Illia Zabarnyi: The Cornerstone of Ukrania and Bournemouth Defense
Scouting report, Technical and Tactical Analysis of Illia Zabarnyi
The Ukrainian league has been and still is one of the leagues, feeding the top clubs in the top five leagues with players of high technical and cognitive quality. Andriy Shevchenko arguably is the ultimate of what Ukraine has produced and delivered to the world. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykhailo Mudryk are the latest players of the elite exported from Shevchenko’s country to operate in the English Premier League. In fact, Illia Zabarnyi joined the crew of players that one of the clubs in the top five leagues popped up and decided to invest their money in a Ukrainian. Bournemouth was the club that made the step and brought him into their squad in January 2023. The lad was one of the best talents to catch the scouts’ eyes and attention, as he was early inducted into the main XI with Ukraine in Euro 2020.
In this piece, we will bring you the need to know about Bournemouth defender, Illia Zabarnyi. What type of profile is he as a ball-playing center-back? How does his profile suit Andoni Iraola’s system? What are his attributes while defending against the best forward in the Premier League?
At first glance, Illia Zabarnyi's statistics suggest that he is an average center-back compared to the other players operating in the same positions. However, numbers must always be translated into a logical context to form a fair judgment of reality. AFC Bournemouth recruited their new manager, Andoni Iraola in July 2023. Therefore, a new style of play would be implemented. Since then, Bournemouth has been one of the most pressing teams in the Premier League, accumulating 10.7 in the 2023/24 season and 11.2 in 2024/25 in terms of PPDA (passes per defensive action), according to Opta. This metric provides insight into how much a team allowed the opposition to pass before making a defensive action to regain the ball. Thus, the lower the metric is, the more intensely they press. Andoni Iraola’s team ranked among the top seven in regard to this metric. In addition, Bournemouth adopts a direct approach in possession; once they win the ball back from a high press occasion, they immediately look for turnover.
Therefore, progressive passes (3.56 per game) and progressive carries (0.64 per game) are one of Illia Zabarnyi’s strengths that his team relies on to take the ball up the field. Moreover, his shot-creating actions appear to be one of his qualities, as his team counts on long passes to forwards to generate shots from one part and the high press to transition from another. For the defensive actions, Illia Zabarnyi is the type of player who covers behind the center-back playing next to him when he steps up forward. As a result, Marcos Senesi and Dean Huijsen override Illia Zabarnyi in this regard (below).
Anticipation
Scanning is a skill used to explore the player's surroundings as a pre-knowledge of the ball position, teammates, and opponents’ place to make a wise decision determining his next step. A good scan logically means a good reading of the game, which allows the player to draw a futuristic image that is so close to reality, or it is the reality. Illia Zabarnyi embodies the aforementioned description in his way of defending.
Here, Ola Aina hands the ball to Callum Hudson-Odoi and sprints toward the space behind Bournemouth's right-back, Adam Smith to drag Dango Ouattara with him and offer Hudson-Odoi the space needed to drive inside. Adam Smith jumping over Nottingham Forest’s winger, stretches the space between him and Illia Zabarnyi. The latter quickly takes a scan to understand what is happening around him. He notices Morgan Gibbs-White is in full gear to attack the gap. As a reaction, he entrusts Chris Wood to Dean Huijsen to take charge of and simultaneously travels to the vacated gap as the ball leaves Hudson-Odoi’s feet. That won him parts of the second to sweep, cover the space, and clear the ball before Gibbs-White could catch up.
Here, Bournemouth press forces Nottingham Forest to go near the touchlines. Ola Aina has no backward or forward option to play on the ground as the left side is locked by the opposition. Therefore, he is obligated to chip a long ball forward. Illia Zabarnyi anticipates running before Chris Wood to win the first ball.
In this example, Ouattara lost the ball while he was trying to take on Ibrahim Sangaré. Murillo initiated the counterattack, feeding Callum Hudson-Odoi who attacked the space behind the advanced right back, Julián Araujo. Illia Zabarnyi traveled near the ball in case Hudson-Odoi dribbled past his men; however, the latter supplied Gibbs-White. Therefore, Zabarnyi switched his attention to Nottingham playmaker, who attempted to slide a through ball to runner Chris Wood. Zabarnyi anticipated Gibbs-White, stretching his left leg to intercept the ball’s path.
Here, Jacob Ramsey recovered the ball before it went out after Evanilson threw an inaccurate cross near the left post. Bournemouth players instantly traveled near the touchline, closing off the passing options on Ramsey as Dango Ouattara occupied Lucas Digne, Tavernier followed Tielemans to disable his left side, and Ryan Christie jumped over to block off his way and prevent him from receiving and progressing. Therefore, Jacob Ramsey and Youri Tielemans could only exchange the ball between themselves. However, Tieleman's diagonal movement toward the wide channel dragged Ryan Christie with him, and he opened the pocket for Ramsey to find Jhon Durán dropping deep. Illia Zabarnyi's role resided in tracking the Aston Villa striker and closing the gap between him to nullify the possibility of him receiving and turning with the ball. Secondly, he pressed him from his right side (weaker foot), reading Tielemans run and Durán's body orientation, enabling him to perfectly predict the Aston Villa players’ intentions and deny the counterattack.
