Andriy Shevchenko

Personal information
Full name	Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko
Date of birth	September 29, 1976 (1976-09-29) (age 30)
Place of birth	Dvirkivschyna, Ukraine
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	7
Youth clubs
1986-1994	Dynamo Kyiv
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-1999 1999-2006 2006-	Dynamo Kyiv A.C. Milan Chelsea	117 0(60) 208 (127) 031 00(4)
National team2
1994-1995 1994-1995 1995-	Ukraine U18 Ukraine U21 Ukraine	008 00(5) 007 00(6) 076 0(34)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of March 31, 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12 September 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, Andrij Mykolajovyč Ševčenko, born 29 September 1976, Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian football striker who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League.

Shevchenko began his career in the youth team at Dynamo Kyiv and soon played in the first team. He won five consecutive domestic league titles from 1994–99. Shevchenko played for A.C. Milan from 1999–2006, scoring 127 goals in 208 appearances and becoming the club's second-highest all-time goal scorer. He joined Chelsea in 2006.

Shevchenko won the 2004 European Footballer of the Year award, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in 2004. He was named a starting striker on the 2005 FIFPro World XI team, and is the second-highest goal scorer of all-time in European club competitions with 60 goals, behind only Gerd Müller.

Biography

Andriy was nine when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in April 1986. His village, not far from Chernobyl, was also affected by the disaster, and his family was one amongst the thousands who had to abandon their homes and relocate to the coast to escape the after effects. At an early age, he was a competitive boxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league, but due to his size, he was forced to move on to football, where he flourished.

Club career

Dynamo Kyiv

In 1986, after his family relocated to escape the Chernobyl disaster, Shevchenko failed a dribbling test for entrance to a specialist sports school in Kiev. However, he happened to catch the eye of a Dynamo Kyiv scout while playing in a youth tournament, and was thus brought to the club. He was extremely successful in the youth system at the club, honing his skills on the junior teams. In 1990, Shevchenko, playing for the Dynamo Kyiv under-14 team in the Ian Rush Cup in Wales, was top scorer in the tournament, and was awarded a pair of Rush's boots as a prize by the Liverpool F.C. player himself.

In 1992-93, he was the top scorer for Dynamo-2 with twelve goals, and he made an appearance in the first team list, taking Dynamo to their second successive league victory. He scored his first international goal in May 1996, in a friendly against Turkey, at Samsun. Shevchenko won the league again next season with Dynamo, scoring 6 goals in 20 games. The next two seasons, 1997-98 and 1998-99, were abundantly productive for Shevchenko. The highlight of his 1997-98 season was his first-half hat-trick against FC Barcelona in the 1997-98 Champions League, helping Dynamo produce a shock 4-0 away win. His 19 goals in 23 league matches, 6 goals in 10 Champions League matches, and another league victory with Dynamo in 1997-98 were followed by 28 goals in all competitions in 1998-99, and the league top-scorer award for his 18 goals there. Shevchenko's exploits in the Champions League took Dynamo to the semi-final stage of the tournament, before they lost to Bayern Munich 3-4 on aggregate.

Shevchenko won the domestic league title with Dynamo in each of his five seasons with the club. Under the guidance of Valeri Lobanovsky, the Dynamo manager from January 1997 to May 2002, Shevchenko flourished into one of the team's most prominent and skillful players.

A.C. Milan

In 1999, Shevchenko joined the then five-time European Cup champions A.C. Milan for $25 million, breaking the club's transfer record (it was later broken by Manuel Rui Costa in 2001) and instantly became one of their top players. He made his Serie A debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2-2 away draw with U.S. Lecce. His impressive haul of 24 league goals in 32 matches earned him the Serie A scoring title, becoming the first non-Italian player to accomplish the feat in his debut season. Over the next two seasons, Shevchenko scored 34 goals in 51 matches then 17 goals in 38 matches in all competitions, but Milan could not win any silverware in either season.

