FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

George Best, Alfredo Di Stefano, Abedi Pele, George Weah… the list of world-class performers never to grace the FIFA World CupTM is a long one. For no matter how good you are, destiny sometimes dictates that you are born in the wrong place or at the wrong time.
Scarcely two years ago, it seemed that Andriy Shevchenko would be added to this prestigious, yet unfortunate band. As figurehead of a Ukraine side with a limited sporting tradition and no other big name stars, the AC Milan striker was faced by the seemingly impossible task of hauling his country along the path to Germany practically single-handed. But the Ukrainian captain is not one to be fazed by a tough challenge. And while it would be simplistic to attribute Ukraine’s successful campaign solely to the performances of their famous striker, the man known as Sheva has definitely had a lot to do with it.

To qualify from a group containing not only reigning European champions Greece, but also a Turkish side that finished third at the last FIFA World Cup and a stalwart of top international tournaments, Denmark, the Ukrainians were banking on their principal attacking weapon to see them through. And the AC Milan striker did not let them down.

Top scorer for his team and one of the most prolific in the European zone with six goals, the Ukrainian ace justified the faith of a nation every time he turned out. After getting off the mark with the winning goal against Greece and then bagging a brace to stun Turkey in Istanbul, Sheva soon had his country firmly on the path to Germany.

Silverware and accolades aplenty came to the Rossonero. Although it is only now, at 30, that the Ukrainian is about to get his first taste of the FIFA World Cup, Shevchenko’s class has long been shining like a beacon on pitches all over Europe. In the early days of his career, he fired his first club Dynamo Kiev to five consecutive league titles, though it was not these fabulous domestic exploits that would change his life. Instead, his talent was revealed during a 1997/98 UEFA Champions League match against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The Spanish side were widely expected to win comfortably, but the Ukrainian outfit inflicted an historic 4-0 defeat on the Blaugranas, with the hitherto-unheralded Shevchenko grabbing a hat-trick and all the headlines.

Milan pounce
The directors of AC Milan had seen enough and snapped up the Ukrainian prodigy the following year. Sheva promptly finished top scorer in Serie A in his very first season with 24 goals. From then on, the scenario became a familiar one as, with each season, he defied statisticians and defenders alike by allying speed and technique with a rare composure and uncanny eye for goal. In 2003, he got the winning penalty against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League final shoot-out and, in his six seasons with the Rossoneri, has already found the net more than 100 times with an expansive array of clinical shots with either foot as well as unerring headers.

The year 2004 remains Sheva’s vintage campaign. The scorer of 24 Serie A goals, he was the major factor behind the Scudetto title claimed by AC Milan. Moreover, his performances at club level were by now being reproduced for his national team, so much so that he pipped the Portuguese star Deco and the Brazilian Ronaldinho to the title of 2004 European Player of the Year. In doing so, he became only the second Ukrainian to earn this honour after the current coach Oleg Blokhin won it in 1975.

After accumulating an array of individual awards and silverware with his clubs, Shevchenko would dearly love to write the first line in his country’s list of honours this summer. And to listen to his coach, it could very well happen. "I know some people will scream with derision, but I believe we’re capable of winning it," Blokhin said recently. Sheva though, is adopting a more modest tack. “You have to understand that the coach was joking when he said this…” he insisted. Humble he may be, but Shevchenko is no less ambitious and if the chance to fulfil his coach’s prediction arises, you can be sure the big striker will take it.

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UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

Ukrainian legend Andriy Shevchenko is one of the most exciting forwards in the game, combining speed and skill with a sharp eye for goal, as he proved in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League final.

National team
Now his country's talisman, Shevchenko first appeared for Ukraine in March 1995 against Croatia, scoring his first goal in May 1996 against Turkey. Achieved his dream of qualifying for a major tournament when Ukraine won FIFA World Cup qualifying Group 2 to advance to Germany.

Club
Shevchenko spent five seasons at FC Dynamo Kyiv, before joining Milan in 1999 for €26m. He had just scored eight goals to help Dynamo into the Champions League semi-finals. During the previous season he struck a first-half hat-trick at the Camp Nou in a sensational 4-0 win against FC Barcelona. He left the club having won five championships and two Ukrainian Cups.

1999: It was no great surprise when 'Sheva' became the first foreigner to top the Serie A scoring charts in a debut season. He tormented Serie A defenders with another 24-goal haul in the 2000/01 season, and managed 14 goals in 29 league appearances in 2001/02. Shevchenko scored the winning penalty in the 2003 Champions League final victory against Juventus FC and also received the Ukrainian Order of Merit from president Leonid Kuchma.

2003: Scored the only goal in the UEFA Super Cup defeat of FC Porto in Monaco, and again top scored in Serie A with 24 goals prior to signing a new contract with the champions until 2009.

2004/05: Scored the hat-trick that earned Milan victory in the Italian Super Cup against S.S. Lazio in August. Voted the European Footballer of the Year, Shevchenko scored 17 goals in Serie A and six in the UEFA Champions League but his season ended in disappointment as he missed the decisive kick in the Champions League final penalty shoot-out against Liverpool FC.

Did you know?
Former Liverpool striker Ian Rush gave Shevchenko, then just 14, a pair of his boots as a prize for his goalscoring prowess in a 1990 youth tournament.

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