Today, football is becoming an increasingly sophisticated scientific research system. The internal division of labor in a club has become more detailed, and the types of work in the athletic department have become more and more diverse, and set-piece coaches have become the standard position in many clubs.
This season, Arsenal are the Premier League's set-piece kings, scoring 14 goals with it. Arteta's emphasis on set-pieces has led to Gabriel, the Premier League's leading goalscorer with 13 goals in three and a half years, as well as the anecdote of Odegaard's different ways of directing his team-mates to the far post or the near post by sorting out his socks. All this is inseparable from the strategy of Gunners set-piece coach Jofer, an old colleague Arteta specially poached from Manchester City in the summer of 2021.
Manchester City have also scored 10 set-pieces in the Premier League this season, which is not far behind. Blue Moon's set-piece coach Beatens, designed the ingenious free-kick that De Bruyne passed to Alvarez not long ago, and after the goal, Guardiola specially asked Beatens to celebrate with him. Guardiola values set-pieces as much as he fears them, and after beating Brentford 3-1 in the last round, he expressed his concern about having to play the Bees again in two weeks' time: "I've never seen a better team than their set-pieces. ”
Even, the Premier League refereeing company has set-piece experts to provide referees with set-piece analysis of each team, so that referees can be prepared for new situations that may occur.
The Daily Mail has made requests to a number of Premier League clubs to interview set-piece coaches, but most clubs have refused, with one replying: "Keeping it a secret is vital to us. And those who agreed to be interviewed did so on the premise of anonymity.
Arsenal are certainly the focus of analysis for each team. In January, the Gunners returned to England to beat Crystal Palace 5-0 after training in Dubai, two of which came from set-pieces. One expert corrected: "Actually, three goals came from set-pieces. The first two goals were both corners, and the tactical line was the same, with a dedicated defender blocking the opponent's main area, namely Trossar blocking Joachim Anderson, and another player rushing into this area to score. And the third goal was also from a set-piece. That's right, it was a corner from Crystal Palace. Note that Arsenal didn't have any players up front at the time and fans would be disappointed to see all 11 players back in the box, but there was a reason for that. Launch a counter-attack from the edge of your own penalty area and you'll have a better chance of scoring. This way, your counter-attacking player is running in the same direction instead of having a player standing in front of him who is likely to be marked by two players with his back to goal, which means that his first instinct is to hold the ball first (and then slow down the counter-attack). Arsenal, on the other hand, were defending a corner 10 seconds ago and scored themselves 10 seconds later. ”
Ben King was interviewed for an assistant coach at Brentford but lost to the Swedish set-piece specialist, who has spent years studying set-piece methods: "If you look at Arsenal now, it's great, and if you look at Chelsea, it's bad. What's the difference? One big difference is that one has set-piece specialists and the other doesn't. I've produced the standings for the 2022-23 season minus set-piece goals and you can see the huge impact of set-pieces. In that standings, Arsenal will replace Manchester City as champions; Brighton will replace Manchester United in the Champions League; Tottenham will enter the European competition, and Liverpool will be completely out of the European competition; Everton will be relegated and Leicester City will be relegated. You don't just have to do two sets pieces in the last 15 minutes of training on Friday, you have to practice all week. Arsenal have been doing this for many years, so they are getting better and better at the details. ”
Gestures or code words before set-pieces are a practice adopted by many teams. At the 1998 World Cup, Hoddle's England team worked set-pieces, and members of that team recalled: "There were a lot of gestures, and it was like directing the landing of a Boeing 747. Before the penalty kick, let the ball bounce to the ground 1 time, which is to drive the ball to the middle; 2 bounces to the ground, back post; Raise your right hand, near the post; Raise your left hand and take a short shot; Raise your hands, drive to the front of the restricted area, etc. Everyone was dizzy, and Hoddle personally played the principal, and suddenly asked the people on the sidelines to recite the code words in front of everyone, but almost everyone failed to pass the test and was scolded by Hoddle. ”
In that cup, Hoddle's efforts were not in vain. England's first goal came from a set-piece: a 2-0 Tunisia free-kick opportunity on the right, Anderton shook, blackmailed a cross, and Shearer headed home at the back post.
Over time, set-piece code language has evolved. Alexander Arnold's "Pythagorean Theory", I don't know if it was out of work needs, some industry insiders ridiculed: "If you see a player picking his butt before taking a corner kick one day, you have to wonder, is this a code, or is he just an itchy butt?" You have to see if there's any pattern. Anyway, this kind of thing is definitely not foolproof. ”
Aston Villa's McGinn had a penalty before the penalty kick and put the ball behind his back and drove it towards the far post, which was a code. But the expert noted: "The trouble is that they switch these codes often." For example, many teams like to play a 'king' in the early stages of the game, releasing a code and set-piece routine that they haven't done before, leaving the opponent in doubt whether the pre-match homework was done in vain. For example, last week's clever set-piece by Manchester City against Burnley, De Bruyne raised his hands before the penalty kick, and the opposing player thought it would be a cross to find the back post, only to be surprised by Tintin to send a through ball and Alvarez cleverly slotted home.
Not all teams that excel at set-pieces have set-piece coaches, and Everton don't. Thirteen of Everton's 26 Premier League goals this season have come from set-pieces, thanks to their manager Dyche himself studying set-pieces, and assistant coaches Waughan and Stone have also contributed a lot.
In the last round of 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur, Everton always arranged one person to harass Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario in the corner kick attack, but Tottenham never responded, did not arrange a special person to stand between Vicario and the opponent to protect their goalkeeper, as a result, Everton took advantage of this to equalize 1-1, and then locked 2-2 through set-pieces. The expert analyzed: "Everyone can see that Vicario is very panicked when there is someone in front of him, and in the FA Cup, when Ake scored the only goal of the game for Manchester City, it was Ruben Dias who stopped Vicario like this. Edson wasn't afraid of this kind of harassment, but Vicario couldn't. This weekend, Brighton will surely have the likes of Mope become Vicario's latest best friend, or the kind of in-spin shot aimed under the crossbar, because everyone knows what Vicario is afraid of. ”
In the future, Dyche may have new helpers. Everton's potential new owners, the 777 Partners, have a former set-piece coach like Clapin themselves as a consultant. 777's teams generally attach importance to set-pieces, such as Vasco da Gama, which is used to return to the Brazilian league; Genoa also relied on the increase in set-piece goals and the reduction in set-piece goals conceded before they were promoted back to Serie A.
"In some leagues, set-pieces can account for 30 to 35 per cent of the total number of goals," Clappen said. I remember the title race between Manchester City and Liverpool two years ago, when Manchester City met Bielsa's Leeds United in the sprint, and they scored a set-piece and then another to win the Premier League title by one point. When you see someone like Pep Guardiola take set-pieces so seriously, you know how important set-pieces are. ”
Premier League set-piece goals this season (excluding penalties).
14 goals: Arsenal.
13 goals: Everton.
11 goals: Luton.
10 goals: Manchester City.
9 goals: Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolves.
8 goals: Aston Villa.
7 goals: Brentford.
6 goals: Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool, West Ham United.
5 goals: Manchester United, Brighton, Bournemouth.
3 goals: Nottingham Forest.
2 goals: Burnley, Sheffield United.
1 goal: Crystal Palace.