Refilwe share his thoughts on zonal marking system

.The reason amateur teams don’t prefer the zonal marking system is because they think it gives too much space and time to the opponents.

This is because very few people understand how zonal marking works.

Zonal marking system is not about marking spaces, instead it is about marking players but not as strict as man to man marking system.

In a zonal marking system you pick your opponent just like in a man to man but the difference is that you are not required to follow that player to another position.

When your opponent moves to another position he becomes the responsibility of your teammate in that position.

The reason teams developed this system was because in a man to man marking opponents easily moves defenders out of important positions by making runs away from the goal side to create space for their teammates to face the goalkeeper.

While man to man is a strong defensive system its weakness is just as strong.

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Switching positions is always the best way to frustrate a team that plays in a man to man system.

However even the zonal marking system has its weaknesses although they are safer and manageable compared with the other system.

Teams know that the best way to beat the zonal marking system is by overloading a zone.

Overloading a zone simply means sending more than one player in a one zone to frustrate a defender in that zone.

It means a defender has to deal with two players Instead of one.

To deal with this, defenders must always keep the goal side: this is the golden rule.

Also a good team formation will have defenders lined up in a way that allows them to cover each other.

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So if the opponents are bringing more than one player in a single zone against one defender one of the teammates must cover that player.

The beauty of zonal marking is that it allows players to cover each other without losing their opponent.

I once heard a certain man criticising teams for having four defenders when the opponents are only sending two strikers.

When he said that it became obvious to me that he doesn’t understand the zonal marking system.

Most teams prefer to put four defenders across the field to cover all the zones.

When a striker makes a run to the right or left side of the field he will have to deal with the fullbacks who are already in that zone.

Should the striker win the ball first, the fullback will receive cover from the centre back.

Zonal marking allows the team to keep their shape when they defend which allowed them to attack quicker on transition.

It is also an ideal way to protect other players who are not so good defensively because it is all about defending as a group.

Many are already familiar with the man to man.

Teams with players who are tactically matured can combine the two defensive system or they can easily switch from one to the other depending on the nature of the game.