🎶 Survey reveals Brasileirão players' favourite music genre

🎶 Survey reveals Brasileirão players' favourite music genre

A survey by betting company Superbet of 56 Brazilian players from clubs in Series A, B, C, and D revealed the importance athletes place on music in their mental preparation and which styles are most popular among footballers.

Most said they put on music through their headphones to seek concentration (46.4%) and motivation (42.9%). In this context, the players’ favorite music genre is Gospel (33.9%), followed closely by Funk (21.4%).

Neuroscience supports this practice. Listening to music releases dopamine (pleasure), reduces cortisol (stress), and regulates adrenaline. In practice, this lowers anxiety and improves emotional control under pressure.

“Music develops abilities such as spatial awareness, motor coordination, decision-making, and emotional control. These elements are essential for athletes, and the level of mastery of each one makes a direct difference in performance and quality of play,” said neuroscientist, musician, and professor Allan Christian.

Sports psychologists use music strategically. They put together playlists that start off calm to reduce anxiety and gradually pick up pace to get the athlete hyped to the ideal level before stepping onto the pitch.

“Putting on a more upbeat song brings that energy. So, if the athlete is too relaxed, they can raise their energy with a more upbeat song, a song that helps bring them to that ideal state,” said sports and clinical psychologist Jaciara Alves Paz.

The success of Gospel is linked to creating a positive inner dialogue. The genre brings a sense of comfort and spiritual protection, essential for dealing with the unpredictability of a match.

Shared music also plays a role. Speakers in the locker room help unite and motivate the squad, as reported by former players who used rap or funk to give an extra boost during the warm-up.

But music’s usefulness also extends to the post-match period. Relaxing playlists are used in recovery to help the brain switch off and ensure a good night’s sleep, proving that music sets the rhythm of performance on and off the pitch.

Jô, former striker for the Brazil national team and clubs such as Corinthians, Inter, and Atlético-MG, said in an interview with Superbet how listening to music on a speaker in the locker room helped Atlético players during his time with the Belo Horizonte side.

“At Atlético-MG, we always had a warm-up ritual of leaving a speaker on there. Even Carlinhos Neves himself (fitness coach) liked it. He would ask us to leave it on, and I would always put on Racionais MC’s. It gave us that extra push, that extra adrenaline, right there in the warm-up,” he recalled.

The former striker said he even played funk for his teammates at clubs abroad to listen to before matches. “At Manchester City (England), the players asked me to put on the music they liked (funk) after games. In Japan, it was the same thing — I sometimes played it before the game, and they always liked it.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.