Is man to man a better defense than Zone in Soccer?

Our team keeps losing and i disagree with my coach that Man to man isn't a good defense to use the whole game. My coach constantly says "Mark Up" (meaning to get on a man). We have a very fast team and i think we should slow it down a little. Everybody relies on their speed and strength in high school, not their skill which bothers me. I think Man to Man should only be played on corner kicks and free kicks. I heard that pro leagues stopped using Man to man cuz it was not very effective. Please give me your opinion and maybe some facts.

Public Comments

1. As long as your mids get back then zone could probably work, but if the other team is fast then you may want to mark up to keep from getting split too easily
2. If you have enough people getting back on D, then man-to-man is the way to go. It's much easier to prevent your opponent from receiving a ball than to prevent him from creating an opportunity when he already has the ball. In general, you should only play zone when you don't have enough people on defense due to a counterattack or lazy midfield.
3. man to man defense is for people with downs. it makes it extremely easy for forwards to exploit holes in defense and open runs. tell your coach hes an idiot
4. It's impossible to answer that. It all depends on the team, and the team you're playing against. This is probably the biggest difference between the Italian and the English leagues lies in that their defensive strategies. This is the reason that players like Shevchenko for example, thrived in the Italian league, and are reduced to minimalism against English teams.
5. you need to have a better coach. man to man defence in soccer? seems like you are playing a basketball game.