The beautiful game discovers that algorithms can be beautiful, too

D.C. United applied advanced analytics in signing midfielder Junior Moreno, left, of Venezuela this offseason. (Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images)Bret Myers’s fascination with soccer analytics took hold some 15 years ago through a frustrating first-hand experience: He was a benchwarmer.

Stuck on the sideline watching his Richmond Kickers instead of playing for the second-tier pro team, Myers let his curiosity run wild with hypotheses on substitution patterns.

“All that time on the bench, wondering when I was going to go in,” laughed Myers, an analytics consultant for the past four years for MLS Cup champion Toronto FC. “It led me to think, ‘What is going on through [the coach’s] head when he is…