Telegraph exclusive: Manchester United uses real-time data systems to prevent injuries and find lazy players

Hupu August 6th, Telegraph reporter James Ducker published an exclusive column: revealing the role of the latest real-time data system used by Manchester United in training - preventing injuries and finding lazy players.

Ruben Amorin's attitude this week was clearer: he would not tolerate any Manchester United player who did not do his best in training, and was not afraid to name a name and criticize in front of all the players.

"If you train in the wrong way, I have videos to show you," the Manchester United manager said. "And I'll show you in front of everyone. So I'm always staring at it (to the players). I hope I can finally get into this stage - I don't need to do anything because the players will urge each other."

"But if you have a bad training one time, I'll show you the (data) image on the spot. I won't talk to you alone, I'll tell you it. I'll show you everything."

Of course, the same applies on game day. Manchester United fans have complained about the team not running enough or not working hard enough in recent seasons. This was revelational when Amorin supported Bruno Fernandez to speak out after a 2-2 draw with Everton in Atlanta on Sunday (Fernandez said the team was "lazy" without the ball).

Fernandez leads Manchester United's new six-man leadership team, including Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot, Nussel Mazravi and Tom Heaton. The head coach hopes to hear from them is exactly this observation to help restrain teammates.

Of course, Amorin would believe what his eyes saw, but when he mentioned that there was a "video" for the players, he was referring to the improved real-time tracking data he could now obtain, which would support his judgment.

Those who have followed Manchester United's U.S. preseason in the past two weeks may have noticed players wearing STATSports' Apex2.0 GPS performance tracking vests.

This latest technology provides the most detailed and timely tracking information to date. The so-called "real-time dynamic monitoring" system can provide Amorin and his team with 5 million 100% accurate real-time data points during the 90-minute game. They can use this data instantly to better understand who is running hard — and who doesn’t. Paul McConan, managing director of

STATSports, explained: "You can make decisions about players based on the data you see in front of you, instead of waiting until the training is over and downloading the data and saying 'I wish Mason Mount could run a little more or sprint a few more times, or actually he's over-practice today'."

While in the United States, Manchester United used the Apex2.0 portable beacon. But the club has invested in purchasing 6 to 8 fixed beacons, covering six training grounds at the Carrington base, and installed four fixed beacons (two at both ends of the court) at Old Trafford Stadium, which can be fixed on lamp posts for one-time installation. GPS data from small devices on the player's vest is continuously transferred to the beacon and then directly to the iPad, which Amorin's coaching team and analysts can evaluate in real time.

During a training session in Chicago, Fernandez was seen helping teammates Luke Shaw and Matteus Cunia adjust the equipment. The technology has another potential key advantage – it can predict when players are at higher risk of injury.

In the last full season coached by Eric Tenhager (2023-24 season), Manchester United is one of the teams with the highest incidence of injury per 1,000 minutes of games in Premier League teams. According to Premier Injuries, 45 independent injuries resulted in a total of 1,620 days of players missing. This is also an important reason why Amorin generally adopted a cautious attitude towards the workload of players last season after taking over the Dutch in November last year. Injuries are part of top sporting events, but Apex2.0 technology will provide Amorin and his team with real-time data when players may enter a high-risk "red zone" (i.e., the phase of the surge in injury risk), allowing them to make smarter decisions.

"They can view dynamic stress loads in real time - this is an indicator of the injury predicted," McConnan said. "Injuries can happen, but we can predict when players will enter that risk zone."

"When you have accurate data in front of you, it's much easier to make a decision in real time than to wait until someone pulls the hamstring and then you look at the data afterwards and say 'If you knew it'. This is where we can really help."

"You can get a deeper understanding of the load a player can bear and when they start to fall, which can be an indicator. The most important thing for any sports organization is to get all players on the court. We help by increasing player availability and minimizing the risk of injury as much as possible."

Manchester United head of physical fitness performance EdLeng expects the Apex2.0 tracker will "enhance real-time tracking capabilities to help us better prepare, develop and protect players."

In short, Amorin should have instant access to more comprehensive information on how much effort a player puts through external loads (such as running distance) and internal loads (such as body reaction).

" (the player's) total running distance is fun, but it tells you a small part of the story," McConnan added. "You may need to focus on dynamic pressure loads involving acceleration, deceleration, high-speed running, etc., and combine all of this to give someone a real rating of their performance."

"Think of a player like Kobe Maynu, who first presses the frontcourt and then has to go back to defense with all his might. We will break the categories down, first of all internal and external loads, and then you also have to look at distance and metrics."

In other words, players have nowhere to hide - as Amorin hopes, this technology will also help him better protect players from harm this season.