Zonal vs Man Marking

How do you defend a corner? Traditionally there are two main ways, Zonal or Man Mark, or the more modern, Hybrid system. But what do all these terms mean?

And which is the best for your team to use?

Written by Eric Laurie, illustrated by Marco Bevilacqua.

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#TacticsExplained

[tsmcrevar]

I think tifo should make all their analyst choose their tactics and formations and explain it like in a battle

[shwetamathur]

I always man-mark someone who has a subscription of The Athletic which you can get now for just £1 per month!

[gentleken]

Zonal or man marking depends on where you are and which pub you're in. At Wetherspoons in Rotherham, using a zonal approach in a bar fight works best. Spread you and your mates out, and just hold your area, throw some windmills, and just keep your triangles going to inflict maximum damage. And then the inevitable victory without messing up your Rockports.

At Brannigans over-25s in Purley, Surrey, a man marking approach is guaranteed to win. Focus on the weasley little cants and take them out, avoid the massive guys wearing shirts, and over time, as the bar thins out, the cants will give up and go home or start a fight in a kebab shop and get covered in chilli sauce or pickles.

At the end of the day, you won anyway, so can continue to drink Stella at home before passing out.

[sij]

Tifo, the best in men’s below-the-waist tactics!

[felixkurz]

I like the tactics explanation videos, it's really nice to see it graphically laid out.

[siddheshsomnesss]

Tifo always comes up with vids I don't know I needed.

[sususegar]

I hope this gets written on The Athletic. I genuinely want to know why Man Utd is still hopeless at attacking and defending corners despite hiring a so-called set-piece specialist (even though he never actually was at Chelsea).

[bilalahmedshariff]

An example of creating overloads in a specific zone in zonal marking; many of you will have noticed how Brentford create overloads at the far post on set-pieces and do anything to win the 1st header and even the 2nd/3rd balls.

[javihernandez]

My team, Atletico de Madrid, and by extension Simeone is a good example of a former set-piece specialist (our domain of both areas during the 13-14 to 15-16 seasons was amazing) who couldn't keep up with these new tactics and approaches. That's why our once feared team now is average or below in both attacking and defending set pieces

[Hyde_Hill]

Always go for Hybrid in FM hehe. Only I have my best headers man marking the best headers of opponent. Not in the zone. How to mark Ibrahim Sangare though. That is always the question.

[rithwikprathap]

Feel like this video is intended for Leicester City

[killercaos]

I never understood why some teams just don’t care about corners

[syahnurasyadi]

u know... u just found the solution for hybrid defence type... by making the aerial excel player man mark the most dangerous opponent player on air... and for the rest to play zonal mark actually "mark" is not the preferable terms i like to use, it's stacked more accurately... it'll cause confusion on enemy team... and leave one of the fastest player out of the box... to counter... that means 10 player will be in the box... and also i can't stress this enough STOP putting non keeper Under the goal... they just a liability... use this setup on your FM corner setup... it'll work like wonder... 3 tallest and aerial excel player do "mark tall player", the rest 6 do "stay back"... 1 player do "edge of the box" box"... with the criteria high speed and high agility... usually small Player... well i can find a nice player in Indonesian league... i trust those that play in higher league will fInd a better alternative...

[RiZERiZERiZE]

Another great video! Would love to see you do a video on Bodø/Glimt

[satriaeerlangga]

tifo irl idea : simeone inzaghi inter vs antoni conte inter

[matheuscampanhao]

Either zonal or man marking, I'm 100% sure Ibrahima Sangaré can do both in a spectacular way.

[eddify]

All of these depend on the ability of the corner-taker

[kukunase]

Mark Goldbridge would be proud of that Manscaped intro

[Heelo_]

I always enjoy a Tifo Friday video while I eat :)

[michaelbaker]

These sorts of videos need to go in a playlist titled how to: football