Half Space

The half space is a tactical aspect that has been emphasized in modern football. 

 

What is half space and why is it so important and emphasized? 

 

First, let's look at what half space is. 

As the name suggests, it is a space located in the middle. 

Where exactly is this space situated between? 

It refers to the area between the center back and fullback.

 

This part is important because of its ambiguity.

Let us explain it from both an attacking and defending perspective. 

 

From an attacking point of view, the half space is neither too close nor too far away from the penalty box, which also means to the goalpost. 

It is closer than the side where the fullback is located and farther than the center where the center backs are positioned. 

In other words, defenders cannot easily mark players who are in the half space. 

 

There are also many options for shooting. 

If we consider Son Heung-min’s preferred zone, it is the vertex of the penalty box. 

The half space is very close to this zone, where there are two options for shooting course: near post and the far post.

 

If you ask what is different from shooting from the front (when shooting from the front, there are also two options on the left and right), 

let's ignore the defender's pressure and think of it as a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. 

 

When an attacker tries to attack from the center, if he shoots far away from the goal, the angle of shooting is wide but the ball's flight time is long. 

This means that the goalkeeper has time to react to the trajectory of the shot. 

Conversely, when shooting from a position close to the goal, the flight time decreases while the angle also decreases. 

You can see that each time the goalkeeper steps out, the angle decreases significantly. 

 

Shooting in the half space is slightly different. 

Ignore the defender's pressure and think about it first. 

First, the distance is closer than hitting a mid-range shot. 

This means that the flight time can be reduced. 

Second, it is difficult for the goalkeeper to defend against shots coming diagonally from the goal. 

To narrow the angle, the goalkeeper must come out toward the attacker. 

However, doing so opens up the space on the opposite side, i.e., far post. 

This means that the option of curling becomes available to the attackers. 

 

On the contrary, if the goalkeeper is conscious of the curled kick and stays close to the goalpost, the attacker can target the near post.

As mentioned earlier, since the distance is short, the flight time is reduced, making it difficult for the goalkeeper to respond.

 

Now, if you think about it again in a situation where there are defenders and fellow attackers, the attacking side will have more diverse cases to exploit. 

If the attacker catches the ball in the half space without the defender's pressure, he can take the shot appropriately as mentioned above. 

Conversely, if the defender puts pressure on him, the chances of taking a shot will decrease, but this means that another space will open up. 

By definition, the half space is the space between the fullback and the center back, so one of them will give up their position and defend the half space. 

If the fullback moves, it means that the wide space on the side is opened up, and if the center back moves, the central space is opened up. 

 

Then, the attacker who was in the half space simply sends the ball to an empty area, allowing his teammate who penetrated into the area to receive the ball comfortably. 

 

In other words, it is easy to make someone on our team free during an attack. 

 

From the defensive standpoint, this space is tricky to guard. 

Leaving the space unguarded allows the attacker to freely take a shot, putting the defense at risk. 

If someone goes to block it, a large gap will appear on either side. 

All advantages held by the attacking side become disadvantages for the defending side.

 

Because of this, many tactical experts study this space in modern soccer. 

 

Attacking teams research how to open and exploit this space. 

A typical example is Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. 

 

Usually, when playing a game, Manchester City, which is in a top dog position, takes the lead in the game and uses the initiative to continuously try to exploit the half space. 

The striker moves and pulls the centerbacks, 

the winger strikes, 

the wingback underlaps/overlaps, 

and the mezzala penetrates. 

They use all kinds of methods to utilize the half-space. 

 

On the contrary, the defending team tries hard not to give up this space. 

Narrow down the fullback to block it, and the winger blocks the side. 

The midfielder comes down, or they constantly think about tactics to avoid being exploited, such as blocking the path of passing to the half space. 

 

 

Depending on who dominates the space, the victory or defeat of the match may vary, so the half space has important tactical value in modern football.