One last shove for Sheva

If it wasn’t for Euro 2012, Andriy Shevchenko would probably have retired by now. The forward, commonly described as Europe’s most complete since Marco van Basten, is 35 now and, although he has looked after himself like few others, the body is beginning to creak.

His pace has deserted him and it may even be that he is no longer an automatic starter for Ukraine any more. After his difficult spell at Chelsea and a season on loan at AC Milan, he returned to Dynamo Kyiv, his first club, in September 2009, driven by the thought of playing in a major tournament on home soil.

“It’s fair to say that Ukraine earning the right to co-host Euro 2012 in April 2007 prolonged my career,” he said. “During these last five years I have dreamed and prepared myself to play in such a magnificent tournament, having always in mind the thought that this is my first European Championship and definitely the last major football event for me.”

Shevchenko’s only other major tournament was the World Cup in 2006 and that was arguably where his decline began. He had won a Ballon d’Or, a Serie A title and a Champions League and twice been Serie A top scorer in his time at AC Milan, to go with his five Ukrainian Premier League winner’s medals and five Ukrainian Footballer of the Year awards. But shortly before the World Cup, he suffered a knee injury. Desperate to play at the tournament, he rushed back to fitness and, as a result, was never at his best. He arrived at Chelsea with an injury, having just turned 30 and — for the first time in his life — having not had a summer off. Add in the fact that Jose Mourinho never really wanted him, and the fact he disappointed is perhaps not surprising,

“That was my drama,” said Shevchenko. “In my second year in London I felt myself on the rise. I scored seven goals in 12 starts. But when we played Aston Villa [on Dec 26, 2007; a 4-4 draw]; I scored two goals and 12 minutes before the final whistle I felt that I couldn’t continue to play because of a terrible pain in the calf muscle. Later on the doctors revealed that the problem was in spinal department where the nerve that led to the calf was suppressed. After that it wasn’t just that I couldn’t play — I couldn’t walk properly. The recovery lasted more then two years…”

The Euros, Shevchenko believes, come as part of a general improvement in the Ukrainian game. “Professional football in the country has changed immensely,” he said, comparing football in his homeland now to when he left in 1999. “The owners of the biggest clubs have made heavy investments. They’ve established the Ukrainian Premier League. The players receive good money and they don’t seek to move abroad to average European clubs anymore. It looks like every part of the game, including the clubs’ organisation, the media and television has become more professional.

“The Euros have already had a big influence on our local football as the stadiums in Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv attracted bigger crowds for Premier League matches than last season.

“As for the team, we must reach the knockout stage and then try to progress as far as we can.”