Andrey Shevchenko, whose photo is presented below, is the most successful football player in Ukraine for all the years of its independence. During his long career, he played in such clubs as Dynamo (Kiev), Milan and Chelsea. His performances for the national team of his country can also be called outstanding. More details about this athlete will be discussed later.
Childhood
Andriy Shevchenko was born on September 29, 1976 in the small village of Dvorkovshchina, Yagotinsky District, Kiev Region. It was here that the first three years of the life of the future football star passed. After that, the family moved to Kiev. Andrei's dad, Nikolai, was a military man, so he dreamed that his son would become an officer. The boy studied at the 216th high school, in a class that included children who did not pass through the level of knowledge into groups with a great emphasis on the study of physics and mathematics.
First football steps
Like most of the guys of that time, Andrew first started playing football with peers in the yard. Later, he acted in the national team of his school and the housing office. In 1986, Andrey Shevchenko tried to enter a football school, but he did not succeed. During one of the tournaments among the boy’s children, Alexander Shpakov, a youth mentor in Dynamo Kyiv, who invited him to his class, noticed the boy. The guy was actively involved in football and trained several times a day, often even skipping school classes for this. Parents initially opposed such a strong passion for his son, but the coach managed to convince them that Andrei has a future in sports.
"Dynamo"
Coming from time to time for substitutions in the matches of the Ukrainian championship in the 1993/1994 season, the footballer managed to distinguish himself by twelve goals scored. Thanks to his diligence and skills, the player quickly became indispensable in the team. In 1997, all of Europe learned about a player like Andrey Shevchenko. The goals in his performance against the goal of Barcelona made the leading football publications write a lot about him. The following season, he became the top scorer of the national championship and the Champions League. During his first Dynamo period, the player scored 106 goals in all official tournaments.
"Milan"
July 2, 1999 it became known that the Italian "Milan" for the sum of 25 million US dollars was purchased by Andrey Shevchenko. The footballer very quickly won the love of Italian fans. In the first season at the club, he became the top scorer of the championship, distinguishing himself with 24 goals in the opponents' goal. The athlete’s game on the football field continued to improve. As a result, in 2003, together with AC Milan, he became a Champion League triumph. The first thing that Andrey did after that was to come to Kiev to the grave of his mentor Valery Lobanovsky with the most prestigious European Cup. The next winter, the player received the Golden Ball - an individual award to the best football player. In total, over seven years of playing for AC Milan in 208 games, the striker scored 127 goals.
Chelsea
After winning all the possible trophies in Italy for $ 50 million, Andriy Shevchenko was bought by the London Chelsea club. At that time, this amount was a record on the football transfer market. Be that as it may, the striker did not live up to the expectations of the English fans and the owner of the London Grand. For the entire time of this period of his career, the player played 48 fights, in which he managed to score only 9 goals.
End of career
In August 2008, the player went on lease back to Milan. However, he no longer played a special role in the team, so he went out mainly for a replacement. In 2009, it became known about the intention of Italians to rely on youth in the future, so the Ukrainian returned to London. Along with this, the plans of Carlo Ancelotti, who then coached Chelsea, also did not include Andrey Shevchenko. As a result, on August 29, 2009, the footballer signed a contract with his native Dynamo, where he received his beloved seventh number. Over the next three years, the legendary striker played 55 matches in the team, in which he scored 23 goals. In 2012, after the completion of the contract, he announced the end of his career as a football player.
Ukraine national team
The player for the first time wore the t-shirt of the Ukrainian national team in 1995. Over the entire stay in the national team, he played 111 matches, in which he scored 48 goals. During the World Cup in Germany in 2006, when Ukraine reached the quarter-finals, he was captain. Home “Euro-2102” was the next and last big tournament for Andrei. In the only match of the group round, Shevchenko scored two goals against Sweden.
Interesting Facts
Kristen Pazik, while still a Milan player, met his future wife, Andrei, during one of the parties organized by the famous Italian designer Armani. The couple currently has three sons.
The godfather of the first son of Shevchenko was to become the owner of the club Silvio Berlusconi. This did not happen just because the tycoon was married a second marriage. According to Catholic canons, such people do not have the right to baptize children.
Andriy Shevchenko is very close friends with another legend of Milan - the Brazilian Kaka, Giorgio Armani and the Klitschko brothers.
In his spare time, a former football player loves to play golf. Once he even won a silver medal in this sport at the Ukrainian Championship.