Tag
defender
A popular British idiom referring to a ball that has been booted far out of play, kicking the ball to Row Z in the stands. This could refer to a defender booting the ball to Row Z instead of finding a pass up field or a poor shot from a striker, completely missing the goal and shanking the ball into the stands.
There was a ‘banter’ chant for former West Ham, Brighton, and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora from opposition fans; “when you’re sat in Row Z and the ball hits your head, that’s Zamora!” to say how shit he was as a striker!
Defenders can't have eyes everywhere at once. A blindside run is a clever ploy by an attacking player to exploit this. It takes good timing to make the run at the correct time. Too early and the defender will see you, too late and the passing option is gone. Players like Aguero made a career out of blindside runs to deceive defenders.
Sergio Agüero was a master of the blindside run - he would position himself out of sight of the defender and sprint into the unmarked space in the box at the precise moment to exploit the defenders.