Legends of International Football - Andriy Shevchenko

The astronomical sums being stumped up for world class goal scorers speak volumes about the importance of having a prolific centre forward in a top European side. 50 million GBP for Fernando Torres, 43 million for Falcao, a 54 million GBP release cause for Edinson Cavani – all of this underlines just how highly goal getters are regarded in the modern game, irrespective of whether that centre forward justifies the price tag.

But what is indisputable is that players demanding such hefty sums are players in a class of their own, with extraordinary levels of finesse, intelligence, technique and skill. One such player is the focus of this article, a Ukrainian sniper by the name of Andriy Shevchenko.

Andriy Shevchenko began his road to greatness as a 9-year-old, enrolling in the 216th City School’s (Kiev) footballing division. He had an early interest in boxing too, but chose to pursue football. At the nimble age of 9, Shevchenko and his family moved to the Eastern coast after the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy struck just 180 kilometres from his village.

Just 4 weeks after moving, he was spotted by Dynamo Kyiv scout Alexander Shpakov while playing in a youth tournament. Impressed by what he saw from the young 10-year-old, Shpakov invited Shevchenko to enroll in Dynamo Kyiv’s youth program. He travelled across Europe as a part of Dynamo’s U-14 team, winning the Ian Rush Cup in 1990.

As a reward for finishing as top scorer, Shevchenko received a pair of football shoes from the legend himself. ‘Funnily enough, the boots were too small for me but I still tried to play in them – until my big toes poked through,’ Shevchenko said about the coveted shoes. To this day, he has kept those shoes with him.

At the age of 16, Shevchenko failed a crucial dribbling test for entry into a specialist sports university in Kiev. Forced to reconsider his options, Shevchenko decided to play on, a move which eventually paid dividends as he broke into Dynamo’s second team a few weeks later.

About a year later, as an 18-year-old, Shevchenko had made it to Dynamo’s first team. It was here that Shevchenko’s fame saw an exponential increase. His statistics in Kyiv speak for themselves; he won five consecutive league titles in five seasons, scoring an incredible 60 goals in 118 appearances.

He also notched up an extremely impressive 20 goals in the Champions League, scoring 10 in one season alone (1998/1999). It was this season that proved to be the highlight of Shevchenko’s career, where he caught the eye of scouts everywhere with his displays.

Shevchenko began Kyiv’s European campaign by scoring a goal against Lens in both matches and a penalty against Arsenal which helped Kyiv finish first in their group. He then became the first Ukrainian player to score a hat-trick in a European competition; he did this against FC Barcelona, in the first half alone.

“In Kiev we had beaten Barcelona 3-0, and a friend said, ‘Let’s see how you do in the return,’ and bet me I wouldn’t score three goals. He ended up buying that dinner,” he said about his feat. (Sheva, Godfrey Deeny).

He then continued his blistering vein of form by scoring a hat-trick over two legs against Real Madrid, and then rifled in a brace against Bayern Munich in the semifinals, where they were eventually knocked out after conceding a 3-1 lead initially.

Shevchenko attributes his early rise to prominence to Valeri Lobanovsky, Dynamo Kyiv’s youth coach, who helped Shevchenko get over his addiction of smoking, as well as trained him resolutely at the military-esque Kontcha Zaspa training camp.

Lobanovsky’s admiration for Sheva was mutual, which was evident in the fact that he fondly called him “The White Ronaldo”, a title which stuck with him.

In 1999, after ending with a blistering 28 goals all season, AC Milan came calling for his services, snapping him up for a then record fee of 18 million GBP. Shevchenko did not disappoint as he hit the ground running, scoring in his debut game for the Rossoneri. He finished the season with a remarkable 24 goals in 32 appearances, bagging the capocannonieri (top scorer) award in his debut season.

The White Ronaldo had now broken out of the mould of the iconic Brazilian hitman, and he was rewarded with the title of “Super Sheva”, which was bestowed upon him by the Milan faithful. He carried on his excellent form into the next season, scoring 24 goals in 34 games in the 2000/2001 season, including 9 in 14 in the Champions League.

Although he struck only 5 times in 24 games in an injury-stricken 2002/2003 campaign, Shevchenko became the only Ukrainian player to win the UEFA Champions League, as he scored the winning penalty against Juventus. After the victory, Sheva flew down to Kyiv, and placed his winner’s medal on Valeri Lobanovsky’s grave, who passed away in 2002.

The 2003/04 season turned out to be a charmed one for Shevchenko as he bagged his second top scorer award, finishing with 24 goals from 32 appearances. His telling contribution also helped Milan to their first Scudetto in five seasons. He scored the winner against FC Porto (managed then by his future boss Jose Mourinho), as Milan also won the UEFA Super Cup.

Shevchenko also put three past Lazio, as Milan added the Italian Super Cup to their trophy cabinet. He finished a fantastic season by being inducted into the FIFA 100, and by winning the prestigious Ballon D’Or. In November 2005/06, Shevchenko became the only player to score 4 goals in a Champions League away game (5th overall), in a 4-0 thrashing of Fenerbahce. That season ended painfully for him though, as he missed the crucial spot kick in the famous “Miracle of Istanbul” game against Liverpool.

Shevchenko though, in all his humility and positivity, said about the game -

“This was an important moment to face. Life is not made up just of victories, but also losses. When you are down, you rise up and go ahead. This was a beautiful moment; I would never change it. Even if we lost, we also learnt. These famous six minutes completely changed the destiny of Milan. It’s not true what was written that we thought we’d win. We continued to play; we even played very well. For us, that is football and that is why I would not change this moment. Liverpool did what they had to do in those six minutes, you recognize that.”