The disappointment of those two seasons was overcome in 2002-03 when Milan won the Coppa Italia, as well as the Champions League, making Shevchenko the first Ukrainian-born player ever to win a Champions League title. Though Shevchenko was not in top offensive form, netting only five times in 24 matches, he scored the winning penalty kick in the shoot out against arch-rivals Juventus in the final, giving the Rossoneri their sixth title. 2003-04 was another successful season for both Milan and Shevchenko. He was the Serie A scoring champion for the second time in his career, duplicating his previous effort of 24 goals in 32 matches en route to Milan winning the Scudetto after a four-year drought. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Super Cup victory over F.C. Porto, leading to Milan's second trophy of the season. In August 2004, he scored three goals against S.S. Lazio as Milan won the Italian Super Cup. He capped off the year in dramatic fashion by being named the 2004 European Player of the Year and thus becoming the third Ukrainian player ever to win the Golden Ball, following Oleg Blokhin in 1975 and Igor Belanov in 1986 (latter two won the award as Soviet internationals).

In 2004–05, Milan finished runner-up to Juventus in the Serie A standings, helped in part by the seventeen goals of Shevchenko, but Milan's domestic success was promptly deflated in the wake of the 2005 Champions League final, in which they lost a 3-0 lead to Liverpool F.C. during a six-minute span in the second half. The match ended 3–3 after extra time. Shevchenko's decisive penalty was blocked by Liverpool goalie Jerzy Dudek in the shoot-out, which gave the English side the title.

Shevchenko scored 19 goals in the 22 games that he played in the 2005-06 Serie A campaign to go with nine goals in 12 total matches in the Champions League, making history along the way. On 23 November 2005, Shevchenko scored all four goals in Milan's 4-0 drubbing of Fenerbahçe SK, becoming only the fifth player to do so in a CL match (his company includes Marco van Basten, Simone Inzaghi, Dado Pršo and Ruud van Nistelrooy). However, he scored only once in the last four matches of the quarter-final and semi-final stages as Milan eliminated Olympique Lyonnais thanks to a last-minute comeback, but were then held scoreless in both semi-final legs en route to falling to eventual winners, Barcelona. He ended the season as the CL's fourth-highest scorer with a total of 43 career goals, in addition to ten qualifying-round scores.

On 8 February 2006, he became Milan's second all-time goalscorer, behind legend Gunnar Nordahl, after netting against Treviso.

Chelsea

During the summer of 2004, there were persistent reports that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich offered a record sum of £50 million and striker Hernán Crespo to A.C. Milan in exchange for Shevchenko. Milan refused the monetary offer but took Crespo on loan. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was quoted as saying, "I think Shevchenko is the type of player we would like. At the end of the day to improve what we have got, it has to be a great player and Shevchenko certainly comes into that class." Meanwhile, Shevchenko repeatedly denied that he wanted to leave, claiming that he wanted to become a Milan legend like Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. But on 11 May 2006, Shevchenko publicly announced that he would be leaving the club after all, to join the Premier League holders.

On May 14, 2006, during the last Serie A encounter between Milan and Roma, Shevchenko watched the first half in the stands with Milan supporters; two weeks later, he left Milan for Chelsea. The fee was disclosed on the official website of UEFA as £30 million, which would make it the most expensive transfer in English football. Shevchenko joined up with his new team after the 2006 World Cup. He received the number seven shirt, as Chelsea coach José Mourinho said that Shevchenko could continue wearing it.

Shevchenko with Chelsea

Shevchenko made his debut for Chelsea on August 13, 2006 in the FA Community Shield, scoring his side's goal in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. On August 23, he scored his first FA Premier League goal — and his 300th in top-flight and international football — in a 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough. He scored goals sporadically throughout the season, including crucial equalisers against FC Porto and Valencia CF in the UEFA Champions League and another against Tottenham Hotspur to help take his side into the FA Cup semi-finals. He finished with a total of 14 from 51 games.

During the campaign he netted his 57th career goal in European competitions, leaving him 2nd in the all-time European goalscorers list, behind Gerd Muller. Shevchenko's 2006/07 season was cut short due to injury and a hernia operation. He missed the Champions League semi-finals against Liverpool and the FA Cup Final against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium on May 19, 2007.

