TACTICO JOURNAL
The 2-Hour Rule: How Evening Smartphone Use May Affect Football Performance
By Rafael Fogageiro
Founder & Head Coach, Tactico Academy
Published on September 3, 2026
In modern football, we spend countless hours discussing training load, nutrition, recovery and tactical preparation. But there is another factor that is often overlooked: what players do before going to sleep.
A recent randomized controlled study published in Biology of Sport investigated the effects of evening smartphone use on elite football players. Sixteen elite male players were asked to use a smartphone for two hours before bedtime for five consecutive nights. In the control condition, they spent the same period reading magazines.
The results were striking.
After several consecutive nights of smartphone exposure, the players slept less, took longer to fall asleep, had lower sleep efficiency and reported greater daytime sleepiness. But the effects did not stop at sleep.
After five nights, players also showed slower reaction times, reduced jumping performance and poorer reactive agility, with the most pronounced changes occurring during afternoon testing. Interestingly, the usual afternoon advantage in performance observed under the control condition was no longer present after repeated smartphone exposure.
This is particularly relevant to football.
A player’s performance is not determined only by what happens during the training session. The quality of the previous night’s recovery can influence how quickly he perceives information, reacts to an opponent, changes direction, accelerates or executes a technical action.
The important point, however, is not that one night on the phone will suddenly make a player perform badly. The study suggests something more interesting: the effects may accumulate when evening screen exposure becomes a repeated habit.
For coaches, parents and young players, the message is simple: football development does not happen only on the training pitch. It is also shaped by the habits, routines and choices a player makes every day.
Creating a period without smartphones before bedtime may therefore be a simple recovery strategy worth considering. Football development is not only about training harder. It is also about creating the conditions in which the body and brain can recover properly.
Sleeping well is part of training. Recovery is part of performance. For young players, the habits they build away from the pitch can be just as important as the work they put in on it.
Reference
Dridi, N., Souissi, M. A., Dridi, R., et al. (2026). Evening smartphone exposure impairs sleep quality and next-day performance in elite soccer players: a randomized controlled trial. Biology of Sport, 43, 227–242. DOI: 10.5114/biolsport.2026.152348. Original article / DOI
The Brain Behind High-Level Performance
By Rafael Fogageiro
Founder & Head Coach, Tactico Academy
Published on August 25, 2026
Reaching a high level of performance in sport is a complex process that develops over many years. High-level athletes are distinguished not only by their ability to execute movements, but also by how effectively they perceive information, anticipate events and make decisions within the constantly changing environment of competition. These abilities are highly specific to the task and develop through practice and experience, while individual differences also play an important role.¹
During competition, perception, decision-making and motor control cannot be viewed as completely separate processes. The brain is continuously processing information, evaluating the current situation and preparing possible actions. As the athlete interprets the environment, different potential actions can be prepared before an appropriate response is ultimately selected.¹
One of the most important characteristics of high-level performance is anticipation. Skilled athletes can identify relevant information earlier and use it to predict how a situation is likely to develop. Through sport-specific experience, athletes gradually develop memory structures that allow familiar patterns and relevant information to be recognized and accessed more efficiently.¹
This principle becomes particularly evident in football and futsal. Players constantly need to interpret the movements of teammates and opponents, identify available spaces and anticipate what may happen next. A player is not simply reacting after an event occurs; the ability to extract information early can allow movement preparation and decision-making to begin sooner.
This can help explain why some players appear to have more time on the ball. They are not necessarily reacting faster. They may simply be interpreting the situation earlier.
The Role of Practice
Practice is fundamental to the development of sporting expertise, but more practice does not automatically mean a better athlete. The quality of training, the environment, individual characteristics and the way an athlete responds to practice all influence development.¹
What matters is not only how many hours an athlete spends training, but what those hours require the athlete to perceive, decide and execute.
In football and futsal, the same situation rarely occurs twice. Opponents react differently, spaces change and new information appears constantly. Because of this, players need more than the ability to repeat a technical movement. They need to understand when, where and why to use it.
Meaningful practice therefore becomes essential. Athletes need opportunities to explore different solutions, make decisions, experience errors and learn from feedback.¹
From Repetition to Adaptation
A technically correct movement performed in isolation does not necessarily prepare a player for the complexity of competition.
