THE SOCCER ZONES

Based on a study conducted at John Moores University in Liverpool UK, researchers explored where goals were scored during 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros tournaments. Eliminating set plays, they discovered that an area of the field right in front of the 18 yard box, not only yielded more goals then anywhere else on the pitch, but also more quality shots on target. This area was dubbed Zone 14 or the “Golden Square” by the research team after they divided the field into 18 equal parts, starting from the defensive third and moving forward to the attacking third.

Although many argue that the concept was not new, and that this area was known to coaches prior to the paper as “the hole,” the study popularized the concept and allowed it to proliferate throughout the coaching community. As a player, it’s important to understand this principle, not only to be ahead of your teammates and get on the same page as your coach, but also to comprehend where your best scoring opportunities happen on the field.

Now it may seem obvious to many that shooting from the top of the 18 is going to yield more goals, but how many times during a game do you see yourself, or a teammate, pass away the ball when they have an open shooting lane in Zone 14?

Now this being soccer, as soon as the Zone 14 concept was floated, coaches began to think how to defensively counter this prolific area. It simply wasn’t sufficient to “park the bus” with compact defenders across the 18, now you had coaches employing one or two holding midfielders to sit in Zone 14 to apply immediate pressure and block shots. The 4-2-3-1 formation is a good example of this and why it became popular around this time.

As a player, how do you unlock a defense that puts two additional defenders in Zone 14? We’ll look at that next!

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The Soccer Zones

18 Zones

Zone 14, highlighted, is where the majority of goals, assists and quality opportunities were found to have taken place during the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros based on a research study at John Moores University.

★ Smarter.Soccer Insight: However, those opportunities only occurred if the player shot or passed from that area in under 3 seconds.

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The Soccer Zones