Galo start tune-up for the second half of the year

In partnership with

Clube Atlético Mineiro

·23 June 2026

Galo start tune-up for the second half of the year

The return of Atlético’s squad to Cidade do Galo marked the beginning of a strategic period for the remainder of the season. With about four weeks of preparation until the return of official competitions, Atlético is using the mid-season break to help players recover, rebuild the squad’s physical condition, and intensify the work focused on the challenges of the second half of the year.

After a first half of the year marked by an intense run of matches, the period without games becomes essential to reorganize the players’ physical preparation and plan the team’s next steps.

OneFootball Videos

“The schedule was very condensed because of the break for the World Cup. We had a very long sequence of matches, playing practically twice a week. We have already played 37 matches this season, something some European clubs do over the course of an entire season,” highlights the club’s Physiological Coordinator, Roberto Chiari.

According to him, the accumulated wear and tear over the last few months made the rest period granted to the players indispensable.

“The players reach the end of this cycle quite worn out. They really needed this recovery period. It is natural that they return a little out of condition now, and that was already within what we expected. Rest is also part of the preparation process for the remainder of the season,” he comments.

Assessments guide the planning

The first few days of activities are dedicated to a broad set of physical and functional assessments. The tests repeat protocols carried out in preseason and allow the Performance Department to compare current indicators with those recorded at the start of the year.

“We are repeating the same set of assessments carried out at the beginning of the season. That way, we can compare the data, understand the players’ strength and physical conditioning levels and, based on that information, properly plan the training loads for this period,” says Chiari.

Physical trainer Ricardo Seguins notes that the assessments are essential for guiding the work that will be carried out over the coming weeks.

“The secret to a good training prescription is carrying out a good assessment. When we can identify each player’s individual characteristics, whether related to strength, mobility, balance or endurance, we are able to build a more efficient plan for each of them,” he evaluates.

The strategy adopted by the Performance Department involves dividing the players between field activities and physical assessments during the first few days of the mid-season break, allowing information to be collected that will serve as the basis for programming the training sessions.

“The secret to working collectively today is looking at individuality. Each player responds differently to the same stimulus. That is why we need to understand each player’s moment in order to define the best training strategy,” Seguins adds.

Individualized preparation

In addition to rebuilding the squad’s condition, the mid-season break also represents an important opportunity for players who have gone through physical recovery processes during the season. For that reason, not all players will follow exactly the same schedule during this period.

“There are players who are still at different stages of recovery and transition. Some will not even undergo all the assessments at this initial stage because they still need to complete certain phases of the process with the medical department and physical training staff. That is why we individualize the entire training program,” Chiari explains.

The integration between physiology, physical training and the medical department allows each player to receive stimuli suited to their current condition, favoring both recovery and performance gains for the rest of the season.

Integrated work

The mid-season break also offers an important opportunity to deepen the integration between physical training and the coaching staff led by Eduardo Domínguez.

According to Ricardo Seguins, the work carried out day to day is built jointly, aligning the players’ physical needs with the technical and tactical content planned by the coaching staff.

“All the work is synchronized. The physical training staff provides the guidelines related to the day’s loads and stimuli, while the coaching staff develops the technical and tactical content of the activities. There is a constant exchange of information, and that strengthens the entire process,” he says.

The physical trainer also emphasized the harmony between the methodologies adopted and highlighted the level of detail used in controlling training loads.

“The coaching staff has very detailed control of field metrics and strength work. There is a great deal of participation from all the professionals involved in the process, which creates engagement and contributes to the development of the work,” he adds.

Top-level structure

To carry out this monitoring, Galo has a modern structure and technological resources focused on monitoring and developing the players.

“Atlético has always been at the forefront of using technology in training. It was one of the first clubs in the country to work with GPS monitoring systems and continues to invest constantly in infrastructure,” Chiari praises.

The Physiological Coordinator also highlighted the club’s recent investments, including the modernization of the gym at Cidade do Galo and the constant updating of the equipment used by the health and performance teams.

“Today we have an extremely well-equipped physical therapy department, a newly opened gym with modern equipment, and various resources for monitoring and controlling training loads. We have at our disposal everything that is most up to date to develop our work in the best possible way,” he concludes.

With the support of the structure at Cidade do Galo and the integrated follow-up of the physiology, physical training and medical department teams, the mid-season period will be essential to prepare Atlético’s squad for the challenges of the second half of the year, which include the Brazilian Championship, the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa do Brasil.

Dates set for the matches against Juventude

Follow Galo on social media: @atletico