut to help staff, “We Kick Corona” raises €2.7m in two days

Bayern Munich players and front office take 20 percent pay cut (Bild)

Bayern Munich’s team and board have come together to support the club’s employees by foregoing 20% of their salary during the coronavirus crisis. According to Bild, the executive board — Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Oliver Kahn, and board-member-in-waiting Hasan Salihamidzic — met with the team council to discuss ways they might help the Bayern staff.

They collectively decided that all the players, the executive board, and the supervisory board would forego 20 percent of their salary. Bild writes,

The three parties want to make a gesture of solidarity and ensure that the employees of Bayern Munich do not suffer any financial disadvantages during the coronavirus crisis.

Dortmund has reportedly also decided to do something similar, but the board is waiting for the players’ vote sometime midweek. Schalke is planning something similar.

Kimmich and Goretzka’s “We Kick Corona” raises €2.7m in less than two days (kicker)

More great news on the coronavirus front: Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka have already raised €2.7m for coronavirus relief within days of announcing the effort.

The initiative boasts an impressive list of supporters. As of 5pm German time, March 22, the following players have joined in:

Jonas Hector, Lukas Klostermann, Sebastian Rode, Leroy Sané, Yannick Gerhardt, Mats Hummels, Julian Brandt, Nadiem Amiri, Sead Kolasinac, Julian Draxler, Mitchell Weiser, Thilo Kehrer, Max Meyer, Lars Stindl, Julian Weigl, Marcel Halstenberg, Erik Durm, Jonathan Tah, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Benjamin Henrichs, Benedikt Höwedes.

Surely more will be signing on.

10 Commandments of football analytics (The Athletic)

Here at BFW, we try to use match stats and other metrics in a responsible way in our match observations, awards, and more, but there is always room for improvement. Tom Worville, a football analytics specialist for The Athletic, focusing on the Premier League, wrote an outstanding article detailing his “10 Commandments of football analytics”:

I’ve certainly been guilty of transgressing Commandment 4, for instance:

4) Thou shalt not judge a player’s defensive ability on the number of tackles and interceptions they make

Why not, you wonder?

Why it’s misleading: Not all the defending that a player does is tangible and the measurable output that can be counted is often biased by team style. Logically, if a team has less possession, they have more opportunities to defend, and vice versa.

Hence, “tackle and interception numbers are better indicators of defensive style (i.e. is the player passive or active)” than his quality. Worville recommends instead evaluating defensive stats “for every 1,000 touches that an opponent makes when on the field of play.” I’ll have to figure out how to get that info for the Bundesliga!

Anyway, check out the article if you’re a subscriber! Well worth it.

A game of beauty is a joy for ever

Jose Mourinho spends a day helping the elderly

While he still looks his usual grumpy self...good on you, Jose!