Deep Runs from Free Kicks: The game-changing tool for infiltrating space behind enemy lines – set-piece analysis

The availability of space is often a scarce commodity that isnt easily accessible. Wed see high-scoring games each week across each league and fixture if it were.

Dominant teams often find their opponents sitting deeper, with less space behind them available to penetrate. At the same time, submissive sides usually see less of the ball and have fewer opportunities to attempt to exploit the space that is usually available behind the defensive line.

Free kicks, often ones 20-40 yards away from the goal, provide your team with the golden opportunity to attack the space behind a defensive unit from a good position, with the free kick taker being given the chance to put a delivery into space with no pressure from the opposition. This combines the best of both worlds  the chance to deliver from a high position (like the dominant sides) and the opportunity to exploit the space behind the last line of defence (like the submissive sides).

There are numerous ways to take advantage of this space and opportunity, but one particularly effective method is the use of runs from deep. Through a longer run-up prior to the delivery being taken, attackers can generate enough speed to arrive in the space before their defensive counterparts. This, of course, is only possible against the sides who aim to defend further away from the goal.

In this tactical analysis, we will look into the??tactics behind using deep runs during free kicks, with an in-depth analysis of the different ways it is possible to exploit the space behind a defensive line. This set-piece analysis will explain why deep runs are so hard to stop and so effective when properly timed. Deep runs give the free-kick taker more responsibility, and the ability to time the kick to the runs is easier to achieve.

The Effectiveness of Runs from Deep

In both open play and during set-pieces, when facing a high line, deep runs are one of the most effective tools for accessing the space behind the defensive unit. When the front attacking line is level with the defensive line, it is extremely difficult to enter the space unmarked. Both the attackers and defenders are in the same starting positions and have an equal race to the space behind once the ball is played.

Through well-oriented body positioning, defenders can see their opponents and, when the ball is about to be played, dart back toward their own goal to recover the space. The off-ball movement is made in time with the pass on many occasions, both in open play and during set-pieces, which can lead to timing issues, with it not being accessible for attackers to fully sprint towards the goal and see the free-kick taker simultaneously, meaning attackers often gamble at whether they will be onside or not, not knowing the exact moment the pass will be played.

Like in the example below, it is possible to see the ball and attack the box, but the lack of intensity in the run due to the body orientation means that the attacker cannot gain much separation from his marker.

As shown in the images above and below, when an attacker makes the first darting movement from beside their marker, they are only ever able to create one or two steps of separation, meaning that the cross would have to come in at an unrealistic pace and trajectory to arrive at the attackers head before the defender recovers the lost ground.

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