What is zonal defending?: Zonal defending is a defensive system more widely used in continental Europe than the UK that sets defenders out to cover areas of the pitch or ‘zones’ rather than concentrating on marking one player in particular as in man-to-man marking.
When and how do teams use zonal defending?: Teams usually employ the system to be able to best cope with the opposition’s corners or free kicks from wide areas so as to give more protection to their goalkeeper.
The defence typically will line up four players along the six yard box, one on the near post, one in the middle of the six yard box, one between them and one on the far post. Four more will then sit in front of them to offer further protection and to compete for the ball if it is cleared and returned to the penalty area.
The defence typically will line up four players along the six yard box, one on the near post, one in the middle of the six yard box, one between them and one on the far post. Four more will then sit in front of them to offer further protection and to compete for the ball if it is cleared and returned to the penalty area.
Why use zonal defending?: The main reason for using the zonal system is to identify the most dangerous area where the ball can be delivered to and have your best headers of the ball placed there ready to win the first ball and if not, to make sure they are in position to clear the second ball that comes in.
Statistics have shown that in this area around the near side of the six yard box there are a large percentage of goals scored from the first ball so it makes sense to focus your most able defenders in this area.
Statistics have shown that in this area around the near side of the six yard box there are a large percentage of goals scored from the first ball so it makes sense to focus your most able defenders in this area.
Why not use man to man marking?: If a team are using a man to man marking system they may find that their best defenders and headers of the ball are dragged way out of position by having to follow their assigned opposition player but in the zonal system this won’t happen.
What potential problems are there with zonal marking?: Due to defenders “marking” zones rather than players there is the very real possibility of dangerous opposition players going unmarked as the ball is delivered.
Concentration and good decision making are vital for zonal defending to make sure that players don’t get attracted to moving out of their zone to follow a ball they have no chance of intercepting and then leave a gap behind them for opposition players to move into.
Concentration and good decision making are vital for zonal defending to make sure that players don’t get attracted to moving out of their zone to follow a ball they have no chance of intercepting and then leave a gap behind them for opposition players to move into.
Difficulty of implementing a zonal defensive system: Zonal marking is relatively easy to conceptualise but very difficult to perfect especially at the highest level. It can be very tempting for players to move after the flight of the ball and “desert” their allotted zone especially when it seems like an opposition player is being allowed too much space unmarked in the penalty area. Keeping a level of composure and knowing each defenders place in the strategy is vital as zonal marking is far more of a team collective defensive method than the more individually orientated man marking system.
Former English FA technical director Howard Wilkinson has been coaching and teaching use of the zonal marking system for over 30 years and sums up it’s difficulty and the potential results of perfecting it:
“It is a difficult thing to coach. It's more complex than man-to-man but it is more effective. "But it's only more effective if it's covered comprehensively and players understand not only their roles but the roles of others.”
Former English FA technical director Howard Wilkinson has been coaching and teaching use of the zonal marking system for over 30 years and sums up it’s difficulty and the potential results of perfecting it:
“It is a difficult thing to coach. It's more complex than man-to-man but it is more effective. "But it's only more effective if it's covered comprehensively and players understand not only their roles but the roles of others.”
