

Their job is to clear the ball if it enters their zone. Zonal defense strategy involves giving each defender an area to cover.

It is difficult for a short defender to mark a 6’4″ attacker looking for a header on goal. In this case, the keeper is generally responsible for defending against that player, unless he is not comfortable doing so.Ī defender must mark an attacker of similar stature and speed. The attacking team may put a player on the goalkeeper. The goal is to have a defender stuck to each attacker like glue. The attackers will approach the goal from the edges of the penalty area, so man markers will have to approach at the same time. Their job is to deny the attacker space and access to the ball, which means remaining concentrated on the player and the ball at all times. This defensive strategy involves requires each player to focus on a player from the opposite team. Two major strategies are used from pee-wee soccer to the pros: man-to-man marking and zone defense. A team must work as a unit to prevent corner kicks from turning into goals.
