1. Early life and personal background
Roman Sergeyevich Zobnin was born on 11 February 1994, in Irkutsk, Russia. Standing at 73 in (185 cm) tall and weighing 170 lb (77 kg), he developed an early interest in football. His older brother, Aleksandr Zobnin, also pursued a career in professional football. Roman's youth football journey began at FC Zvezda Irkutsk and continued at the Konoplyov Football Academy, where he trained from 2004 to 2010, honing his skills before embarking on his senior career.
2. Club career
Roman Zobnin's club career began with Akademiya Tolyatti, leading to a move to Dynamo Moscow and eventually to his current club, Spartak Moscow, where he achieved significant success in Russian football.
2.1. Early career
Zobnin made his professional debut in the Russian Second Division for Akademiya Tolyatti on 30 April 2011, in a match against FC Ufa. After his time at Akademiya Tolyatti, he moved to Dynamo Moscow. His Russian Premier League debut came on 19 July 2013, while playing for Dynamo Moscow in a match against Anzhi Makhachkala.
2.2. Spartak Moscow
On 15 June 2016, following Dynamo Moscow's relegation from the Premier League, Roman Zobnin transferred to Spartak Moscow. His move proved highly successful, as he played an integral role in the club's achievements. He helped Spartak Moscow win the Russian Premier League title in the 2016-17 season. Following this league triumph, he also secured the Russian Super Cup in 2017. Later in 2022, Zobnin added another significant trophy to his collection, winning the Russian Cup with Spartak Moscow.
3. International career
Roman Zobnin's international career has seen him represent the Russia national football team in various capacities, from youth levels to major senior tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro.
3.1. Senior team debut and early years
Zobnin made his debut for the Russia national football team on 31 March 2015, in a friendly game against Kazakhstan. Under then-manager Fabio Capello, this was his only appearance. He did not feature under the subsequent manager, Leonid Slutsky, and consequently missed out on the UEFA Euro 2016 squad. However, upon the appointment of Stanislav Cherchesov, who had previously coached Zobnin at Dynamo Moscow, he began to receive consistent call-ups to the national squad. Due to a prolonged knee injury, Zobnin was unable to participate in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted in Russia.
3.2. Major tournaments
On 11 May 2018, Roman Zobnin was included in Russia's extended squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and subsequently made it into the finalized World Cup squad. He played every minute of every game for the squad throughout the tournament, as Russia progressed to the quarter-finals before being eliminated in a penalty shoot-out by Croatia.
On 11 May 2021, Zobnin was named in the preliminary extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020, and was later confirmed in the final squad on 2 June 2021. He started Russia's opening game against Belgium on 12 June 2021, being substituted in the 63rd minute of a match Russia lost 0-3. He played a full match in Russia's second game against Finland on 16 June, which resulted in a 1-0 victory. Zobnin also played the full match in the last group game on 21 June against Denmark, where Russia lost 1-4 and was consequently eliminated from the tournament.
4. Career statistics
4.1. Club statistics
Statistics accurate as of match played 27 October 2024.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Akademiya Tolyatti | 2010 | Russian Second League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011-12 | Russian Second League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2012-13 | Russian Second League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 0 | ||||
| Dynamo Moscow | 2013-14 | Russian Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2014-15 | Russian Premier League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2015-16 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 32 | 1 | |||
| Total | 48 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 53 | 2 | |||
| Spartak Moscow | 2016-17 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 32 | 2 | |
| 2017-18 | Russian Premier League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2018-19 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2019-20 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2020-21 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 30 | 2 | |||
| 2021-22 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 33 | 3 | ||
| 2022-23 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 4 | 11 | 1 | - | 1 | 0 | 41 | 5 | ||
| 2023-24 | Russian Premier League | 22 | 2 | 7 | 1 | - | - | 29 | 3 | |||
| 2024-25 | Russian Premier League | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 10 | 1 | |||
| Total | 205 | 15 | 32 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 260 | 19 | ||
| Career total | 276 | 17 | 36 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 334 | 21 | ||
4.2. International statistics
Statistics accurate as of match played 14 November 2021.
| Russia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 41 | 0 |
5. Honours
Roman Zobnin has earned several titles with his club, FC Spartak Moscow.
- Russian Premier League: 2016-17
- Russian Cup: 2021-22
- Russian Super Cup: 2017
6. Personal life
Roman Zobnin is the younger brother of Aleksandr Zobnin, who was also a professional footballer.