Defending in large space
Illia Zabarnyi is a well-rounded sweeping defender. He is good at covering the space behind the other center-back who advanced to follow a player dropping deep to prevent him from linking the play and breaking the lines. Here, Morgan Rogers comes deep between the lines to play as the third man. He pulls Marcos Senesi out of his position and combines with Youri Tielemans who slides a through ball to Jacob Ramsey, breaking Bournemouth’s lines. Aston Villa goes in a one-vs.-two situation. However, Illia Zabarnyi leaves his man and immediately accelerates to intercept the ball before Ramsey can catch up.
Here, Liverpool goes in a counterattack. Mac Allister feeds Mohamed Salah, and the Reds are four against four. Illia Zabarnyi has to defend against one of the best forwards in the world in a large space. Before arriving at the box, Zabarnyi takes a scan to picture the potential future. Entering the box, he adjusts his body, leaving the outside angle open to lure Salah and force him to play with his weaker foot (right foot). The Egyptian winger makes the call to cut inside. Therefore, Illia Zabarnyi, tightening the space, intercepts the ball’s path due to his close position to Mohamed Salah.
Good Decision making
Good, smart, and optimal decisions under pressure are difference makers between quality and average players in football. Illia Zabarnyi provides his team with these calm and risk calculator grades, which play in his teammates’ favor, keeping in mind the principles of thinking forward and playing forward.
Here, Liverpool's front six players orientate their bodies toward the ball to pounce, lock the right side, and regain it once Illia Zabarnyi releases the pass to the right-back. He has choices to play backward and recycle or feed center-back Dean Huijsen on his left. However, these alternatives are deemed as press motives. Even with the possibility of accessing the right side through the third-man combination with Ryan Christie, Zabarnyi opted for safer and more effective options, as Milos Kerkez is free to receive the long pass without any potential pressure from Mohamed Salah, Ryan Gravenberch, or Trent Alexander Arnold. The trio is occupied by other men, which gives Kerkez time and space to target Evanilson running behind.
With the ball
Here, Nottingham Forest man-mark all the possible options for Illia Zabarnyi he can feed. A quick scan before he receives the ball, enables him to spot Marcus Tavernier between the lines. To elaborate more, Nottingham Forest’s wingers press the opposite fullbacks, whereas Ibrahim Sangaré and Gibbs-White occupy the double pivots with Chris Wood jumping over Zabarnyi and shadow-mark the right center-back. Thus, Illia Zabarnyi realized the central corridor was a free lane because Ryan Yates was dragged by a Bournemouth winger (out of shot) to the right side. As a result, Semenyo and Tavernier can drop between the lines to receive. Zabarnyi supplies Tavernier with a line-breaking pass progressing by that through Nottingham Forest press.
Under Spanish coach Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth relies on long balls to arrive at the opposition's final third. They are ranked the second team after Everton in the Premier League 2024/25 that counts on long balls with 71.7 attempted long passes per game with a completion rate of 48.2%. Only the three goalkeepers Neto (16.5), Mark Travers (15.3), Kepa Arrizabalaga (14.5), and the center-back, Marcos Senesi (12.8) override Illia Zabarnyi (10) in this regard.
In this example against Liverpool, the center is open for Illia Zabarnyi to pass the ball to Marcus Tavernier, who is pointing out his availability for the Ukrainian center-back. However, Zabarnyi exploits his talent for launching accurate long balls and supplies Antoine Semenyo with a diagonal pass, putting the latter in a one-versus-one situation against Andy Robertson.
After Adam Scott played the ball back to Illia Zabarnyi, Nottingham Forest adjusted their medium block. So, the Ukrainian center-back had no passing option to play, except for the goalkeeper behind. However, Lewis Cook dropped deep, dragging Gibbs-White with him. That resulted in a gap spotted by Zabarnyi, who decided to attack despite Chris Wood's attempt to close down on him. Ryan Yates, with his body orientation, tried to force Zabarnyi to go near the touchlines. However, Luis Sinisterra's movement behind Yates and instant direction change allowed Zabanryi to slide the ball between Chris Wood and Ryan Yates without going to the right side.
Here, Illia Zabarnyi receives from the right-back and is pressed by Federico Chiesa who is intensely running with the attention to regain the ball. Zabarnyi pushing it and instantly accelerating gives him the edge over Chiesa to drive forward, shielding the ball with his body. Curtis Jones jumps over, locking the right side. However, Illia Zabarnyi opts for a pass behind Liverpool's backline to the runner, Sinistera.
Weaknesses
In this scene, Illia Zabarnyi closes off the angle to prevent Darwin Núñez from crossing the ball and forces him to play inside on his weaker foot (the left foot). Nonetheless, Zabarnyi's pivotal movement in a counterclockwise direction separates his body from the Liverpool striker and offers him space to adjust his posture. Darwin Núñez, with good right foot planting into the ground and arms spreading, makes himself control the accuracy, bending, and speed of the ball.
Takeaways
Illia Zabarnyi's evolution curve takes an ascending shape, with more playing time gaining him the experience needed to attract the top clubs in the top five leagues. In reality, Bournemouth with Andoni Iraola keeps evolving, playing one of the most balanced and courageous styles in the league, relying on their cogs’ talent. Furthermore, Bournemouth invested their money in Illia Zabarnyi, bringing him from the Ukrainian league back in January 2023. Since joining them, Zabarnyi has been one of the main players in the squad, embodying his manager's ideas on the pitch.
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