Every aspect of the likes of Maldini, Nesta and Shevchenko comes under the microscope, providing AC Milan with a vast amount of psychological, attitudinal and behavioural information about the players.
Under the strict supervision of Bruno Demichelis, AC Milan’s physiologist, the team undergoes detailed psychological profiling using SHL’s occupational personality questionnaire (OPQ), one of the world's most widely used personality questionnaires. This helps AC Milan to understand what motivates players, why they react in certain ways, and how they fit into the team. The information is then used to help decide which footballers play in which matches, and predict and counteract the impact of new team members.
Bruno Demichelis, physiologist for AC Milan said: “Footballers need to be mentally and emotionally assessed and developed as well as physically trained. Football teams have been experimenting with psychology for some time, yet our goal was to find a way of analysing both individuals and the team dynamic that mirrored the techniques used by big companies. The OPQ is proven, and provides a measurable, objective analysis of players’ behavioural styles. In using this knowledge as a basis for improvement, the player effectively becomes an entrepreneur, a manager of himself.”
John Bateson, CEO, SHL added: “It’s essential that football players connect mentally and become a well balanced team both on and off the pitch. For instance, one players’ fiery ego in the run up to a crucial match can be balanced by the influence of a personality type such as “a calmer”, optimising the performance of the entire team.
“Companies looking to maximize the value of their people have been using psychometric assessment - a key management technique - for 25 years. The benefits of this form of measured talent management to the bottom line is now accepted in the boardroom, and is beginning to catch the attention of business-savvy football managers throughout the world.”