  Quantitative analysis of soccer players' passing ability focuses on
descriptive statistics without considering the players' real contribution to
the passing and ball possession strategy of their team. Which player is able to
help the build-up of an attack, or to maintain the possession of the ball? We
introduce a novel methodology called QPass to answer questions like these
quantitatively. Based on the analysis of an entire season, we rank the players
based on the intrinsic value of their passes using QPass. We derive an album of
pass trajectories for different gaming styles. Our methodology reveals a quite
counterintuitive paradigm: losing the ball possession could lead to better
chances to win a game.
