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Football · Level 10: Professional · Sub-level 10.101

Periodisation in Football

10 tests · 100 facts · updated 12 October 2026 · markdown

How the football season is planned: classic periodisation and its critics, Vítor Frade's tactical periodisation and the morphocycle, weeks with two matches, pre-season, the transfer windows, tournament summers and the debate over the calendar.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1Classic periodisation and its termsTake a test

  1. Matveyev's model, drawn from Soviet Olympic athletes, divided the year into preparation, competition and transition.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  2. Macro, meso and micro describe the season, blocks of weeks and the week itself.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  3. The microcycle is usually the week; the morphocycle is tactical periodisation's own name for its week.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  4. Bompa's 'Theory and Methodology of Training' became 'Periodization' in later editions.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  5. Matveyev built it for sports with a few target competitions a year; a league has thirty or more.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  6. Issurin's 2008 book 'Block Periodization' made the term widely known.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  7. With a match every weekend, and often midweek too, the week is the natural unit of the plan.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  8. A session, a week, a block of weeks and the whole season.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  9. 1960s, 1983 and 2008.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  10. Matveyev's year runs preparation, competition and transition; in football the competition period is the season itself.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

Test 2Vítor Frade and tactical periodisationTake a test

  1. Frade's ideas spread through his students into Portuguese coaching and then abroad.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  2. Mourinho worked with the method from his first head-coach jobs; van Gaal lost the 2010 final to his Inter.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  3. The game model is the thread through every session; physical, technical and mental work come with it.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  4. Frade called it specificity: the effort should be the effort of playing the way the team plays.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  5. Faria was Mourinho's fitness and methodology coach from Porto until 2018.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  6. Tamarit's book first appeared in Spanish in 2007 and in English in 2015.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  7. Pitch size, numbers and rules are set so the behaviour being trained keeps coming up.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  8. 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2010.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  9. Complex progression moves from parts of the model to the whole without leaving the game.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  10. Frade taught at the University of Porto's faculty of sport, and several of FC Porto's coaches studied with him.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

Test 3The morphocycle weekTake a test

  1. In a Sunday-to-Sunday week the tension day falls on Wednesday, after recovery and a day off.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  2. The pattern week is the template that shorter weeks are cut down from.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  3. The speed day keeps players sharp while leaving them fresh for the match.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  4. The alternation lets the team train the model almost every day without piling up fatigue.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  5. Complex progression and propensities are Frade's other principles, about the content of sessions.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  6. The compensation session gives unused players the match-like work they missed.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  7. The day off on MD+2 comes before the tension day, the most demanding session of the week.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  8. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  9. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday or so, and the next Saturday.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  10. Thursday, MD-3, is the day closest to the match in its demands, working the big principles in large areas.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

Test 4Weeks with two matchesTake a test

  1. With seventy-two hours between games there is no room for acquisition days, only recovery and preparation.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  2. Coaches move the teaching off the pitch when the pitch time has to be recovery.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  3. A new plan needs pitch time, which a two-match week does not have.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  4. It rehearses shape and set pieces without adding fatigue.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  5. Late kick-offs and flights push the recovery work into the travel day.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  6. Their recovery decides who can start the next game, so the plan is built around them.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  7. One group recovers while the other trains with match-like intensity.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  8. Match, recovery on Sunday, activation on Monday and the second match.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  9. The more days, the more room for acquisition sessions.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  10. The day before the second match is kept light: activation, set pieces and a reminder of the plan.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

Test 5Pre-season in the modern gameTake a test

  1. Clubs usually return in early July for a season starting in August.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  2. Six clubs played the first edition in July 2023; it has returned since.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

  3. Two line-ups of about ninety minutes each get everyone playing time.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  4. Opponent-specific work starts once the season is close.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  5. Camps in the Alps or abroad bring the squad together for a block of focused work.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  6. A player at a final in July may get three weeks off, missing most of the pre-season.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  7. Tours earn appearance fees and help sponsors, at the cost of travel in the build-up.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  8. Checks, a camp, a step up in opposition and the season opener.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  9. May, June, early July and mid-August.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · applied

