The History of Soccer at UFV

The History of Soccer at Universidade Federal de Viçosa

The history of soccer within the Department of Physical Education of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (DES/UFV) can be explained from four aspects: teaching, research, extension and publications.

This history begins in the 1940s, with the start of soccer lessons by the alumni of the University. Due to the strong relationship established between soccer practice and the academic community within the following decades (1940s and 1950s), in the beginning of the 1960s the Viçosa University Sports League (LUVE), which is still active nowadays and its main purpose is to disseminate sports practice on a competitive basis, aiming to play in state and national competitions.

Following this history, in 1975, the Physical Education Course was established in the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, where professor Antônio Pinto Rubim takes on the subject of Soccer until 1978. Subsequently, Professor Adalberto Rigueira Viana takes on the responsibility to lead Soccer within the institution and promotes a revolution when producing theoretical knowledge about this sport, making the Universidade Federal de Viçosa to stand out as a national and international reference in this sport.

His first book, published in 1981 (see Figure 1) would become one of the main reading references in Brazil and abroad. From this point on, several other publications from Professor Adalberto with the collaboration of other professors from the Department of Physical Education, with Professor José Alberto Pinto and José Elias Rigueira among them. Altogether, 12 books about Soccer and 1 about Futsal were published in this decade.

Refereeing and coaching courses were held still in the 80s. Academic records show that 8 refereeing courses and 5 coaching courses were held in several cities of the southeast of Brazil.

Due to this intense contribution to the progress of soccer, Professor Adalberto Rigueira receives a job offer from Al Ain from UAE (see contract in figure 2). Therefore, he is discharged from his activities at DES for a 1-year period.

Because of this exponential growth of soccer within the institution and with the high demand for sports, the Viçosa University Sports League (LUVE), starts to gain atention within superior administration for projects that aimed especially to complement the education of the alumni from the Physical Education Course.

Therefore, in 1989, with support from the Dean of Community Affairs, Professor José Tarcísio de Lima Thièbaut, the project of the internship laboratory related to soccer for the students of the Physical Education course is started (see figure 3). This project, which was led by Professors Próspero Brum Paoli and José Muanis, aimed to promote the contact between science and practice and offer sport experience to the alumni through daily trainings and competitions.

With the progress of soccer activities beyond the boundaries of the University, in 1990 the general coordinator of the Belo Horizonte U-20 Cup, Chafit Felipe, invites Viçosa to host a group of the tournament. From this opportunity, the students of the Physical Education course at UFV, are more involved with the project of internship laboratories conducted at LUVE, coordinated by Professor Próspero Paoli and in 1992 the team starts to be coached by Ney Franco who subsequently graduates and carries on his career at the academy levels of Clube Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (see figure 4).

From first hosting matches of the BH U-20 Cup, Viçosa would still host matches of this competition for other 12 editions. With this sequence, the BH Cup becomes another milestone for soccer development and acts as a spotlight for the alumni of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa to display their productions. From the position of Professor Ney Franco, other professionals from the institution started to build a career in soccer, with Professors Alexandre Lopes, Alexandre Grasseli, Wladimir Braga, Rômulo Gama, Vinicius Cutini, Matheus Ornelas, Alexandre Lemos, Roger Galvão, Igor Custódio, Lúdyo Santos and Alexandre Alves among them. Although there are no rigorous records about the alumni of the course, it is possible to affirm that approximately 32 UFV´s Physical Education alumni that work at several clubs from Brazilian Series A, B, C and D.

In the early 90s Professor Adalberto Rigueira retires and Professor José Geraldo do Carmo Salles is appointed as the lecturer of Soccer at the Department of Physical Education.  Professor José Geraldo carries on the work that was being developed, with the publication of scientific papers and book chapters about the social aspects of soccer and starts the extension project “Escola de Futebol” (Soccer School) to support children and adolescents.

In this decade, two other milestones were also important for encouraging knowledge and education of professionals in soccer at the University. One of them, organized by Professor João Carlos Bouzas Marins is the provision of soccer clinics at UFV. Such clinics host students from several cities and anticipate one of the most important achievements within the history of soccer at UFV, which is the establishment of the lato sensu post-graduation course in Soccer (see figure 6) by Professors Próspero Paoli and João Bouzas. Another important achievement is the production of 16 soccer video courses by Professor Próspero Brum Paoli with the partnership of professionals such as Ney Franco, Alexandre Lopes, José Muanis, Eduardo Pimenta and Alexandre Grasseli, who became references in teaching and training soccer in Brazil and abroad (see figure 5).

