© Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images
Set pieces, set pieces, set pieces.
It’s a refrain offered by coaches and pundits alike, reminding us of just how important performing well on corner or free kicks can be to the outcome of a match. Are you an underdog? Launch an inswinger and latch your tall center back’s head to it. Are you deadlocked? A well-designed play could give you just enough room to break through. Nowhere is this better highlighted than in knockout tournaments, when two cagey (or mismatched) opponents can’t find an opening until a corner kick does it for them.
The prevalence of the highly specialized set piece coach in team coaching staffs has increased sharply in the last decade. Lower-league sides like Brentford men have built on the “set can give us an edge on bigger teams” theory to highly efficient and consistent results. Arsenal men have possibly broken the game with their use of the “meat wall” to impede goalkeeper claims on corner kicks. They just won the Premier League title, so maybe they’re onto something.
Enter the Utah Royals and Angel City FC. Both sides have made set pieces central to their attacking approaches — in Utah’s case, it has helped overcome occasional underdog status in certain matches. For Angel City, the presence of Sveindís Jónsdóttir has unlocked the other recent revolution in set piece design, the long throw-in.
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