  10. Tyrol and Salzburg state host dozens of visiting squads each July.

    Source: Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice · recall

Test 6Transfer windows and the season planTake a test

  1. The first period may run up to twelve weeks and the mid-season one up to four.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  2. In Europe that is the January window, closing in early February.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  3. The window shut on 9 August 2018, the day before the season began.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  4. Managers had complained of losing or gaining players after the season was under way.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  5. English clubs could not replace a player sold abroad in the last weeks of August.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  6. Under FIFA's transfer regulations a professional whose contract ran out before the end of a registration period may be registered after it closes, so a free agent is not kept idle until the next window; everyone else must wait.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  7. In summer a new player has a pre-season; in January he is thrown into the fixture list.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  8. Late May, mid-June, mid-August and 1 September.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  9. 2002, 2018 and 2020.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  10. In his final six months a player may sign a pre-contract with a foreign club; English clubs must wait longer to talk to a domestic rival's player.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

Test 7Tournament summers and the club seasonTake a test

  1. The last round before the break was on 12-13 November, and the league resumed on 26 December.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  2. The 2023 Asian Cup was moved to early 2024; South Korea reached the semi-finals.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  3. Clubs can lose several starters for a month of league matches.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  4. Players who reach the last rounds join pre-season late and short of a full build-up.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  5. National teams had about a week together before the opening games.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  6. FIFA raised the squad limit from twenty-three to twenty-six for the 2022 tournament, three more than in 2018.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  7. It is the only long stretch a national coach has with the whole squad.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  8. November 2022, June 2024 and June 2026.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  9. The break comes after the final, so his return and his first start come later than his team-mates'.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  10. The heat of a Gulf summer moved the 2022 World Cup to November and December.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

Test 8Season calendars around the worldTake a test

  1. The league decided the change in December 2023, after years of debate.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  2. Aligning with Europe's windows and Asia's competitions was the main argument; winter snow in the north was the main worry.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  3. The play-offs follow the regular season.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  4. The play-offs run through November after the regular season ends in October.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  5. Australian rules football and rugby league fill the winter.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  6. A Nordic or Russian side had to be sharp without competitive matches for months.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  7. The league follows the European calendar, so its window matched Europe's.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  8. February, March or April, August and October.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  9. 2025, the first half of 2026 and 2026-27.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  10. Série A's season sits inside one calendar year, so its clubs' window for European sales is mid-season.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

Test 9The calendar debate and player welfareTake a test

  1. The calendar is part of FIFA's transfer regulations; UEFA sets its own club competitions within it.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  2. The first matchday of the 36-team league phase was spread over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

    Source: UEFA competition calendar 2024-25; contemporary reporting · recall

  3. Each club plays eight league-phase matches, as in the Champions League.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  4. They argued FIFA was abusing its position by adding competitions without agreement.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  5. Averages hide the few dozen players who play for club and country almost every week.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  6. Sixty matches spread evenly are different from ten matches in a month.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  7. Players at big clubs who also play for their countries carry most of the extra matches.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  8. 2018, 2024 and 2025.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  9. 32, 36 and 48.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  10. He tore a knee ligament days after warning that players were close to striking over the number of matches.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

Test 10Contested claims about periodisationTake a test

  1. Tactical periodisation is widely used and argued for, but there is no trial showing it produces better results.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  2. Two coaches can both call their method tactical periodisation and train very differently.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  3. Its reviewers point out that much of the original work was never published in checkable form.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  4. Few clubs follow any single method to the letter.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  5. Good planning reduces some risks; contact, chance and many other factors remain.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  6. An observational study can show an association; other differences between leagues may play a part.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  7. A plan fits a squad and a calendar; lifted whole it rarely fits another one.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  8. 1960s, 1980s and 2010s.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

  9. A single case, a single sample and many samples pooled.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · applied

  10. The Elite Club Injury Study has been run from Linköping University since 2001.

    Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting · recall

Sources

IFAB, FIFA and UEFA regulations and reports / club and federation statements / published coaching literature / peer-reviewed studies / contemporary reporting

  • Published periodisation and coaching literature (Matveyev, Bompa, Issurin, Tamarit); club and federation practice50
  • FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; league, UEFA and FIFPRO statements; contemporary reporting49
  • UEFA competition calendar 2024-25; contemporary reporting1