"I'll nail my colours to the mast right now. To borrow a phrase from Kevin Keegan, I will love it, love it, if Kyiv Dynamo win Champions League next month. It's not that I've got anything against any of the other teams left in the competition. It's just that, in the era when sponsor is king, Kyiv represent everything that we hold dear about the European Cup. Unlike Bayern Munich and Machester United, they actually won their domestic championship last year. Unlike Juventus, who squeezed through to the quarter-finals having won just one match, Kyiv have entertained us with some exhilirating football. And yet, if Media Partners had got their way, Kyiv would not have even been allowed to compete in future Champions Leagues. In Andri Shevchenko, Kyiv have a player who seems destined for greatness..."

Gavin Hamilton, Editor World Soccer,
gavin_hamilton@ipc.co.uk, May 1999

by Oleh Zadernovsky

In Ukraine people believe that Andri Shevchenko is every bit as good as Ronaldo. Such a comparison is a bit flattering -- to the Brazilian. While Ronaldo clearly far from fit has struggled to cope with the enormous pressure placed on him by Inter's commercial and sporting ambitions, Shevchenko has flourished.
Three goals in Kyiv's Champions League quarter-final victory over Real Madrid confirmed the view held by many -- that 22-year-old "Sheva" is the most lethal striker in the world.

Milan certainly think so. A $16,2 million pre-contract deal has been agreed, Shevchenko's personal items have been sealed and he will arrive in Italy during the summer, ready for a potential blockbuster of a running head-to-head,Milan-versus-Inter confrontation with Ronaldo....

The club will miss Shevchenko enormously. As head coach Valeri Lobanovsky puts it: "He has everything a striker needs -- good vision, incredible pace and physical strength, plus the most important factor of all, which is feeling for the goal, where it is in relation to the part of the pitch in which he happens to be. He also likes to work in training and is learning more and more about the game's tactical side."

Dynamo president Hryhori Surkis has no fears about Shevchenko's future, saying: "He is very mature for such a young man, a strong personality who can overcome every possible problem."

Dynamo players are sure that their soon-to-depart colleague will do well. Fellow striker Serhi Rebrov says: "Playing with Andri is a pleasure, and I have learned a lot from him since we teamed up in 1995. He will develop in a truly great player."

Defender Yuri Dmytrulin adds: "I can imagine how difficult it must be to oppose him. I'm glad I don't have to."

Midfielder Andri Husyn points out that Shevchenko is never more dangerous than in closing stages of a match, because he is so well prepared physically: "He is a universal player, constantly moving in attack -- and sometimes even back in defense."

Shevchenko came up through the junior ranks at Dynamo and at 13 won his first trophy -- which he recieved from former Liverpool striker Ian Rush, who is one of his heroes along with former Dynamo stars Oleh Blokhin and Leonid Buriak.
"Dynamo took part in a junior tournament in Wales and won it," he recalls. "I was named the best player in the competition, and Mr. Rush presented me with a pair of football boots."

Shevchenko made his senior debut in the 1994-95 season, when he played 17 Preamier League matches but scored only once. He also appeared in a Champions League group match against Bayern Munich and scored in a 1:4 defeat.
"I'll remember that goal for the rest of my life," he says. "After a corner-kick the ball came off one of the defenders and I blasted it into the top corner of the net."....

"It's getting more difficult these days," Shevchenko says, "because I am now being marked more tightly. But that's a good thing for the team, because the other players have that much more freedom. I like taking opponents on. I love going past two or three defenders. But I'm developing as a team player, too.
I'm very much looking forward to playing in Italy, but that's for the future..."

Shevchenko is not married, does not smoke, and drinks only a little beer or red wine. He lived with his parents (father Mykola is a retired army officer, mother Liubov an accountant) until 1997, when the club provided him with a three-bedroom apartment in Kyiv. He drives a Mercedes, though he fancies a Ferrari, and his last holidays was in Seychelles with three team-mates.

"I like Japanese food," he says, "but most of all I like everything my mother cooks."
He also dresses well but claims that his outfits "are in good taste, not in a sporty style."

Shevchenko likes old Soviet comedy films, and books about history, but football is rarely far from his thoughts and he claims to be able to recall every goal he has scored since turning pro.

If he maintains his form, there will be many more going into his memory bank.


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