Of course this is true. But it is also highly misleading and completely misunderstands football tactics.
Essential to football tactics is the manipulation of space. Space never scored a goal, but if too much is left unguarded, it can lead to the ceding of goals. The phrase is usually uttered after a striker has come and headed in a corner unmarked from close range or something similar. Zonal marking also comes in for particular flak. But zonal marking has a point. It is a pro-active system designed to ensure that all space on the pitch is covered. The idea is that when the ball comes into a particular defensive zone, the player assigned to that zone goes to it and intercepts the pass.
It is proactive. Man marking on the other hand, relies on an individual waiting for the man they are marking to make a move. To put it crudely, if at a corner there are seven attackers in the box and seven defenders, if six of those attackers run away from the goal as a corner is played in, if their man markers all follow them then there will be a huge open space in the centre of the goal for the seventh player to run into and have an easy header. As his marker is reacting to his run, he will be behind him and will fail to stop a goal. Conversely, those seven players can be defended better by just four players, who each have responsibility for zones and come to clear the ball.
The main problem with zonal marking is that it relies on sound decision making and tactical awareness, as well as timing. If a player makes an error and doesn’t come to meet a ball in their zone, then the opposition will have an easy opportunity to score. But as Barcelona show, this tactic is reliable. They have a team of small diminutive players, yet their record from set pieces is excellent. And it is because of zonal marking.
Space never scored a goal, that is true. But teams score goals by taking advantage of space. If a team decided to concentrate on man marking and abandon large spaces on the pitch then gaps would open up and the opposition could take advantage rather easily. Liverpool were often derided under Rafa Benitez for zonal marking as they would sometimes concede cheap goals from corners. But what was ignored was that they had one of the best records from defending corners in the league. Similarly, many a pundit often derides the team that does not put a man on each post at corners. Again this is to misunderstand the idea of space. If a man is placed on both posts then the defending team can’t push up after the first header from a corner or set piece and create an offside trap. A team would want, as Barcelona do, to push up following a set piece as it constricts the space on the field for their opposition to create chances in. Having a man on each post means that you cannot push up and create that offside trap, and instead are simply inviting your opponent onto you again immediately after the corner is initially cleared.
This tactical feature is shown well in five a side football. In 5-a-side, there is less space on the pitch and movement is more crucial. But often teams playing 5-a-side, being amateurs, man mark. So if all the attacking players are on the left and the defenders then come and track them, space will open up on the right for someone to be played into. In a small pitch this will be even more costly than on a full size pitch. So in 5-a-side, it is even more crucial to mark space, not a man, to ensure the opposition can’t find the space in which to create chances.
Space never scored a goal, but without it, no-one would score. Marking space can be far more effective than simply reacting to the run of a designated opponent. Zonal marking, conversely, is pro-active, and can ensure that the space the opposition have in which to score is increasingly restricted.