Shevchenko has vowed that he will find his true form in the 2007-08 season, reiterating his desire to remain in London despite interest from Milan president Adriano Galliani to bring Shevchenko back to Italy. Despite it, rumors are speculating that AC Milan are close to bringing back Shevchenko to AC Milan, with his wife stating that she "misses Italy" and that she "wants to go back home." Dynamo Kyiv revealed they wanted to sign Shevchenko on loan.

Shevchenko was handed his first start against Blackburn Rovers at home to cover up for the injured Didier Drogba. However, the game finished 0-0.

He scored in Chelsea's first game of the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League with a header against Rosenborg B.K., the game ending 1-1.

International career

Shevchenko has 76 caps and 34 goals for the Ukraine national team, whom he represented at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In March 2000, Dynamo manager Valeri Lobanovsky became the Ukraine coach, with the aim to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. Shevchenko scored 10 goals in the qualifiers, but Ukraine failed to qualify after losing a play-off against Germany. In the Euro Cup 2008 qualifiers, Shevchenko has scored four goals.

Personal life

Shevchenko

Shevchenko is married to American model Kristen Pazik. The couple met at a Giorgio Armani afterparty in 2002, and married on July 14, 2004 in a private ceremony on a golf course in Washington, DC. They communicate with each other in Italian, though Shevchenko has made public his desire to learn English. Media commentators have speculated that Pazik was a major influence on Shevchenko's decision to sign with Chelsea, citing her friendship with Abramovich's wife and her desire to raise their children in an English-speaking culture. Shevchenko has stated that his move to Chelsea was "a family decision" about what was best for their children.

The couple has two sons, Jordan (named after NBA legend Michael Jordan), born on 29 October 2004, and Christian, born on 10 November 2006. Andriy commemorated Jordan's birth by scoring against Sampdoria the following day (AC Milan won 1-0). AC Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi is the Godfather of Andriy's first son, Jordan. The day after Christian's birth, Shevchenko scored in a 4-0 Chelsea victory over Watford, and he and several of his teammates gathered and performed the popular "rock-the-baby" goal celebration as a tribute.

Shevchenko is a close friend of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, and has modelled for Armani and opened two boutiques with him in Kyiv.

In June 2005, Shevchenko became an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages charity.

Name

Shevchenko's first name (Андрій in Ukrainian) does not have a single way of being transliterated from its original spelling in the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet. Andriy is the spelling used throughout the player's official web site . It has also been adopted by UEFA and FIFA and is the preferred spelling in most English publications (although Andrii is used by World Soccer magazine and Andrei by Sky Sports). The correct pronunciation is [an.ˈdrij]. Dynamo Kyiv fans gave him the nickname Sheva,^{[citation needed]} a contraction of Shevchenko.

Career statistics

Club career

All-Time Club Performance

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cups1		Europe2		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dynamo Kyiv	1994/95	17	1	4	1	2	1	23	3
	1995/96	31	16	5	1	2	2	38	19
	1996/97	20	6	0	0	0	0	20	6
	1997/98	23	19	8	8	10	6	41	33
	1998/99	26	18	4	5	14	10	44	33
	Total	117	60	21	15	28	19	166	94
Milan	1999/00	32	24	5a	4	6	1	43	29
	2000/01	34	24	3	1	14	9	51	34
	2001/02	29	14	3	0	6	3	38	17
	2002/03	24	5	4	1	11	4	39	10
	2003/04	32	24	2a	0	11b	5b	45	29
	2004/05	29	17	1c	3c	10	6	40	26
	2005/06	28	19	0	0	12	9	40	28
	Total	208	127	18	9	70	37	296	173
Chelsea	2006/07	30	4	11d	7d	10	3	51	14
	Total	30	4	11	7	10	3	51	14
Career Totals		355	191	50	31	108	59	513	281

• ¹ Domestic Cup, League Cup and Super Cup
• ² UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup
• ^a Includes 1 game in the Italian Super Cup
• ^b Includes 1 game and 1 goal in the European Super Cup and 1 game in the Intercontinental Cup
• ^c Includes 1 game and 3 goals in the Italian Super Cup
• ^d Includes 4 games and 3 goals in the League Cup and 1 game and 1 goal in the FA Community Shield

