How Liverpool will capture Premier League title run-in like you've never seen before

The Reds, along with Arsenal and Manchester City, aim to offer fans groundbreaking content including mesmeric 360-degree footage of games

Jack Rathborn
Sunday 10 March 2019 17:51 GMT
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Liverpool to install Intel's True View at Anfield

The biggest games are often reduced to single moments of genius, sometimes over merely a couple of seconds to encapsulate an era or a great team's peak.

Zinedine Zidane swivelling like a ballerina in 2002 to put Bayer Leverkusen away and secure Real Madrid’s ninth European crown immediately springs to mind.

The pictures have rarely been able to do justice to the brilliance special players are now able to produce – that is perhaps until now.

Liverpool, along with Manchester City and Arsenal, have partnered with Intel to deliver fans a new captivating experience with True View. The technology includes the mesmeric 360-degree footage composed from 38 5K cameras to capture 200 terabytes of data per game.

Fans can also jump into Mohamed Salah’s boots with the ‘Be The Player’ feature, which could help educate fans and enhance punditry, with Sky Sports pundit Alex Scott especially excited about its potential.

“I was always that player when we had team meetings for hours, I was listening to the tactics, trying to take them on board, but I was a visual learner,” Scott admits. “Towards the end when the tactics were on the screen, bringing pictures to life, I’d get it in a second.

“At the weekend, the role of Fernandinho under Pep. We’re trying to articulate it and bring it to life: he’s playing in a deeper role so he can see the pictures and the movement.

“So to give fans those pictures, so they can see. Why did he pick that pass over that one? What makes that pass so complicated? You’re actually there.”

There is clearly enthusiasm from the clubs to deter fans from switching off between games, with Liverpool’s Chief Commercial Officer Billy Hogan keen to provide a “closer connection” with the players. And the “matrix technology” could even be utilised by Jurgen Klopp and his scouting department, given the expanded vantage points that will now be available at Anfield.

Anfield will have 38 5k cameras installed from March 10 (Getty )
Anfield will have 38 5k cameras installed from March 10 (Getty ) (Getty)

“The first team uses a tremendous amount of technology about how they will look at a particular match and the video on the result of a match, this is something they could potentially use,” admits Hogan.

The final feature initially at the disposal of the three clubs is the 'Laser Wall', currently best seen in the NFL to visualise whether the ball has pierced the line in the end zone for a touchdown.

And although it appears to be a more obvious solution than VAR to controversial offside decisions, there is no intention from Intel for the technology to be used over disputed refereeing decisions.

Its use will initially be with a view to storytelling and providing fans with highlights packages in the days after games, but Intel are evidently eager to integrate their technology in the live coverage of Premier League rights holders Sky Sports and BT Sport.

“We’re absolutely aspiring to the holy grail to live stream these experiences, within the rights structures and deliver it at up,” admits Intel Sports General Manager James Carwana. “It’s so real, you’ll be able to sit around this table and project a hologram, or use it as a mixed reality, or an AR, or VR, however you want to engage with your content, making it very real.”

Liverpool fans will experience plenty more jitters in the coming weeks as they edge closer to what they covet most.

And those in the stadium might not be able to interpret just what is unfolding in front of them, but True View will now aim to frame it like never seen before and perhaps do justice to one of the biggest moments in the club’s history.

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