Also, in 1998, the project “Bom de Nota, Bom de Bola” (Good Grades, Good Player) is created, in a partnership between UFV and Viçosa’s Mayor office, coordinated by Professor Próspero Paoli. With 5 centres and embracing 300 kids from 13 to 16 years of age, the project works as a teaching and research internship field for several Physical Education students who had the opportunity of putting their knowledge to practice. The project, which was extended for other sports is still active until nowadays and is still providing an excellent internship field for the students of the Physical Education course.

In 2004, after the success of the soccer training camps and the due to the lack of Post-Graduation courses in Soccer in Brazil, the Lato Sensu Post-Graduation course in Soccer is created at UFV. The initial proposal is to combine science and soccer and promote the diffusion of knowledge to professionals who work or intend to work in soccer (see figure 6).

Since its creation, this Post-Graduation course is acknowledged as it gathers students from all Brazilian states, except for Amapá and Roraima. Besides this, this course has also welcomed foreign students from South and North America and Europe. With full classes gathering between 35 and 62 students, the course included in every edition students from at least 10 Brazilian states, what always allowed rich information exchanging between students and teachers.

Among the students and former students from the Post-Graduation course in Soccer who currently work with soccer, we can list: Augusto Moura de Oliveira, Augusto Silva Santos, Luiz Carlos Laudiosa, Amandio Augusto Pereira Fialho, Luís Henrique Lobo, Rafael Barreto, Ramon Cardoso Lima, Fabrício Souza, Igor Guerra, Marcos Valadares, Murilo Balbino, Uendell Macedo, Rafael Medrado, Tiago Lucas, Leonardo Cherede, Wellington Sales, and others. In addition, students as Cristiano Diniz, Alessandro Mendes Fidelis and Davi Silva are currently working within the academic field.

The Final Papers produced by the students of the Post-Graduation course in Soccer now total more than 160 publications in expressive national and international journals, what demonstrates that the knowledge developed in the course by the teaching staff draws interest from both academic and professional communities.

By keeping over the time this characteristic of disseminating knowledge about the sport, 3 book chapters about soccer are published within Atlas do Esporte Nacional (National Sport Atlas) in 2004. Besides this, in 2005 a new expansion of the Physical Education internship laboratories through a partnership between the Department of Physical Education and the club Viçosa Esporte e Lazer (VEL).

Given this ever-growing nature of production of knowledge in soccer by UFV, in 2008, from the initiative of Professor João Bouzas Marins, the Brazilian Journal of Soccer Science is created, with the main goal of contributing to the diffusion of scientific production for the sport and to provide easy and free access to all soccer professionals about current and relevant topics about the sport (figure 7).

In 2010, a project of investigation for assessing the training facilities of the 20 clubs of the Brazilian Serie A Championship is developed in partnership with SPORTV (figure 8). The results of this study were disclosed in four editions of Sportv News show and were a regulatory milestone for training centres in Brazil.

In this same year, a project for development of players is started at Centro Esportivo Ubaense, who open their doors to the continuity of newly graduate students to apply their knowledge in practice.

With a solid knowledge base developed through history and with the perspective of continuity along the years, in 2010 with the arrival of Prof. Israel Teoldo da Costa, the Centre of Research and Studies in Soccer is established (see figure 9).

This Centre is established with the aim of encouraging groundbreaking research in soccer, besides gathering actions of several professors from the Department of Physical Education of UFV who developed projects in soccer in the areas of match analysis, cognition and action in sports, sport psychology, biomechanics, physiology, sociology, sport management and training methods (for further information visit www.nucleofutebol.ufv.br).

From the creation of this Centre, three new laboratories applied to soccer become part of the structure of the Department of Physical Education: Laboratory of Match Analysis, Laboratory of Cognition and Action and Laboratory of Sport Psychology.

Given the scientific progresses in Soccer, in 2011 the MSc program expands its research lines in soccer and much of its research is published in printed newspapers and TV shows (see figure 10), with emphasis on the releases on Jornal Nacional, Globo Esporte and
Esporte Espetacular (see figure 11).

In this same year, Professor Israel Teoldo da Costa takes on the Soccer discipline at the Department of Physical Education of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa and also the Coordination of the Post-Graduation Course in Soccer.

In 2012, with the support of the Federal Government through the Dean’s Office of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa and of the Minas Gerais State Government, through the State Act of Incentive to Sports, modern equipment are acquired by NUPEF and a new stage of production of knowledge is started, especially with respect to the assessment of decision making and tactical behaviour of Soccer players (see figure 12).

With the advent of these technological resources and with the range of investigations about tactical behaviour and decision making applied to the context of soccer, many national and international partnerships are encouraged between educational institutions with the aim of producing knowledge applied to sport performance and to the development of young soccer players. Among these partnerships, it is possible to highlight the international ones with the Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto – Portugal, with the University of Castilla La Mancha – Spain, and with the Liverpool John Moores University and Brunel University London in the United Kingdom.