The demands of football and futsal require players to adapt their actions according to the situation. A pass, dribble or movement may need to be performed differently depending on the position of the opponent, the available space, the movement of teammates and the timing of the action.
The objective is therefore not simply to reproduce the same movement repeatedly, but to develop the ability to find effective solutions when the situation changes.
This is where the training environment becomes particularly important.
Developing the Player, Not Just the Technique
These principles are closely aligned with the Tactico Academy methodology.
Training should not simply provide more repetitions. It should provide meaningful repetitions — situations in which players are required to observe, interpret, decide, adapt and execute.
The role of the coach is therefore not limited to correcting technique. It also involves creating situations that challenge the player’s perception and decision-making, providing feedback and allowing players to explore different solutions.
Technical and physical development remain fundamental. But these qualities become more meaningful when they are connected to the player’s ability to understand and respond to the game.
Ultimately, developing a high-level athlete is not simply about teaching them to execute an action better.
It is about helping them perceive earlier, anticipate more effectively, make better decisions and execute those decisions at the right moment.
That development takes time. And the quality of the experiences created throughout that process can play an important role in shaping the athlete’s ability to perform at a high level.
Reference
¹ Yarrow, K., Brown, P., & Krakauer, J. W. (2009). Inside the brain of an elite athlete: The neural processes that support high achievement in sports. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(8), 585–596. Neuroscience, 10(8), 585–596.
Why Futsal Matters in Football Development
By Rafael Fogageiro
Founder & Head Coach, Tactico Academy
Published on August 17, 2026
How Futsal can help develop smarter, more adaptable and decision-making-oriented players
For many years, Futsal and Football have often been treated as separate sports. However, when we look at player development more closely, the relationship between the two becomes increasingly relevant.
Research has consistently explored the potential contribution of Futsal to Football development, particularly in areas such as technical ability, tactical awareness, perception and decision-making. A 2024 doctoral thesis by Marcos Xavier de Andrade investigated how Brazilian Serie A clubs incorporate Futsal into their player development models and how they manage the transition between the two modalities.
The study interviewed 14 coordinators from Brazilian Serie A clubs. All of the professionals interviewed recognized the importance of Futsal in the development of Football players, although the study also found that there is no single pathway or universal model for integrating the two sports.
This leads to an important question:
What exactly does Futsal offer to the development of a Football player?
Futsal teaches players to act under pressure
Futsal takes place in a smaller environment, with fewer players and constant involvement in the game.
Players have less time and space to receive the ball, scan the environment, recognize pressure and decide what to do next.
This creates repeated opportunities to develop technical and tactical behaviours such as ball control, passing precision, dribbling, perception and rapid decision-making. Andrade's research highlights these characteristics as important components of the relationship between Futsal and Football development.
Research has also examined how the constraints of Futsal influence perceptual skills and how experience in Futsal can contribute to the development of skills relevant to Football. (Oppici et al., 2017, 2018).
But perhaps the most important benefit is not a particular technical skill.
It is the relationship between the player and the game.
A player who is constantly required to perceive, decide and act develops an ability to interact with changing situations.
And that ability is highly relevant to Football.
The skill is not the answer. The ability to find the answer is.
One of the most important points raised in the research is that skills developed in Futsal cannot simply be transferred directly to Football.
The two games have different spaces, distances, numbers of players, rhythms and tactical demands.
Therefore, the objective should not be to teach a player to reproduce a Futsal action on a Football pitch.
The objective should be to develop a player who understands when, why and how to adapt an action to the situation.
Andrade emphasizes that an action that is effective in the fast and constrained environment of Futsal may not necessarily be the best solution in Football. The challenge for coaches is therefore to help players adapt their behaviours to the demands of each game.
This principle is at the heart of the Tactico methodology.
At Tactico, we develop the player through the game
At Tactico, we believe that players learn Football by solving Football problems.
Technical and tactical development should not exist in isolation.
Passing is not simply about executing a technically correct pass.
The player must understand:
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Where is the space?
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Where is the pressure?
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What options are available?
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Can I play forward?
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Should I protect the ball?
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What will happen after I pass?
