BWI: A First for Football: Castrol Launches World’s First Player Rankings System

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Castrol
Friday, October 30, 2009 04:30 PM IST (11:00 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Automotives, Business services, Media & entertainment, Sports; Automotive
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A First for Football: Castrol Launches World's First Player Rankings System
Ronaldo Reveals the Inaugural Castrol Rankings.but Henry Beats him to the Top Spot

Madrid, Spain, Friday, October 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Who is the greatest current footballer? It's a question that always evokes passionate debate from football fans and pundits around the globe. Now they can find the definitive answer to the much-disputed question as Castrol global ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo today unveiled the inaugural Castrol Rankings, the world's first truly objective football rankings system, based on the actual performance of every football player across Europe's top five leagues.

While other football rankings are based on opinion, Castrol has applied the same expertise they apply to the development of their oils to create the Castrol Rankings - using objective analysis and highly advanced technology to measure every pass, every tackle and every single move of over 2000 players and games every year. It will, at last, draw a line under the age-old debate about who are the best performing players.

The Castrol Rankings are updated on a rolling monthly basis so, from now on, for the first time ever, football fans can regularly check whether Kaká is really out-performing Gerrard, or whether Messi is proving more effective than Thierry Henry, by visiting www.castrolfootball.com. Fans can also customise the Castrol Rankings by player nationality, position or club, allowing them to compare the players or teams they support.

Speaking at today's launch, Ronaldo, placed third, vowed that he will close the gap on Lionel Messi and leader Thierry Henry, after the Barcelona forward took the top spot: "The Castrol Rankings is the ranking that every player wants to top. If you can be number one on the Castrol Rankings there can be no arguments, as it is based on fact, not opinion. That's why I'm aiming for the number one spot - to prove I'm the best!"

Marcel Desailly, Henry's former international team-mate and Castrol Ambassador, said: "Thierry Henry has been one of the most consistent strikers in European football for a long time and I am not surprised he is at the head of the Castrol Rankings. Of course he is excellent in front of goal, but what makes him such an outstanding player is his overall contribution to Barcelona's attacking play and that's what makes him such an important part of that team."

Castrol Senior Vice-President Mike Johnson added: "We saw a golden opportunity for Castrol to harness our expertise in analysis, technology and innovation in oil and apply it to the world of ranking football performances. The Castrol Rankings has been 12 months in the making and we're thrilled to now launch it. We are in no doubt that the Castrol Rankings will drive debate around who is the best player and we're excited to be fuelling this. We think football fans will love it."

Commenting on the Castrol Rankings, Thierry Weil, Director, Marketing at FIFA, said: "FIFA is delighted to have a committed football supporter like Castrol in our select group of commercial affiliates and we are excited to be working together with them. The Castrol Rankings is a new and unique way of rating player performances and we look forward to seeing the debate it encourages over the next year."

To see the full Castrol Rankings and register for monthly updates, please go to www.castrolfootball.com.

Notes to Editors:

Castrol's commercial success is underpinned by their ability to deliver improved performance through the application of analysis, technology and innovation. This has helped Castrol deliver superior performing lubricants for over 100 years including brands such as Castrol EDGE, Castrol Magnatec and Castrol Power 1 and Castrol Professional. Castrol believes that by applying the same expertise to football that they do in the development of their oils, they can enhance the fans' experience and bring a new and intriguing point of view to the 2010 FIFA World CupT.

The Castrol Rankings are calculated using the Castrol Index. How does the Castrol Index work?

The Castrol Index tracks every move on the field and assesses whether it has a positive or negative impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal. A key factor for all areas of performance in the Castrol Index is which zone on the pitch the action takes place. Players receive points for each successful pass they complete but the number of points awarded depends on which zones the ball is passed from and received in.

Similarly, misplaced or intercepted passes are penalised depending on how much trouble the mistake is likely to land the team in. The Castrol Index is also able to split up the rewards of a goal between penalising the goalkeeper for letting in a shot he should have saved and rewarding the attacker for scoring a goal.

The number of Castrol Index points awarded for tackles, interceptions and blocked shots also depends on which zone they are made. Successfully taking a ball from a striker near the penalty spot will earn more points than a tackle on the wing. Conceding free kicks and penalties will result in point deductions.

Castrol's team of performance analysts crunch all the data and award each player a Castrol Index score out of 10 - the higher the score, the better the player's performance. The Castrol Index can help you see football from a completely different perspective. You'll now know which players truly deserve to grab all the headlines.

To view the Castrol Rankings and the photographs, please click on the link given below:

Castrol Rankings for October 2009 - Top 10

Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo stands by jerseys with the names of the top six ranked players of the Castrol rankings system during the launch in Madrid

Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo poses with a soccer ball inside a cutout of a number one during the launch of the Castrol rankings system in Madrid
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