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Is Man Marking a Realistic, Long-term Tactic for The Fire?

The past two games for the Chicago Fire have taken a decidedly defensive approach. Against the New York Red Bulls it was a matter of matching up against their high press; against Toronto FC it was a matter of being the road team against an opponent coming off a dominant win.

One of the main tenets of this defensive plan has been man marking. Against New York, Mo Adams shadowed Kaku. Against Toronto Adams did the same to Alejandro Pozuelo but with much more rigidity.

What is the purpose of this and what is the outcome a team sees from playing this way?