Tribal Football

Iraola admits Bournemouth's Zabarnyi an underrated member of squad this season

Ansser Sadiq
Iraola admits Bournemouth's Zabarnyi is an underrated member of the squad this season
Iraola admits Bournemouth's Zabarnyi is an underrated member of the squad this season Action Plus
Head coach Andoni Iraola has heaped praise on Illia Zabarnyi for his role in Bournemouth’s impressive defensive record this season.

The Ukrainian center-back has formed a rock-solid partnership with Dean Huijsen, conceding just nine goals since pairing up in November.

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Iraola highlighted Zabarnyi’s consistency and composure, crediting him as a key factor in the Cherries’ defensive resilience.

“Zaba for me is even easier to explain, I think,” Iraola stated to Daily Echo.

“I'm not sure if we decided to change him one minute in the time I've been here.

“So that basically says everything about the confidence we have in him and how reliable and how robust also he is and he's the kind of player that is very easy to coach.

“For a coach, he pays attention, he comes every day to train with a great attitude and I am enjoying also his development because now when I arrived he was a great player but quite shy.

“He didn't talk a lot and now you see him managing everything from behind, shouting to the ones in front asking for the others and this is a show of how he's developing and he's becoming a more important player even for us.

“I love him personally and as a player.”