The same principle applies to receiving, dribbling, finishing, movement and defending.
Technique becomes meaningful when it is connected to a decision.
This is why our sessions are designed around game situations rather than simply repeating movements without context.
The research supporting game-based and representative practice reinforces this approach. Ford, Yates and Williams (2010), for example, found differences in the potential value of practice activities that more closely resemble the demands of the game. Similarly, research into small-sided games and nonlinear approaches has explored how players can develop tactical and perceptual skills through representative game environments (Fradua et al., 2013; Machado et al., 2019).
Futsal and Football are complementary
At Tactico, we do not see Futsal as a replacement for Football.
We see them as complementary learning environments.
Futsal exposes players to tight spaces, pressure, rapid transitions and frequent decision-making.
Football introduces different challenges: larger spaces, longer distances, different positional relationships and a broader tactical landscape.
The literature increasingly supports this complementary perspective. Travassos, Araújo and Davids (2017) specifically discussed Futsal as a potential "donor sport" for Football, highlighting the possibility of exploiting similarities and differences between the two environments during talent development.
The objective, therefore, is not to choose one sport over the other.
It is to understand what each environment can teach the player.
So the question should not simply be:
“Should a player train Futsal or Football?”
A better question is:
“What does the player need to learn, and which environment can provide the best learning opportunity?”
Development is not about rushing the transition
Another important finding from Andrade's research is that there is still no definitive answer regarding the ideal age for transitioning from Futsal to Football, the exact number of Futsal sessions a player should complete, or one universal methodology for integrating both sports.
This matters because player development should not be reduced to arbitrary age limits.
A player does not suddenly become ready for Football simply because they have reached a particular birthday.
Development should be progressive, individual and influenced by the player's experiences.
Research from Andrade and colleagues has also questioned the traditional idea of a single "ideal" transition age, suggesting that the relationship between Futsal and Football should be considered within the broader context of each player's development. (Andrade et al., 2024).
The doctoral research further discusses the potential value of continuing Futsal experiences between the ages of 13 and 16, rather than assuming that its developmental contribution ends at an early age.
The game must remain at the centre of learning
Another important connection between the research and the Tactico methodology is the role of game-based learning.
The development of young players should not be reduced to isolated technical repetitions.
Players need opportunities to explore, make mistakes, perceive problems, find solutions and experience the consequences of their decisions.
Research into street football and nonlinear pedagogy has highlighted the value of environments that provide players with opportunities to adapt their actions to constantly changing situations (Machado et al., 2019).
The Andrade thesis also discusses the decreasing availability of natural spaces where children can play freely and develop through their own experiences.
This is particularly relevant today.
As children have fewer opportunities to play freely in streets, parks and informal environments, clubs and academies increasingly become responsible for creating rich learning environments, rather than simply delivering structured training.
At Tactico, this reinforces one of our fundamental principles:
The game must remain at the centre of learning.
Developing players who can adapt
Modern Football demands more than technically capable players.
It demands players who can:
Perceive.
Understand.
Decide.
Execute.
Adapt.
This is why Tactico combines Futsal and Football with a technical-tactical methodology centred on the game.
Our objective is not simply to produce players who can execute skills.
It is to develop players who understand the game well enough to use those skills intelligently.
Because ultimately, the most valuable skill in Football is not knowing what to do.
It is knowing what to do when the game changes.
And that is the kind of player we aim to develop at Tactico.
References
Andrade, M. X. (2017). Futsal – Da formação ao alto rendimento: Métodos e processos do treinamento. Carlos Barbosa, RS: Ed. do Autor.
Andrade, M. X., & Voser, R. C. (2022). A transição de atletas do futsal para o futebol. Porto Alegre, RS: Ed. do Autor.
Andrade, M. X. et al. (2022). O futsal como formador de atletas para o futebol: uma revisão narrativa. Revista Brasileira de Futsal e Futebol, 14(57), 161–170.
Andrade, M. X. et al. (2024). A idade ideal para a transição do futsal para o futebol: um estudo com os atores do processo. Revista Brasileira de Futsal e Futebol, 16(64), 76–82.
