Attacking Corners Against Man-Marking

Read the marking before you pick the routine

You need to know what you are up against by the second corner, not the second half. Send your two tallest players to opposite posts and watch what happens: if a defender travels with each of them and ignores the ball, you are man-marked. Then get the detail. Ask your nearest player, or your bench, three questions. Is it matched by size, or is it nearest-man pick-up as your players arrive? Do they mark tight, shoulder to shoulder, or do they stand a yard off and watch the flight? And is there a spare defender on the six-yard line, or is everyone accounted for? Tight, size-matched marking with no spare man is the ideal target for screens, because every defender is committed to a body and nobody is free to cover a gap. Nearest-man pick-up is beaten more simply: move your group late so the defenders have to sort themselves out on the move. Tell your taker to look up for a hand signal so you can switch routines rather than run the same thing four times.

What a referee will actually allow as a screen

A screen that works and a screen that gets penalised are separated by one thing: who moves into whom. Coach your screener to get to his spot first, stand still, feet planted, arms in and low. If the marker runs into a stationary player, that is the marker's problem. The moment your screener steps sideways into the defender's path, backs into him, or puts a hand or forearm out to hold, you are giving away an indirect free kick and, worse, you have coached a habit that will be punished every week. Two practical rules for Saturday. First, your screener must be a legitimate part of the corner, standing in a position he could plausibly attack the ball from, not standing on a defender's toes ten yards from the flight. Second, if the referee gives the first one against you, do not argue, change the mechanism: use crossing runs so the two defenders collide with each other instead. That is never a foul, because neither of your players has done anything to them.

Crossing and swapped runs: make their markers do the blocking

The cleanest legal tool against man-marking is two of your players running across each other so their markers get in each other's way. Set two attackers eight to ten yards apart on the edge of the D, roughly level with the penalty spot. On the taker's raised arm, the wider one sprints hard towards the near post and the inner one goes across him towards the back post. Both markers have to follow, both markers arrive at the same square yard, and one of them loses a step. The runner who wins that step attacks the ball; the other becomes your second-ball threat. Two coaching points decide whether it works. The runs must cross close, within a metre, or the markers simply run round the outside. And they must start on the trigger, not on the ball leaving the foot, because you need the collision to happen before the delivery arrives. Rehearse it walking, then jogging, then full speed. Fifteen minutes gets it usable.

Stacks: four bodies, one runner, one gap

A stack is the routine man-marking hates most. Line four attackers in single file, front man on the edge of the six-yard box, the rest strung back towards the penalty spot, each about a yard behind the man in front. Every marker now has to stand somewhere awkward, and none of them can see both the ball and their man. On the trigger, the players peel in pre-agreed directions: front man drops away short, second man breaks to the near post, third holds his ground as a stationary obstacle for the markers behind, fourth attacks the back post. Because your players know the order and the defenders do not, the markers hesitate, and hesitation is the whole point. Give the delivery to the second or fourth runner and use the others as noise. See the-train-stack-corner-routine for a full running order. With 14 players in training, run it seven against seven with a keeper: four in the stack, taker, two edge-of-box, and a full man-marking defence so it is realistic.

Emptying the box: short corners against man-markers

Man-marking has a structural weakness. If your players leave the box, their markers usually follow, because they have been told to track a shirt. That gives you two profitable options. The first is the-short-corner: pull three attackers out towards the halfway line or wide of the corner arc, watch three defenders travel with them, then play short to a supporting player and attack a box containing a keeper and one or two defenders. Deliver early and flat towards the near-post zone before the markers can recover. The second is a quick corner while their markers are still finding shirts - if your taker gets to the ball, sees a defender jogging back and a free player near the touchline, take it. Give your captain the authority to call this without looking at the bench. The only rule: whoever leaves the box must actually leave it, at pace, so it looks like a genuine run and the marker commits.

Delivery, second balls and the wet-pitch version

Screens and crossing runs create a yard, not five, so the delivery has to be flat, quick and to a fixed zone. Ask for a driven ball to the near-post corner of the six-yard box or to the centre of the goal at head height; loopy, hanging deliveries give the beaten marker time to recover and give the keeper a free catch. Name the zone in training and hit it fifty times with your two takers, both sides, both feet if you have them. On a wet pitch the ball skids and the runners slip, so bring the target zone a yard closer to goal and put an extra body on the penalty spot for the mishit clearance - man-marked defences clear badly because nobody is watching the ball. Keep two players outside the box on the D and the far corner for second balls and counters. Rehearse one full sequence per session, not four half-learned ones, and pick your routine on the day from what your captain reports back.

Key points

• Confirm man-marking early: if a defender travels with your posted players and ignores the ball, screens and crossing runs become your best options.
• Screeners must arrive first and stand still, arms in - stepping into a defender or holding turns your routine into an indirect free kick.
• Crossing runs, started on the taker's signal and passing within a metre, make their own markers collide, which can never be penalised.
• Stacks force each marker into an awkward starting position and hide which of four runners will attack the ball.
• Man-markers follow shirts, so emptying the box and going short or quick punishes the system rather than fighting it.

Common questions

Are blocks and screens at corners legal in football?

Standing still in a position you could reasonably attack the ball from is legal, even if a marker runs into you. Deliberately moving into an opponent's path, backing into him, or holding him with hands or arms is impeding or holding, and gives the defence an indirect free kick. Coach your players to get to the spot first and stay planted.

How can I tell if the opposition is man-marking at corners?

Post two players at opposite posts on your first corner and watch. If one defender travels with each and never looks at the ball, it is man-marking. Then check whether pick-up is size-matched or nearest-man, and whether there is a spare defender on the six-yard line - that determines which routine you use.

What do I do if the referee penalises our screen?

Change the mechanism straight away rather than repeating it. Switch to crossing runs where two of your players run across each other and their markers collide, or move to a short corner. Both create the same yard of separation without any contact your team initiated.

How many players should I commit to a corner against man-marking?

Four in the box plus the taker is enough if you are using a stack or crossing runs, because you are creating space rather than winning a numbers battle. Keep two on the edge of the box for the second ball and one back for the counter. Cramming six in just gives them six markers to follow.