Skip to main content

As Comparisonator team, we are proud to participate in the Football Forum Hungary’s second version on 23 April in Budapest. Comparisonator CEO-K. Tarkan Batgun will be moderating a roundtable discussion with some of the worlds’ leading scouting specialists:

23 April 24 at 12.30-13.00

Subject:
Secrets of Modern Scouting Principles

Keynote Speakers:
Daniel Sandu – Chief Scout of Rapid Bucharest
Laurent Dechaux – International Scout of Omonoia Nicosia
Gabriel Pinto – Scouting Director of Colorado Rapids
Tamas Balogh – Lead of Eastern Europe from Brentford FC

Moderator:
Tarkan Batgun-CEO of Comparisonator Platform

Who are the Keynote speakers:

Daniel Sandu:
Head of scouting for Rapid Bucharest of the Romanian Football League from November 2021. He previously worked as a sports analyst in Belgium, then obtained a master’s degree in sports management in Bordeaux, and he completed the scouting course in England. Daniel has been the operational manager of the International Professional Scouting Organisation for more than five years and has also worked as a social media, marketing and sponsorship expert in previous jobs.

Laurent Decaux:
He is currently an International Chief Scout for Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus, but has also gained experience in other areas of football. He has also served as sporting director of Aris Thessaloniki in Greece and Pafos FC in Cyprus, and as Head of football operations in his home country, Grenoble in France. He has 22 years experience in football management, stats analysis, recruitment and players transfers operations in the European football market.

Gabriel Pinto:
Scouting director for the Colorado Rapids of the Major Soccer League in the USA, he previously worked for almost 12 years as a scouting and recruitment coordinator for Sporting, one of Portugal’s top teams, initially as a technical scout. At the beginning of his career, he also gained experience as an assistant coach and head coach in his home country, as well as being the Head of Youth Development. He later worked as an assistant coach in Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates.

Tamas Balogh:
Lead Eastern European Consultant for Brentford FC in the English Premier League. Tamás previously worked for one of Hungary’s top teams, MOL Fehérvár FC, as a scout, and later gained experience as a Head of scouting for almost five years, but also briefly as a video analyst.

Tarkan Batgün (Moderator)
As the CEO of Comparisonator, Mr. Batgun brings over 20 years of analytical expertise and experience from both club and agency perspectives in the global football business. He served as a Board Member at Altinordu FK during the 2020-21 season and worked as a lecturer at Istanbul’s prominent Halic University’s Physical Education and Sports Faculty from 2010 to 2021. Mr. Batgun’s career includes roles as the Director of Scouting at Bursaspor, where he pioneered the concept of the ‘Scouting Laboratory,’ and as a management consultant at leading companies such as SoccerLab, Wyscout, and Sportstech. He has been actively involved in football education, having lectured at the Turkish Football Federation on Match Analysis and Scouting courses since 2010. Mr. Batgun also founded and managed the NIKE Turkiye scouting team from 2014 to 2021. His contributions to the field have earned him recognition, including the ‘Sportsman of the Year in Technology’ award by ‘Sports Turkey Media’ in 2012, the ‘Scouting Specialist of the Year Award’ from ‘Marka Football’ in 2013, and the ‘Sample Scouting Department’ award at the Sportstec Innovation Conference in London in 2014.

Kemal Taş

Football enthusiast and editor @ Comparisonator.