In 2012 another book about soccer is published by Professor José Geraldo do Carmo Salles, who approaches subjects related to the creation and administration of Soccer Schools (see figure 13).

In 2013, the first edition of Soccer Experience at UFV was carried out, with the course “An idea of the game to a game with ideas, for excellent performance in soccer”, lectured by Professor Julio Garganta. The event was created to provide formation courses to professionals that work with soccer. In the same year, the second edition of Soccer Experience took place, in which Professor Antônio Figueiredo lectured the class about the importance of maturity for the performance of young soccer players.

In 2013-2014, the research into decision-making and tactical behavior of soccer players received the support of large clubs in Brazil and Fluminense Football Club is the pioneer in having young players evaluated with NUPEF technology.

In 2013-2014, new articles show up in the media (Esporte Espetacular, Globo Esporte, TV Viçosa, CBN Radio, Montanhesa Radio, UFMG Radio, Correio Brasiliense newspaper, Hoje em Dia newspaper, Folha da Mata newspaper, UFV website and newspaper) about the World Cup. These articles point out the factors that influenced the performance of players and the use of new technologies for the training of creative and intelligent players.

In 2014, international partnerships between NUPEF and the University of Coimbra in Portugal and the University of Cologne gained amplitude with the financing of intercultural studies about player training, especially when maturity and training smart and creative players. Furthermore, in that year, Professor Israel Teoldo da Costa began his post-doctorate with professor Mark Williams of Brunel University London and NUPEF received Professor Sixto González-Villora of Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, to do a post-doc internship in June through August.

In that same year, in partnership with the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, an International Soccer Congress was promoted, integrating professors and others involved in studying soccer in a unified and applied manner. The first Ex-student Reunion of Post- Graduation in Soccer also happened, reuniting professionals that work in soccer and are in search of new knowledge of student training and sport development. During this time, the third edition of Soccer Experience took place, in which Professor José Guilherme lectured the course “Tactical Periodization in soccer”. Moreover, in 2014, the first master’s degree dissertation was defended, in the Stricto Sensu Post-graduation, with an examination board completely composed of European professors/evaluators. At the time, the post-grad student Felippe Cardoso presented the dissertation “Capacitation, processing and response: a construction of decision making from football player`s tactical knowledge”.The evaluators, who approved the dissetation, were Israel Teoldo da Costa, José Guilherme, and Sixto González-Víllora.

In 2015, taking advantage of the presence of Professor Israel Teoldo during his post-doc internship in Europe, the first dissertation defense of the Stricto Sensu post-graduation of Physical Education of UFV took place in a European institution. The defense was at the Sports College of the University of Porto, Portugal, and the student Rodrigo Santos was evaluated by a board composed of Israel Teoldo da Costa, Ricardo Duarte, José Guilherme and Daniel Barreira. It was approved. In that same year the international partnerships of NUPEF expanded through projects with Professors Keith Davids, Ricardo Duarte, Mark Williams, and Peter O’Donoghue.

In November of 2015, the coordinator of NUPEF and of Soccer Specialization at UFV, Professor Israel Teoldo da Costa with Prof. Júlio Garganta, and José Guilherme launched the book “Playing Soccer Ideas: Conception, Training, and Evaluation of the Tactical Performance of Players and Teams” (see figure 14). The book gained international renown, and, by February 2016, was sold in 12 countries and commended by soccer professionals, especially Grêmio’s coach, Roger Machado.

On 2016, actions towards the development of Soccer at UFV continued. CAPES approved the inauguration of the PhD course, where the studies in Soccer as this level started being part of the developed in the institution. Furthermore, on July, the IV Soccer Experience (see Figure 15), II alumni meeting of the Post-Graduate course in Soccer, and the Class IX of the Post-Graduation in Soccer happened. These events totaled professionals from 12 different states and other South-American countries. In November, the V Soccer Experience took place, where Prof. Isabel Mesquita, from University of Porto, Portugal, set about the development of coaches in sports.

Also, in 2016, NUPEF hosted Porf. Tomás Gracía Calvo from the Universidad de Extremadura, Spain, for a post-PHD internship between June and August. On December, NUPEFs and Post-Graduation in Soccer at UFV coordinator Prof. Israel Teoldo da Costa, participated in actions towards the development of coaches outside the country, teaching at the Catar´s Soccer Association, and in the Australian Institute of Sports.

