In professional football, tactical decisions are the result of years of experience, video analysis, studying opponents, and intuition gained on the pitch. Laura Harvey, coach of the Seattle Reign with three titles under her belt, has added a new element to this process: ChatGPTDuring the offseason, she tested OpenAI's chatbot with specific tactical questions. "What formation should I use against NWSL teams (the top US women's soccer league)?" The detailed advice included an unusual suggestion: a five-man defense against two opponents.
Harvey, who had never coached with that system before, decided to give it a try. The result: Seattle Reign moved from 13th to 4th place, qualifying for the playoffs.
The admission that no one expected
The revelation came on Soccerish podcast, with a disarming spontaneity. Harvey, 45, former Arsenal manager and veteran of the National Women's Soccer League, she recounted how during the 2024-2025 offseason she found herself “playing” with ChatGPT. “One day I wrote things like, 'What is the identity of the Seattle Reign?' And he was spitting out answers. And I was like, 'I don't know if that's true or not.'” Then came the next question, the one that changed everything: “What lineup should I field to beat the NWSL teams?”
ChatGPT analyzed all the teams in the league, suggesting specific lineups for each of their opponents. For two opponents in particular, the answer was clear: a five-man defense is needed. Harvey had never coached with that system. What's more, he'd never even studied in depth how it worked in women's soccer. "I'd always seen it as something to close out games when you're ahead," he explained. Yet he decided: "I did it. I'm not kidding, I actually did it."
Coaches, when AI replaces intuition
The numbers speak for themselves. In the 2024 season, the Seattle Reign finished thirteenth out of fourteen teams, with just six wins in 26 games. This year, with Harvey also implementing (but not limited to) ChatGPT suggestions, the team is fourth with 38 points, fifteen more than the previous year.
One of the key matches? The one against Orlando Pride In April, they played with the five-man defense suggested by the AI. Seattle lost 1-0, but according to the data collected, they generated 0,5 more expected goals than their usual average.
Harvey took the suggestion to his coaching staff. “I told them, ‘I’m not kidding, that’s what I did.’ And they said, ‘Interesting.’” They studied the formation, conducted in-depth analysis, and thought about how to implement it. And they won. According to a study published Frontiers in Sports and Active Living In 2025, artificial intelligence is transforming tactical analysis in football through machine learning techniques and neural networks that process spatiotemporal data from players, allowing them to identify collective patterns and optimize game strategies in real time.
ChatGPT didn't tell Harvey including Playing with a five-man defense. He just suggested they try it. The rest came from the coaching staff's work, the players' adaptation, and their ability to read the game.
Harvey emphasizes this several times: “It doesn't tell you how to play it, what to do, none of that. It just gives you the idea.” But maybe that's the point: AI doesn't replace the coach, it offers him perspectives that he might not have considered.
The only one to use it. Or the first to admit it.
Here comes the interesting detail. Harvey was the first professional female coach to to admit publicly of having used ChatGPT for tactical decisions. The first. Not necessarily the only one to do so. The difference is subtle but important. In the world of professional football, where every competitive advantage is protected like a state secret, How many other coaches are already using AI without saying it?
Think about it. Big clubs like Manchester City, Barcelona and Brentford They already use AI systems for match analysis, finding underrated players, and tactical simulations that predict the outcome of matches based on formations and weather conditions. Liverpool has developed TacticAI in collaboration with Google DeepMind to simulate game scenarios and predict opponents' behavior. But none of these clubs has ever admitted that a coach directly asked ChatGPT: "What formation will I use on Sunday?" Something tells me that, if that happens, no one will ever know.
The limits of the digital oracle
ChatGPT is not foolproof. When CBS Sports asked the chatbot to describe the current identity of the Seattle Reign, the response was a mix of outdated information and references to the team's old name (OL Reign). He cited Megan Rapinoe, retired in 2023, and Lydia Williams, who left the club in 2019. He described the style of play as “fast-paced and possession-based,” the exact opposite of how Seattle has played this year with a five-man back.
This raises a broader question. Artificial intelligence can analyze billions of data points, identify patterns that escape the human eye, and suggest unexpected solutions. But it lacks emotional context, it doesn't read player psychology, it doesn't perceive the tension in the locker room or the moment of the season. A coach can. Harvey didn't simply apply a piece of ChatGPT advice: he filtered it through his own experience, adapted it to his players, and refined it over the following weeks.
The Seattle Reign have used a five-man defense in several games this year, alternating between a 3-5-2 and a classic 4-4-2. “We've become fluid,” Harvey says.
"We can switch in and out of these formations even during matches. And when I hear other coaches say, 'We don't know what you'll do, you're the hardest team to prepare,' it makes me want to cheer. I don't want anyone to have any idea what we'll do."
Coaches, the awkward question
Harvey's admission raises some thought-provoking scenarios. If a coach with a twenty-year career and three titles can benefit from ChatGPT, what's stopping others from doing so? The technology is available, free, and accessible to anyone. All it takes is opening a browser and typing a question. Maybe someone is already doing it, they just prefer not to say so.
Modern football is increasingly data-driven. Tactical analysts work with sophisticated software, athletic trainers monitor every physiological parameter, and managers use algorithms to evaluate players. AI is already part of the game, only now it's entering the most sacred phase: the coach's tactical decision-making. Until recently, it seemed to be the exclusive domain of human intuition.
And you, what do you think? Between Guardiola, Ancelotti, Inzaghi, Mourinho and the other great coaches of world football, Who do you think is already using artificial intelligence to choose lineups without admitting it? Who are the hidden "AI masters" of the big teams? Comment below.
