Modern football is filled with new terms, new ideas and a realy development in tactical understanding by not just experts anymore, but by the average football fan. With coaches, players and fans agreeing that statistics have become a crucial part to gaining an advantage in 21st century sport in general, it’s easy to lose track of what new piece of information is being discussed and spoken about by pundits and fans.

As a result, we have begun to put together a series of blog posts, trying to provide an explanation for these football terms, some old and some new. By putting this together, hopefully it will allow for a greater understanding of these terms so that you can better understand the data/information or even just the game you are watching in greater detail.

This next post looks at something that isn’t new by any means, but is often spoken about with little additional explanation, and that is zonal marking. The idea that rather than sticking with an opposition player to mark, you instead mark a zone on the pitch, and anyone who enters becomes your responsibility. It’s a concept that some managers live by, some hate and some try to blend with more safe man-marking. It has its advantages and disadvantages, which hopefully we will explain for you further in the piece, and hopefully by the end of this article you will have a bit of a clearer understanding of how this works.

Do bear in mind however that this term can be used in different contexts, so our example and explanation is just of a general overview of the term, and if you want to know more in depth on zonal marking, I would highly recommend the book by the same name by Michael Cox who goes into European tactical developments and how things have changed through the years.

Also, don’t forget to head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you want us to provide an explanation of any other term or football-related concept, and also if you have any additional detail to add that we may have missed.

Dictionary Definition

The full dictionary definition of ‘Zonal Marking’ states that:

In football, a system of defending in which each player is responsible for defending an area of the pitch rather than an opposing player.

Cambridge Dictionary

This explanation is actually quite straight forward to follow/understand, but let’s take a bit of a deeper dive into how this plays out…

Explanation

Zonal marking is a term commonly used in football to describe a defensive strategy where each player is responsible for defending a specific area of the pitch, rather than marking an individual opponent. This system is in contrast to man-to-man marking, where each defender is assigned to mark a specific opposing player throughout the game.

Zonal marking is often used by teams that prioritize defensive organization and want to prevent opponents from creating scoring opportunities through individual runs or through balls. In this system, defenders are assigned to cover specific areas of the pitch, such as the penalty area or the space in front of the goal. The idea is that by positioning themselves in the right areas, defenders can intercept passes or clear the ball before it reaches an opponent.

One advantage of zonal marking is that it can be more effective against teams with multiple attacking threats. With man-to-man marking, if one defender is beaten by his marker, it can leave a gap in the defence that other attackers can exploit. Zonal marking helps to prevent this by ensuring that there is always a defender covering a particular area of the pitch.

However, zonal marking also has its disadvantages. One of the main criticisms of this system is that it can be less effective against teams with tall or physically dominant players, as defenders may struggle to win aerial duels in their assigned zones. Additionally, zonal marking requires a high degree of communication and coordination among defenders, as they must work together to cover their zones and track the movement of opposing players.

Overall, zonal marking is a defensive strategy that can be effective when implemented correctly. However, it requires a high degree of organization and communication among defenders, and may not be the best approach in all situations. Coaches and players must weigh the pros and cons of this system and decide whether it is the best fit for their team’s style of play and personnel.

Example

After scouring the internet for a decent quality image depicting zonal marking, we came across this example from a game between Manchester United vs Norwich. As you can probably see, this was the setup for a corner kick being defended by Norwich, and with corners it’s really good to start seeing how zonal marking works.

In this screenshot, Manchester United were already well ahead of Norwich, hence why they have only committed 2 players into the box, and also they have decided to take a corner quickly with a joke here being that Maguire and Lindelöf are actually still yet to even get into the opponents area to make something of the corner. Despite this strange attacking move, it’s the defence that is really useful to highlight, as without players to man-mark, the Norwich defence demonstrate the zones they have taken up.

Their front 3 defenders going towards the ball are being used for 3 roles; to prevent/defend a short corner (clearly taken by surprise here), to block the first ball at the near post if the corner lacks height, and also to provide a block on for a cross to the edge of the box. This is seen clearly as the players have taken their spots ready for a cross to come in.

Also within the box, you have a player hanging around the penalty spot. This positions could signify zonal marking, or potentially this player could be given a job to man-mark a certain player if the box becomes more crowded. By having a player take up position towards the edge of the box, he can then be out quickly in a counter attacking move.

In and around the 6 yard box, you have 5 players plus the goalkeeper, all taking up different roles and ‘zones’ within their space. The player hovering just out of the 6 yard box is providing cover for a front-post delivery and will deal with any runner trying to cut across and flick the ball on behind, the player right behind the keeper is coming to pick up United’s unmarked player at the back on a man-to-man defence, and the other 3 are all responsible for their respective section of the box, with the threat of a late run in from either United CB to get on the end of a ball.

As mentioned earlier, this is a strange example because United had already comfortably won the game, the short corner was clearly unexpected by even their own players, and yet with an almost empty penalty box from attackers, we can see how each defender still occupies a specific section of the penalty box.

What’s also interesting, and to expand on the idea of zonal marking vs man-marking, is the mixture that we see here, and see often by teams who believe zonal marking leaves them vulnerable, yet man-marking can often be too reliant on individual battles. By combining the 2, you can ensure any key threats at set pieces are dealt with, while others can offer cover for a possible short corner, a cross to the edge of the box or even anyone who loses their man.