On 2017, actions took place dedicated to the globalization of NUPEF, such as the launch of the English version of “Para um Futebol Jogado com Ideias: Concepção, treinamento e avaliação do desempenho tático de jogadores e equipes”. Moreover, the participation of NUPEF members in international congresses, such as: World Conference on Science and Soccer (France); Conference of North America Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (United States); II Congresso Internacional sobre Fútbol e Psicologia (Spain); Congresso Internacional dos Jogos Desportivos (Portugal); e o International Congress of Sport Psychology (Spain). On this year the 6^th Soccer Experience occurred, on October, with the presence of national and international guests with a vast knowledge about Soccer, on both academical and practical contexts. Among the international guests, Prof. Mark William, PhD, of the university of Utah and professors Júlio Garganta, PhD, and José Guilherme, PhD, both from the Universidade do Porto.

In addition to its internationalization, in 2017 NUPEF started an extension project in soccer named UFV Soccer Academy (see figure 16). In its first year this project served children from 4 to 6 years old, with the purpose of encouraging, through playful and educational activities their interest in Soccer and in the English language. This project aims to develop sport activities within an educational context, in which in addition to motor and cognitive aspects, the student will be able to arouse their interest in learning a foreign language.

In 2018, with the purpose of carrying on the internationalization process and the qualification of human resources, we hosted the VII Soccer Experience. Several professionals who work at important universities from Brazil and abroad, as well as professionals with great experience in soccer clubs and national teams participated in this edition and shared their experiences in Soccer. Among the participants, we highlight the presence of Professor PhD. Tom Patrick, head of performance at the South Australian Institute (SASI); Professors José Guilherme, José Afonso and Daniel Barreira, from the University of Porto – Portugal; and of Professor PhD. Tomás García-Calvo, from the University of Extremadura – Spain. With respect to the national guests, we highlight the presence of Professors Próspero Paoli (PhD), from CR Vasco da Gama; Ademir Calovi, from SC Internacional; Altamiro Bottino, from São Paulo FC; Cícero Souza, from SE Palmeiras; Diogo Netto (PhD), from the Brazilian Soccer Confederation; René Simões, sports coach; Regina Brandão (PhD), from Universidade São Judas Tadeu; João Carlos Bouzas Marins (PhD), from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Marquinhos Lopez, goalkeeper coach; Rodrigo Morandi (MSc), from Cruzeiro EC; and Professor Israel Teoldo (PhD), NUPEF’s coordinator. Moreover, in this year we celebrated the launching of the 10th Class of the Post-Graduation Course in Soccer, and the growth of the UFV Soccer Academy project.

In 2019, actions are planned for the growth of the UFV Soccer Academy extension project, with the increase in the number of classes, in addition to the continuity of NUPEF’s internationalization process. Therefore, we invite you to keep up with our activities through the website (www.nucleofutebol.ufv.br) and to visit us personally, so that you can learn about our projects from close in.
In 2019, several actions were undertaken focused on developing the extension project UFV Soccer Academy, such as the increase in the number of participants and, consequently, in the number of groups. In addition, NUPEF has taken some other important steps towards the internationalization process, through the publication of several papers in partnerships with international researchers.

In the same year, a great project focused on innovation and technological development was established by NUPEF: the TacticUP. The TacticUP is a platform that allows the assessment of game reading and decision-making skills of soccer players (www.tacticup.com.br). This instrument has received awards by funding agencies in Brazil and in Europe, thus stressing its applied character to society and to technological solutions for greater development of soccer practitioners and of the society as a whole. It is also noteworthy that TacticUP, incorporated to the Cientec Aceleradora group, was cited in December, 2019, within the list published by Novo Esporte, as one of the 100 sports solutions to be followed and to try/bet at in 2020. Also, TacticUP was mentioned by Minas Tech Report as one of the best startups in Minas Gerais.

In 2020, some innovative measures for the teaching and extension processes were adopted by NUPEF, with emphasis on the development of online short-duration courses and the opening of a new hybrid class of the post-graduation course (with online and classroom lectures). These measures allowed that physically distant people could participate of educational activities, facilitating the access and diffusion of knowledge both nationally and internationally, reaching around 20 Brazilian states, 15 countries and 5 continents. Due to the quality of the research developed, in 2020 a partnership was established between NUPEF with the Federal Government, through the project “Academia & Futebol” (Academy & Soccer) from the Ministry of Citizenship (National Secretariat of Soccer and Defense of Supporters’ Rights). This partnership will allow that other activities of great relevance be carried out from 2020 to 2022. Among these activities, a new expansion stage of the Soccer Experience (8^th edition), online courses and the expansion and improvement of scientific research. We therefore invite you to keep following our activities at our website (www.nucleofutebol.ufv.br) and to visit us personally, to take a closer look at the projects we have been developing.