One Defender, One Opponent

On 7 July 1974 in Munich, West Germany beat the Netherlands 2:1 in the World Cup final. Berti Vogts had been told to attack Johan Cruyff only 30 meters in front of his own goal. Vogts received a yellow card. Shortly afterwards he ran to the sideline and told the coach, Helmut Schön: Ich mach’ das jetzt auf meine Art. I will do it my way now. The German Football Association explains what that meant: konsequente Manndeckung, strict man-marking. Schön agreed, unwillingly. Under man-marking, each defender marks one opponent rather than a zone.

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