The Set-Piece Lab

Football matches are often remembered for spectacular goals, dramatic saves, and unforgettable moments of individual brilliance. Yet many of the game's most decisive actions begin before the ball is moving. A corner kick in stoppage time, a perfectly delivered free kick, a long throw launched into a crowded penalty area, a penalty taken under immense pressure, or a cleverly disguised routine practiced countless times on the training ground can alter the course of a match, a season, or even a tournament.

The Set-Piece Lab takes readers inside one of football's most fascinating and increasingly influential areas: the world of dead-ball situations. Drawing on real matches, tactical developments, coaching innovations, and the evolution of modern football analysis, this book explores how corners, free kicks, throw-ins, penalties, second balls, goalkeeper organisation, and specialist coaching have become essential components of success at every level of the game.

From the rise of dedicated set-piece coaches and data analysts to the psychology of penalty kicks and the tactical battles hidden within every restart, this fact-based and accessible guide reveals how teams create advantages through preparation, repetition, movement, timing, and attention to detail. It explains why some clubs consistently score from dead balls, why others struggle to defend them, and how seemingly small moments often decide the biggest matches.

Whether you are a football supporter, coach, player, analyst, student of tactics, or simply someone curious about what happens behind the scenes of the modern game, The Set-Piece Lab offers a detailed and engaging exploration of the hidden goals of football-and the carefully designed moments that make them possible.