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CommunicationRepresentativeTactics

Organising the marking on the indirect free-kick

Train the calls that set the marking before a wide free-kick — set-piece marking calls were a thin topic and are the goalkeeper’s most visible command work.

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Load

minutes
14
dives/set
1
Sets and reps
2 × 4
Intensity
Low

dives per set, per goalkeeper

Microcycle days it fits

MD-2, MD-1

Each bar’s height is that day’s dive ceiling.

Setup

Goalkeepers
1
server
1
outfield player
8

Space: 30 × 20 m

Equipment: Balls, Full goal, Bibs

The coach serves and manages the breaks.

1 steps

Wide free-kicks for the opponent. The goalkeeper assigns the marking, places the player on the post and confirms each pairing by voice before the ball is played.

Exercise sequence

Coaching points

  • Set the marking before the striker is ready — organisation is done early, not in the last second.
  • Each call names a pair: who marks whom, who stays on the post, who attacks the ball.
  • Confirm by response: the defender echoes the call, so the goalkeeper knows they were heard.
  • Readjust aloud if an attacker switches position — silence in the adjustment is where goals are born.

Progressions

  1. Switch to mixed marking with a zone at the post.
  2. Attackers switch position before the kick.

Regressions

  1. Pure static man-marking.
  2. Reduce the number of attackers.

Sources · 2

  1. CurriculumCoaches Session Plans, U.S. Soccer — Resource Hub
  2. CurriculumUEFA Goalkeeper Coaching, First Edition (2022), UEFA