Old friend to new foe

Sheva still enjoys lavish praise from Italian opposition but that could change, writes Ben Lyttleton.

AC MILAN fans spent much of their World Cup build-up trying to keep star striker Andriy Shevchenko at the club, but the 30-year-old was seduced by his friendship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and agreed a move to London just before the World Cup started.

Shevchenko spoke movingly of his successful seven years at the San Siro and was touched that over tens of thousands of Milan fans launched petitions to beg him to stay at the club. One fan created a website called www.shevarestaconnoi.com (meaning. ‘Sheva, Stay with us’) and over 13,000 fans signed up.