I enjoyed this article following the most recent Liverpool vs Chelsea match on the Zone defense that the Red’s use on set pieces near their goal. I would lean towards the Zone model if I felt the kids were bright enough to deliver on it’s promise of improving the odds.
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9 Comments
Okay I’m no coach but I am aware of the popularity of zonal defending in Europe and am personally skeptical of it’s effectiveness particularly at anything below professional level.
From corners or free kicks that are closer to either wing than they are the center of the pitch there is a tendency (particularly at an amateur level) to place one man on the near post for a tap in and to obstruct the keeper’s view and put multiple players on the back post or ready to rush in on the back post where the ball is frequently directed to. This makes it very difficult for the two zonal defenders in this area to deal with the opposition there.
I feel man to man marking is a better system (especially when you are aware of the oppostion’s stronger/faster players).
Because of the offside rule (and the danger of catching them on the break and counter attacking) when the oppostion has the opportunity for a set piece they will rarely deploy all their players in your third of the pitch which will inevitably give you a man to mark each of their danger men usually with several players spare to mop up any loose balls.
It’s just my opinion. Like I said I’m no coach.
I agree with you on this one Danny. I feel that man to man defense on set pieaces and corner kicks is the way to go. like you said you can find their “Go To” players and make sure their marked at all times. And im also no coach either
my opinion doesn’t mean much but sorry guys i have to disagree to a point. in a set piece outside the box you have to mark man to a degree but still play in a zonal type defense. on a corner i have always and will always play a zonal defense for a couple of reasons. one, the keeper has the six yard box without question. the defenders need to stay in a zonal defense because they have more than enough time to react where the ball is being played. Also, if the other team has a go to guy, if you play man-man defense, more times than not there will be picks and other type stuff to try to free that particular player. always have the two big boys in the middle and everyone else to their particular positions and the whole team should have enough time to play the ball out.
Good point Josh. I suppose in the end there is a fine line between the two anyway. For zonal defending to be effective it cannot be static and once the defending players move will they not inevitably be “glued” to one man for the few seconds that the play takes? In effect making it not dissimilar to man to man marking.
I don’t think its so black and white. I think you can do both. Put your best three players in the air along the top of the six (give or take a yard depending on the range of your gk) and man mark the opposing teams top players in the air. Quite honestly if you have someone who is especially good in the air, they are probably going to gravitate toward the ball and fight to win it no matter if they are man marking or zonal defending. However, if the opposition really swings a nice driven ball in the box, its good to be marked up as well as zoneally defending spaces.
Danny, for a little background… Josh is #2 on the career scoring list at Glendale HS if memory serves and has been handling the offense for Coach Rogers at Glendale the past two years. Jeff is a college coach in FL after spending a good chunk of time here in SGF at MSU and working with what is now called Springfield SC. I can see I’m going to have to point to a few more of these articles
PS - look for an exciting announcement in the next week or so, some good news for downtown and soccer fans
I’m not concerned with credentials. I don’t think I contradicted anyone in either of my comments other than to say that I think man to man is the best bet for defending set plays. “Whoop dee doo” that many teams in Europe use zonal. Most EPL teams still use man to man and you’d have to be a few cans short of a six pack to argue that the EPL isn’t the best domestic league in the world.
Danny, my boy, I wasn’t pointing out credentials to establish a pecking order. I was sharing with you the background on a few of the boys in our community here. Patting myself on the back I guess, since it makes me smile to see that this little site is able to hold the interest of the local soccer junkies. Which means I should also point out young Danny Curro represents the Nixa Eagles, quite well in fact. I’m going to have to get him to start covering some of the Nixa & Ozark girls games for me in fact!
i agree, credentials don’t mean much, but i have been around this area for quite sometime and thanks ole for giving me a little credit. no one else around here does much anymore for one reason or another but that’s there problem not mine. i’m here to help coach rogers teach the boys a few things about the game that i have learned from being coached and playing with some of the best players in the country.(by the way, i made the regional team also but was screwed out of going to camp for nationals because that was the year they changed the age cutoff date and also a player who was a national player the year before was screwed also. but that is just to correct some info. given by sources earlier in the year.) anyway, danny has a good point on defending and each has its pros and cons. i am always glad to hear other points of view on the game and still love to learn. especially when it comes to defending since i have never defended ever in my life. thanks ole and keep up the good work.
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