Vladimir Vilivald

Volodymyr Vilivald came through the Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih academy, the club known as Hirnyk before its 2020 rebrand. He played for the club's U19 sides across the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons, scoring in youth competition, before making his senior debut in the Ukrainian Premier League in 2023/2024.

His development has been shaped by two loan spells away from Kryvyi Rih. The first, at Inter Dnipro in 2021/2022, came early. The second was more substantial: sent to Inhulets Petrove in August 2024, the defender made 13 appearances in the Ukrainian Premier League, scored twice and added a cup appearance. He returned to Kryvbas in January 2025.

Back at his parent club, Vilivald has become a regular starter for the 2025/2026 season, now wearing the number 4 shirt after playing the previous campaign in number 45. He offers the kind of physical profile clubs look for at centre-back, and his development has been tracked at international level too, with a call-up to the Ukraine U21 side.

Born in Ternivka, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Vilivald's path has been a steady, unspectacular climb through his home club's structure. The next stage of that path is whether his loan form at Inhulets Petrove translates into a settled run at the heart of the Kryvbas defence.