Book Review: Zonal Marking by Michael Cox

In this guest post, Shubi Arun reviews Michael Cox’s book Zonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football.

Football, like everything else in life, is open to interpretation. Has there ever been a sport so malleable to the touch of a player’s boot, so influenced by a manager’s philosophy or so keen to a fan’s cheer?  The game is in a constant state of evolution, and no place typifies this change like Europe does.

In his book, Zonal Marking, Michael Cox tries to make sense of these changes in the jigsaw that is European football, by shifting focus from the people to the places.  He breaks down the myth of tactics being an esoteric concept managers scribble on whiteboards, by taking a reader on a journey that kicks off in Holland in 1992, dribbles all across the continent and finally culminates in the present-day Premier League.

In his bestseller Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about how success is dependent on numerous factors and isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Cox does something similar in Zonal Marking to explain why certain types of teams and players dominated. For example, he explains how the introduction of the back pass rule in the early ’90s was crucial to the success of Dutch football and why their ball-playing centre-halves were in such high demand. Similarly, Cox details how the centre of power shifted from Holland to Italy, with the passing of the Bosman law that made it easier for clubs to buy players who were previously too expensive.

By traversing this football journey through its geography, Cox expertly brings out the football culture of each country and how it has evolved over the years. Each of these sections is structured in a concise and digestible manner. Let me use the chapter on why Italy dominated the late ’90s to show how this was done:

1. How they think the game should be played –  In Italy, the players see football as a job, not a game. Winning comes above all else; instead of sharpening their own knives, they focus on blunting the opposition’s.
2. Who was created from these cultures and what impact did they have? – Italy has a rich tradition of producing managers with a very fixed football philosophy, like Trapattoni, Lippi and Capello. Players with defensive discipline and tactical flexibility thrived.
3. Who changed the status quo and went against the tide? – How did creative number 10s like Zidane and Baggio shake up the Serie A? Were they accepted easily or did the league adapt?  Why did Dino Zoff resign after taking Italy to the Euro 2000 final?
4. What happened to the Serie A exports? – While managers like Conte and Ancelotti adapted their philosophies when they went abroad, not all Italian managers were as flexible. Despite winning the league with Real Madrid, Cox explains how Capello’s defensive mindset wasn’t looked upon favorably in Spain, and swiftly returned to Italy.

A similar template is followed for discussions on each of the European powerhouses of Holland, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany and England. The structuring makes it easier for the reader to assimilate the concepts discussed. The added benefit of this is that the book becomes exponentially more engaging as you move along.  In the section on Germany in the latter half of the book, Cox talks about how Bastien Schweinsteiger reinvented himself to become a world-class midfielder under Louis van Gaal at Bayern Munich. Having already read about LvG’s propensity for quick, crossing wingers in previous chapters, the reader is quickly able to understand why Schweinstiger was re-positioned from the wings. 

Zonal Marking will have a profound impact on the way you watch football. It brings a more nuanced perspective to success and failure and a better understanding of the decisions taken on and off the field. For example, after reading about the impact Guardiola has had on Spanish and German football in the past decade, I began to ponder if England’s chances at the Euros in 2021 are dependent on the City manager extending his stay in the country.

Zonal Marking‘s strength lies in its simplicity. At a time, where no discussion of tactics is complete without an onslaught of decimals and percentages,  Zonal Marking provides an incredibly thorough guide to modern football with words, not numbers. “Average players complicate the game, great players simplify it,” Thierry Henry once said. The same can be said for the game’s writers.

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