Andrade, M. X. (2024). O processo de transição de atletas do futsal para o futebol: O modelo de formação utilizado nos clubes de futebol. Doctoral thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
Côté, J., & Vierimaa, M. (2014). The developmental model of sport participation: 15 years after its first conceptualization. Science & Sports, 29, 563–569.
Ford, P., Yates, I., & Williams, A. M. (2010). An analysis of practice activities and instructional behaviours used by youth soccer coaches during practice: Exploring the link between science and application. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(5), 483–495.
Fradua, L. et al. (2013). Small-sided games for training tactical aspects in soccer: Extrapolating pitch sizes from full-size professional matches. Journal of Sports Sciences, 31(6), 573–581.
Machado, J. C. et al. (2019). Enhancing learning in the context of street football: A case for nonlinear pedagogy. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 24(2), 176–189.
Oppici, L. et al. (2017). Long-term practice with domain-specific task constraints influences perceptual skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1–9.
Oppici, L. et al. (2018). Futsal task constraints promote transfer of passing skill to soccer task constraints. European Journal of Sport Science, 18(7), 947–954.
Travassos, B., Araújo, D., & Davids, K. (2017). Is futsal a donor sport for football? Exploiting complementarity for early diversification in talent development. Science and Medicine in Football, 2(1), 66–70.
Yiannaki, C., Carling, C., & Collins, D. (2018). Futsal as a potential talent development modality for soccer – a quantitative assessment of high-level soccer coach and player perceptions. Science and Medicine in Football, 2(4), 299–308.
The Moral Advantage: How Collective Belief Change Football
By Rafael Fogageiro
Founder & Head Coach, Tactico Academy
Published on July 21, 2026
Football is a game of advantages.
Throughout a match, teams constantly seek to create qualitative advantages, when a player has superiority over their direct opponent; numerical advantages, by creating overloads in specific areas of the pitch; positional advantages, when a player occupies a space that makes the opponent’s defensive task more difficult; as well as spatial, temporal, and other forms of superiority that increase the likelihood of successful actions.
There is, however, one advantage that rarely receives the same level of attention: the moral advantage.
Unlike the others, it does not emerge from the team’s spatial organization or from an obvious technical superiority. It arises from the collective perception a team develops about itself and about its opponent.
The moral advantage changes the way the game is perceived.
Players do not respond only to the events that occur during the match, but to the meaning they assign to those events. The same conceded goal, a late equalizer, or the prospect of extra time may represent hope for one team and despair for another. The event itself is identical; what changes is the perception constructed by the players.
The presence of an extraordinary player such as Lionel Messi illustrates this phenomenon. His influence extends far beyond what he produces with the ball. His teammates believe there is always a solution. They remain composed for longer, take risks with greater conviction, and persist even in moments of adversity. At the same time, the opposition begins to perceive every attack as a potential threat, becoming more cautious and, often, more insecure.
The moral advantage can also be built through experience.
A team that repeatedly wins decisive matches, overcomes extra time, or consistently prevails in penalty shootouts develops a collective belief that it will always find a way to win. That belief fundamentally changes how the game is interpreted. While some teams see an 85th-minute draw as the beginning of defeat, others see it as the moment when they usually decide matches.
This advantage produces tangible effects. Players become more confident in executing difficult actions, recover more quickly from mistakes, communicate more effectively, press with greater intensity, and assume responsibilities they might otherwise avoid in a context of moral fragility.
The opposite process also occurs. A sequence of defeats creates a moral disadvantage. Gradually, the team begins to interpret every setback as confirmation that a negative result is inevitable. The perception changes before the game itself does.
For this reason, the moral advantage deserves to be understood as another advantage of the game, alongside qualitative, numerical, and positional advantages. Although it cannot be directly observed in the team’s structure, it influences all the others. A morally strengthened team is more likely to exploit its qualitative advantages, create positional advantages with greater conviction, and sustain its superiority for longer periods.
In football, the first advantage is often not gained on the pitch. It is gained in the minds of the players. And when that happens, the game itself begins to be perceived differently by each team.
About the Author
Rafael Fogageiro is the Founder and Head Coach of Tactico Academy in Dubai, with over 23 years of coaching experience. He is the author of The Game Doesn't Lie, Futsal: The 4-0 System and The 3-1 Attack System in Futsal.
