What is “Zone 14” in Football Terminology?
Football is incomplete without tactical and performance analysis. Everything on the pitch is now analyzed through statistics. These statistics helped teams get better in their weak areas and level up in their tactical strategies. Over the past 100 years in the history of football, multiple terminologies have emerged, and zone 14 is one of them.
Zone 14, also known as the golden square, is the area outside the opponent’s 18 yards box if we divide the pitch into a six-by-three grid. Look into the picture to better understand Zone 14.
So, now you have a clear idea about Zone 14. It’s the area where offensive midfielders like Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, and Thomas Muller show their creativity.
The Importance of Zone 14
Zone 14 holds great importance if we perform a statistical analysis of the successful and less successful teams over the past two-three decades. Many researchers have worked on this and concluded that successful teams utilized this zone more frequently than less successful teams (Grant, 2000; Horn and Williams, 2002).
We have two prime examples of the effective use of zone 14 in football. The first one is the French National Team from 1998 to 2000. In July 1998, they first outclassed the 1994 World Cup champions Brazil in the 1998 Final in Paris. After that, they beat Italy in the Euro 2000 Final, played at the Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, in July 2000.
As per research analysis, they heavily utilized zone 14, and 81.3% of the assists in both competitions came from the golden square, also known as zone 14 (Horn et al., 2000). This shows that their attacking approach was quite converged in the central area.
The second example on the list is Manchester United FC (1998-99). They emerged as the first English side to win the treble (European Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup) in the 1998-99 season.
Research conducted on the last twenty matches played by the Manchester United FC in the 1998-99 season showed similar statistics to the previous example of the France National Team of 1998-2000. Manchester United FC created maximum assists and goal attempts from zone 14. Both of these examples proved the importance of zone 14.
Since 2009, Clubs like Barcelona and Manchester City, under the management of Pep Guardiola won many trophies by utilizing the central area.
How to maneuver in zone 14?
Zone 14 is a critical area where the defensive line offers no spaces. A team requires more possession in the midfield to unlock the golden square. Direct key passes by the central midfielders into the 18-yard box are more effective than playing the ball towards the wings to play aerial passes. Short key passes from zone 14 towards the penalty box have a better goal ratio.
Which teams should focus on zone 14?
Every team cannot exploit zone 14. First, you need to have top-notch midfielders like Luca Modriċ and Toni Kroos if we talk about current players. If we go to the recent past, players like Zidane, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Frank Lampard, and Stephen Gerrard were ideal players to exploit zone 14. On top of that, having central attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Thomas Muller is a key to performing extraordinary through zone 14. In short, you simply need to have a good midfield, and these names are discussed to help you understand the actual concept.
Conclusion
Zone 14 in football terminology is the area located outside the opponent’s penalty box. It plays a vital role in generating more chances if utilized properly. All you need is a strong midfield to exploit zone 14.
