Player Profile: Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev)

In the 2009-2010 season, Andriy Yarmolenko was given a new role in the team as he was shifted from the left-wing to the right of a three-man attack as new coach, Valeriy Gazzaev, felt Yarmolenko would benefit cutting in onto his more favoured left foot. It was an inspired decision as Yarmolenko would go on to score seven goals in 28 league games and earn the first of his 32 caps for the national team.

The following season would see Yarmolenko score 16 goals in 42 appearances and this was followed with an equally impressive 13 goals in 40 appearances the season after. And last season it was consistency once again as Yarmolenko would hit double figures for the third consecutive season – scoring 13 goals in 40 appearances including 11 goals in the Ukraine championship.

So just what kind of a player is Andriy Yarmolenko?

Direct, tricky and quick are three words you can attribute to Andriy Yarmolenko’s style of play. Despite standing 6ft 2in, Andrei Yarmolenko is a wonderful technician with the ball at his feet. Although predominantly left-footed, Yarmolenko usually lines up on the right of Dynamo Kiev and the Ukraine’s attack. He has an unnerving ability to make the ball do all kinds of wonderful things once under his control.

His tight ball dribbling ability is a sight to behold where he uses his trickery and turn of pace to cut inside to unleash a shot or leave his marker for dead as he bears down on goal. Originally a striker, Yarmolenko’s composure in front of goal is brilliant as he very rarely misses the target. Where most wingers tend to panic in such situations, Yarmolenko dispatches the ball with unnerving ease as he tends to pass the ball into the net rather than hit it as hard as he can.

Another attribute which is sometimes unassociated with quick wingers and wide players is the strength Yarmolenko possesses due to his tall build and upper body strength. Very rarely does Yarmolenko come off second best against his marker in a battle of strength. His running style and directness has drew comparisons with another tall, wide man in Bayern Munich’s, Arjen Robben, and although he is far from the finished article, if Yarmolenko continues to progress as he has done thus far, there is no reason why he cannot reach the heady heights of the Flying Dutchman.

Andriy Yarmolenko also has a brain to match his footballing talent. His intelligent movement and ability to wander the pitch to look for the ball makes it a near impossibility for him to be marked during a match. It is this ability to drift in and out of positions which makes him such a versatile player and he is equally comfortable on the left, just behind the main striker or even as a centre-forward where he featured a few times for Dynamo Kiev last season when Artem Milevskiy missed a chunk of the season due to an injury.

For all the attributes there are, of course, certain flaws to his game. Despite being a tall player, Yarmolenko is rather abject in the air. He prefers to play with the ball at his feet and will sometimes disengage in aerial battles when the ball is there to be won. Despite being good with the ball at his feet and difficult to dispossess, his passing can be lose and there are times when he seems to slow play down so much so that attacks frizzle out due to being so one-footed and having to cut back onto his favoured boot all the time.

Although Yarmolenko has improved defensively since he first burst onto the scene, his positional sense still needs to be worked on. He is now willing to fall back into midfield when out of possession but he lacks the intelligence to follow the opposition full-back which leads to his own full-back being outnumbered and overworked. However, these are all points that can be worked upon as he is still only 23-years of age.