Visiting Research Scientist

Israel joined IHMC on a courtesy appointment as a Visiting Research Scientist in July 2023. He will collaborate with IHMC researchers and facilitate increased research collaborations between IHMC and the Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil.

Israel develops research in the areas of decision-making, tactics, cognition, talent development, game analysis, sports psychology and sports training, most of which is applied to the context of soccer. He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) and Coordinator of the Lato Sensu Postgraduate Program in Soccer (nucleofutebol.ufv.br/especializacao-1/) since 2011.

He is Brazil’s most-published researcher on decision-making in football and is a consultant to organizations including CONMEBOL, CBF and a number of technology companies. He has published more than 200 books and papers, including “The Practical Guide to Football Training for Football in South America” and the best-selling “Football Intelligence: Training and Tactics for Soccer Success.”

He has a degree in physical education from the Federal University of Viçosa (2002), a master’s degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2006), a Ph.D. in sports science from the University of Porto (2010), a post-doctorate in sports science from Brunel University London (2015) and a post-doctorate in neuroscience with IHMC.