An Algorithm for Soccer Fans
It is no doubt that Pagerank has become one of the predominantly famous algorithms developed by computer scientists. Though, it has long been associated with Google’s search engine optimization, its applications in analyzing real-world issues may be much more broad.
As mentioned in class, the algorithm functions by counting links that point to a certain webpage and measuring the importance of the sites that the links originate from. Developed by Larry Page and Sergei Brin specifically for Google, it was quickly found that this same algorithm may be used to rank nodes in many varieties of networks including publication references, candidate elections, and many others.
Recently, Verica Lazova and Lasko Basnarkov seem to have found a way to apply this same algorithm to ranking soccer teams. Instead of simply ranking teams based on the sheer number of games they win, taking into account the quality of teams that are beaten may portray a more accurate picture – essentially a team should be high ranked if it has beaten high ranked teams. This would give a much-needed jump in rankings to underdogs that rise to knock out high ranked teams.
Applying the Pagerank algorithm over many iterations will paint quite an interesting picture for soccer fans. To illustrate, while much of FIFA’s rankings haven’t changed much, Denmark, for instance, is ranked 17th by Pagerank while it is ranked 25th using traditional methods. The same approach may be applied to a myriad of other sports in order to paint a better picture of the sports landscape. Clearly, the wide-ranging applications of Pagerank are not confined to the architecture of modern-day internet.
Link:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/535861/pagerank-algorithm-reveals-worlds-all-time-top-soccer-team/