“José Mourinho, Vítor Frade and the influence of Tactical Periodisation”, Sky Sports

Jose Mourinho revolutionised training in England thanks to the ideas of Vitor Frade and that legacy lives on this pre-season. With the help of one of Frade’s famous students in Carlos Carvalhal, Adam Bate examines the roots of tactical periodisation and why the ideological debate about it is still having an impact in the Premier League right now…

For many players, pre-season means running. The fitness work feels endless. Keep going until you feel sick then go some more. As for the ball, forget about it. All in good time.

That was the old way but most of the top clubs do things very differently these days. Some are even following a methodology that was formulated not on the green fields of England but inside the classrooms of Portugal. These clubs are led by coaches who are inspired by ideas devised by the Portuguese academic Vitor Frade at the University of Porto.

Frade is no household name but his reputation within the game is huge and his influence can hardly be overstated. Jose Mourinho was a high-profile early advocate, transforming the nature of training ground preparation in English football as a result. Frade is routinely described as a genius and his impact is everywhere in the modern Premier League.

Compatriots Marco Silva and Nuno Espirito Santo have been inspired by his methodology. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers picked up on it during his time at Chelsea. Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders is an admirer too. Similar approaches are used by Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, meaning that his fingerprints are all over the country’s top teams.

“Vitor Frade is the brain of it all,” Carlos Carvalhal tells Sky Sports. “He is the brain of a thing called Tactical Periodisation. You could call him a kind of scientist but he is a very practical scientist because he worked at Porto under Sir Bobby Robson and he did his work on the pitch. At the same time, he was very academic and clever. He is a fascinating man.”

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