Atilio Muente, the foray of a three-time Peruvian football champion into sports psychology

At the end of their sporting career, football players usually decide to stay connected to the sport that has supported them financially for much of their lives, most venture into technical management, others choose to join the level management and some opt to serve as commentators on various platforms. , or player representatives.

One area that hasn’t been explored much by former Peruvian players is the sports psychology, a branch that has gained importance in recent decades, even in Peru. A three-time national champion has decided to enter the branch of mental health that has fascinated him since a young age and today works in one of the most popular clubs in the country.

Atilio Muentewinner of the 2007, 2008 and 2010 Decentralized Tournaments with Saint Martin Universityis perhaps the first award-winning former Peruvian footballer to devote himself to sports psychology and for almost three years he has been doing so at Sports Boys of Callao, team you are a fan of.

His beginnings in football were not ordinary, he made minor divisions in a neighborhood club and as a teenager he joined various amateur teams, until the opportunity arose to try in the Major University of San Marcos, which at the beginning of this century had achieved a place in the second division. He admits that his dream of being a professional footballer is reborn there.

At the same time as he developed his profession, he decided to seize the opportunity and entered the Faculty of Psychology of the ‘America’s Dean’ and managed to successfully complete his career. Despite the fact that it was not his first option, but rather industrial engineering, today he manages at 42 to combine what he calls his two passions, “football and psychology”.

Mention a Caesar ‘Chalaca’ Gonzales as one of the architects of his arrival in the first division, at the San Martin with whom he lived years of glory between 2007 and 2010, winning three titles, after his successful stint in the team ‘alba’I go by Cesar Vallejo, athletic alliance, Sporty boys y Cantolaowhere he ended his career in 2007, despite offers to continue.

He exercised his professional practice in the small divisions of San Martin and during his football years he shared with other psychologists such as Hugo la Tour y Tito Morinagathat he puts forward as those who have marked the path of the work he leads today.

In 2020, in the months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, he came to Sport Boys to play in the minor divisions. There he stayed until 2022, coach’pink‘ from that moment, Juan Alayo, summoned him to work in the first team, where -despite a little recreation- he remains.

– Is it difficult to work in a club with so many financial and administrative problems like Sport Boys?

The boys’ problems are known and have a direct impact on the players. It is a question of responding to these legitimate requests, but without diminishing the sporting objectives. For this it is important determination, attitude, development of attention to the established goals. In this sense I must congratulate the players because they behave up to par.

– In the moments when you have eight points left, they take away your license and then return it to you, with cases awaiting resolution in the CAS. How to work on campus morale?

The idea is to work on paying attention to the thoughts we have. Relating differently to the situations we are experiencing must begin with an acceptance of what we are experiencing. Understand that our behaviors cannot be affected by this, because we have a purpose. Of course, everything affects, what you have to do is reduce the impact.

– Does your experience as a footballer help you to gain confidence with the players?

Yes, as I stopped playing relatively recently, I still meet players that I faced or with whom I shared a locker room. I played with Christian Ramos In San Martincon ‘chengue’ Moralesbefore Marcio Valverde. Guys starting out recognize you in the world of sport, so dialogue is easier. The experiences of almost 20 years in football give you some knowledge of the situations the team can experience.

– Can new technologies in sports psychology be adapted to a football as informal as that of Peru?

It’s definitely a challenge that requires creativity on your part. There are interviews that I do with the boys on the side of the field when the distractors are numerous, but that’s how it is and you have to adapt to what you have. Knowledge must be applied to the environment in which we operate. It would be great if there was the necessary infrastructure, but in all areas.

– We saw how Sporting Cristal and Sport Huancayo scored goals in the final moments of their Copa Libertadores games. What is the psychological factor in this?

Attention is like a muscle and it must be developed so that it lasts throughout the competition phase. Knowing how to deal with distractors, with those thoughts of “what if I fail?” What if they score against us? that cause anxiety and stress. Abilities must be developed to control anxiety, focus on necessary actions. This is work that is done in the psychological field and we must continue to highlight it.

– You have to work on these points from an early age, but… Can you do it when you reach professional football?

Attention can develop at any time. The athlete must manage a lot of information at the same time. Where is the ball, the opponent, your teammate, where are you on the pitch? The weather and the referee are other information, you have to deal with all that to make decisions, add to that distractors like the rival bar, the screaming coach, the opponent’s provocation, the fear of the error. Information must be filtered to perform tasks.

– A few days ago, the Czech footballer Jakub Jankto made his sexual choice known because he no longer wanted to hide it, why is there no such opening in Peru? Is it because of the conservative or macho society we live in?

The footballer evolves in a macro context, in Peru the culture exerts a lot of influence on certain expected behaviors and on these issues it is very conservative. In the event of disclosure, the support networks you have, such as family, friends, colleagues, coaching staff, will be important. His personality is also crucial in dealing with the situation, since the context cannot be removed and more than one person will comment on it.

– How to work with the player before a game where he could be harassed?

You have to work a lot on controlling your thoughts, controlling your attention, preparing for what you are about to see or find, and developing tools beforehand to prevent your abilities from being violated.

– Do you remember your injury with Sport Boys at eight seconds in the Heraclio Tapia de Huánuco against Alianza Universidad?

Of course, I tore myself up starting the game. What people don’t know is that in this Sporty boys (2016), the players played for the love of the jersey. I come from Callao, I wanted to play in the Sporty boys, but when I arrived I saw an unfortunate situation. I came with a back injury, although I decided to travel by van to Huánuco and we were stuck on the highway for several hours. I decided to play maybe I shouldn’t have and on the first ball like they know they sent a ball deep and when I ran I already felt the kick, but I tried a little harder and took it to the side. I then sat down.