After the season ended, Shevchenko agreed a switch to Chelsea for 30.8 million GBP, which was then a record for the highest sum paid by any British club. This move materialized after a 3-year long chase in which Roman Abrahimovic personally intervened to sign him in 2003.

Shevchenko states that he met Abrahimovic in Milan’s 4 Seasons Hotel, where the Russian billionaire had come to take a look at a couple of players from Inter Milan. Roman directly approached Shevchenko, asking him if he was interested in playing for the Blues.

Shevchenko though, fresh from Milan’s Champions League triumph, rejected the offer straight away. His eventual arrival at Stamford Bridge was the stuff of ‘dreams’, as Jose Mourinho put it: “Today is a day when the dream became reality. Andriy has always been my first choice for Chelsea since I arrived. He has great qualities, ambition, discipline, tactical awareness and of course he is a great goalscorer.”

Shevchenko started his Chelsea career in fine fashion, scoring a goal in a 2-1 loss against Liverpool in the Community Shield. But as time went on, Shevchenko endured a tough time at the Bridge, scoring only 22 times in 77 appearances. Constant criticism coupled with playing second fiddle to a complete forward in Didier Drogba, Shevchenko spent most of his time on the bench.

He did occasionally conjure up moments of magic, like a brace in a 3-3 draw against Aston Villa, and a screamer of a goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup a few seasons ago. But in spite of being relegated to the bench, Shevchenko maintained a dignified presence, never openly criticizing anyone or venting his frustrations to the media.

In arguably the worst phase of his footballing career, Shevchenko remained a consummate professional. He scored his last goal for Chelsea in a 1-1 draw against Bolton on the final day of the season, before he was loaned back to AC Milan.

His indifferent form continued in his second spell back at Milan, as he failed to score in any of his 18 league appearances. Milan then announced that Shevchenko would return to Chelsea for the final year of his 4-year contract. Once back at the Bridge, his former Milan and current Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti decided to sell him in the transfer window.

Life came full circle for Sheva as he signed a 2-year contract with Dynamo Kyiv. He again scored on his debut game, slotting a penalty in a 3-1 win against Metalurh Donetsk. He rediscovered his scoring touch in Kyiv, scoring 16 goals in 32 matches in his second season there.

Shevchenko’s immaculate technique, fantastic goal sense, instinctive positioning and discipline had not only made him a legend in the club football arena, but also a national hero for Ukraine football to idolize. He earned his first cap in 1995, but had to wait a year before he scored his first goal in an international friendly against Turkey.

As was a feature of his life, Shevchenko went through many heartbreaks on the international stage, falling just short of fulfilling his nation’s objectives on multiple occasions. He scored thrice during Ukraine’s 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, as they finished second in their group, earning a shot at a play-off to progress to the World Cup.

Shevchenko scored the consolation goal in Ukraine’s 3-1 loss at the hands of Croatia, who finished third in the World Cup. Ukraine caught the eye again in Euro 2000 qualifying, playing well to finish just a point adrift of group toppers France. But once again, they were beaten at the play-off stage, this time by unfancied Slovenia.

In 2000, Shevchenko and Ukraine both received a massive boost with the news that Valeri Lobanovsky would be taking over the national team in a bid to boost their World Cup 2002 qualification. Shevchenko was unstoppable in the qualifiers, adding 10 goals to his tally in the qualification rounds. This earned them yet another play-off spot, which Ukraine blew again by losing to Germany.

A couple of years later, Ukraine choked yet again in the Euro 2004 qualification rounds, Shevchenko’s 3 goals proving ineffective as they lost to Spain and eventual Euro 2004 champions Greece.

In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers though, the tide seemed to have changed. Led by another Ukrainian legend in Oleg Blokhin, Shevchenko finished as the top scorer in the qualifiers as Ukraine and their squad realized their long-standing dream of qualifying for the World Cup.

Befittingly, he captained the side at the tournament, as they achieved a respectable quarterfinal finish, losing to eventual champions Italy. And like the stories of many legends, Shevchenko’s story went on. After losing out on World Cup 2010 qualification, Sheva’s age and playing credentials came under question.

Shevchenko had admitted in an interview with UEFA that it would be a dream come true if he could play in Euro 2012 in front of his home crowd, and promised he would do everything to achieve that. True to his word, Shevchenko was named in the squad for the Euro 2012 tournament, at the age of 35.

He inspired a relatively young and inexperienced side throughout their short stint in the tournament, scoring a brace in a 2-1 game against Sweden. After Ukraine were eliminated in the final group game, Shevchenko announced his international retirement.

Sheva’s list of individual honours and achievements are as staggering as his performances over the years. He won 6 domestic titles (20 trophies overall), 6 Ukrainian Footballer of the Year awards and the Ballon D’Or. He is Ukraine’s all time top scorer with 48 goals in 111 appearances, 19 of them coming in 29 World Cup qualifiers, an outstanding feat by itself. He is also the third highest scorer in the Champions League, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raul.

Andriy Shevchenko’s legacy is that of one of the finest forwards to have ever graced the European stage. Not only are his footballing attributes an asset to have in any team, but Shevchenko is a role model off the field as well.

The Andriy Shevchenko Foundation is his brainchild, an initiative to reach out to the numerous victims of the Chernobyl disaster, whose effects are seen even today in parts of Ukraine. His foundation also raises money for children suffering from leukemia and other genetic disorders, raises funds for ambulances, boarding schools for orphans, modern hospital equipment and more.

Everything considered, Andriy Shevchenko truly is a legend of the highest order.