Marking To Protect Your Net
August 18, 2008
This kicks off our first post in our focused series, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer”. Over the next 8 weeks we’ll be taking an in-depth and fundamental look into the key skills that most great footballers possess. Today we are talking about marking.
What marking looks like?
Marking is your ability to track and apply pressure on your opponent or a specific area on the field of play. The two major forms of marking used in modern day football are known as ‘Man marking’ and ‘Zonal marking’.
MAN MARKING
There are a couple of critical factors to consider in this role. First, the distance between the marker and the opponent must remain minimal. Make your presence known by your opponent with contact - if your opponent knows your just a step from them they understand that they must be sharp to handle the ball or work harder to shake you off. Second, a marker’s concentration is to be on the player’s positioning, rather than the ball. Managers will often use ‘man marking’ when defending set pieces. So, don’t get caught ball watching or your opponent will break free and be in a position to score or become a serious threat on your net.
ZONAL MARKING
Zonal marking is based on the position of the ball in regard to the closest opposition player. Markers can increase the distance between the player and themselves if the ball is distant from them. A general guide in this case, would be to allow no more than a 90-degree angle of vision between the ball and the opposing player. Think of a perfect triangle with you at the point. If you’re equidistant between your opponent and the ball then your in position to manage potential offensive threats.
5 Ideas for action:
In order to improve your marking skill consider the following:
- Watch the best strikers and how they lose their marker, remember the tricks and learn. For example Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
- Look at how the best markers stay with their man and how they read the game. For example Riccardo Carvalho.
- Practice with the best strikers available, play against different styles like tall, strong or quick and skillful. Create 1v1 and 2v2 situations with a server to play the ball in to your striker. Make these happen in and around the realistic positions of the pitch
- Find evidence in the league tables of top scores and best defence and watch both teams (if different)
- In training try new ways of staying with your man for man marking or reading the game when playing zonal. This will give you more confidence in the game and also give you better knowledge of your own capabilities
As part of FFC’s series on, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer” we are discussing each key element in 24 successive blog posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday over an 8 week period inside the respective Game, Body and Mind sections. For more information about the 24 Key Elements get our Players Assessment Kit here. Be sure to also subscribe to FFC by email or RSS - just visit the subscribe button in the top right corner of the page.
What ideas, input, experiences or resources can you share?