International goals

Andriy Shevchenko: International Goals
(as of 11 October 2006)

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 May 1996	Samsun, Turkey	Turkey	3–2	Lost	Friendly
2.	2 April 1997	Kiev, Ukraine	Northern Ireland	2–1	Won	WC 1998 Qual
3.	7 May 1997	Kiev, Ukraine	Armenia	1–1	Draw	WC 1998 Qual
4.	11 October 1997	Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	0–2	Won	WC 1998 Qual
5.	15 November 1997	Kiev, Ukraine	Croatia	1–1	Draw	WC 1998 Qual Playoff
6.	15 July 1998	Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	1–2	Lost	Friendly
7.	9 October 1999	Moscow, Russia	Russia	1–1	Draw	EC 2000 Qual
8.	13 November 1999	Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	2–1	Lost	EC 2000 Qual Playoff
9.	26 April 2000	Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	0–1	Won	Friendly
10.	2 September 2000	Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	1–3	Lost	WC 2002 Qual
11.	7 October 2000	Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	2–3	Won	WC 2002 Qual
12.
13.	11 October 2000	Oslo, Norway	Norway	0–1	Won	WC 2002 Qual
14.	28 March 2001	Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–1	Draw	WC 2002 Qual
15.	1 September 2001	Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	0–2	Won	WC 2002 Qual
16.
17.	5 September 2001	Lviv, Ukraine	Armenia	3–0	Won	WC 2002 Qual
18.	6 October 2001	Chorzow, Poland	Poland	1–1	Draw	WC 2002 Qual
19.	14 November 2001	Dortmund, Germany	Germany	4–1	Lost	WC 2002 Qual Playoff
20.	7 June 2003	Lviv, Ukraine	Armenia	4–3	Won	EC 2004 Qual
21.
22.	10 September 2003	Elche, Spain	Spain	2–1	Lost	EC 2004 Qual
23.	9 October 2003	Kiev, Ukraine	Greece	1–1	Draw	WC 2006 Qual
24.	13 October 2004	Lviv, Ukraine	Georgia	2–0	Won	WC 2006 Qual
25.	17 November 2004	Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	0–3	Won	WC 2006 Qual
26.
27.	4 June 2005	Kiev, Ukraine	Kazakhstan	2–0	Won	WC 2006 Qual
28.	8 October 2005	Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine	Albania	2–2	Draw	WC 2006 Qual
29.	8 June 2006	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	0–3	Won	Friendly
30.	19 June 2006	Hamburg, Germany	Saudi Arabia	0–4	Won	WC 2006 Group H
31.	23 June 2006	Berlin, Germany	Tunisia	1-0	Won	WC 2006 Group H
32.	6 September 2006	Kiev, Ukraine	Georgia	3–2	Won	EC 2008 Qual
33.	11 October 2006	Kiev, Ukraine	Scotland	2–0	Won	EC 2008 Qual
34.	12 September 2007	Kiev, Ukraine	Italy	1–2	Lost	EC 2008 Qual

Honours

Club

Andriy Shevchenko

• Dynamo Kyiv
  • Ukrainian Premier League: 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99
  • Ukrainian Cup: 1996, 1998, 1999
• AC Milan
  • Serie A: 2003-04
  • Italian Cup: 2002-03
  • Italian Super Cup: 2004
  • UEFA Champions League: 2003
  • UEFA Super Cup: 2003
• Chelsea FC
  • English League Cup: 2007
  • FA Cup : 2007

Individual

• Ukrainian Premier League Top Scorer: 1998-99
• Serie A Top Scorer: 1999-2000, 2003-04
• European Footballer of the Year: Winner in 2004, 3rd in 1999 and 2000, 4th in 2003, 5th in 2005, 8th in 2001, Nominated in 1998 and 2006
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 3rd in 2004, 5th in 2000, 6th in 2005, 7th in 1999, 9th in 2001, 10th in 2003, 21st in 2006
• UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1998-99, 2000-01, 2005-06
• Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005
• UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 1998-99
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2000
• Member of the FIFA 100
• Ukraine National Team Top Goalscorer
• Second all-time scorer in the history of European club competitions
• Second all-time scorer in the history of A.C. Milan

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