Shevchenko began his career atDynamo Kyiv and won five league titles in a row, as well as three domestic cups, before signing forAC Milan. In Milan, he established himself as one of the top strikers in Europe, and wonSerie A in 2004. He later played forChelsea (where he won both domestic cups in his first season), and returned to play for Milan on loan, and for Dynamo, where he finished his career. While playing for Milan and Chelsea, Shevchenko made theChampions League final on three occasions: winning in2003 and as a runner-up in2005 and2008. He was named in theFIFA World XI for 2005. In 2004, he was named as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers as part ofFIFA's 100th anniversary celebration, and in the same year, he also received theBallon d'Or.[12] In his international career, he led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first everFIFA World Cup appearance in2006, and also took part atUEFA Euro 2012 on home soil.
Shevchenko is ranked as the seventh top goalscorer in allUEFA club competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, he is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time top scorer of theDerby della Madonnina (thederby between Milan and their local rivalsInter Milan) with 14 goals.
Shevchenko was born inDvirkivshchyna,Ukrainian SSR, in 1976,[20] into the family ofPraporshchik Mykola Hryhorovych Shevchenko. In 1979, his family moved to the newly built neighbourhood in Kyiv –Obolon (Minsk District was created in 1975).[21] In Kyiv, Shevchenko went to the 216th City School and in 1986 (aged 9) enrolled into the football section coached by Oleksandr Shpakov. Because of theaccident at theChernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, together with his sport group he was evacuated temporarily from the city. At an early age, he also was a competitiveboxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league,[22] but eventually he elected to move on tofootball.[23]
In 1986, Shevchenko failed a dribbling test for entrance to a specialist sports school inKyiv, but happened to catch the eye of aDynamo Kyiv scout while playing in a youth tournament, and was thus brought to the club. Four years later, Shevchenko was in the Dynamo under-14 team for theIan Rush Cup (now the Welsh Super Cup); he finished as the tournament's top scorer and was awarded a pair of Rush's boots as a reward by the then-Liverpool player.[24]
Shevchenko started out his professional career at age 16 when he came on for only 12 minutes as a substitute in a 0–2 home loss to the Odesa second teamChornomorets-2 Odesa on 5 May 1993. He was a substitute for the last six home games of the1992–93 Ukrainian First League and did not score any goals. The next1993–94 season in the second tier, Shevchenko was the top goalscorer forDynamo-2 with 12 goals, and he made his first appearance in the starting XI. Shevchenko scored his first goal againstKrystal Chortkiv in a 1–1 home draw on 7 October 1993. During the same season, he recorded his first hat-trick in a home game againstArtania Ochakiv on 21 November 1993 which Dynamo-2 won 4–1. Shevchenko stayed with Dynamo-2 until the end of 1994 and was once again called up for one game in late 1996.[citation needed]
He made hisVyshcha Liha debut for Dynamo Kiev on 8 November 1994 in an away game againstShakhtar Donetsk when he was 18. It was actually his second game for the senior squad overall after he had played a home game of the National Cup on 5 November 1994 againstSkala Stryi. That year, Shevchenko became a national champion and a cup holder with Dynamo. He won his second league title the next season, scoring 6 goals in 20 matches. He scored ahat-trick in the first half of a1997–98 UEFA Champions League away match againstBarcelona, which Dynamo won 4–0;[25] no other visitor to theCamp Nou scored a Champions League treble until 2021.[26] His 19 goals in 23 league matches and six goals in tenChampions League matches (including a hat-trick over two legs againstReal Madrid) were followed by a total of 33 goals in all competitions in the 1998–99 season. He won the domestic league title with Dynamo in each of his five seasons with the club.[citation needed]
In 1999, Shevchenko joined Italian clubMilan for a then-record transfer fee of $25 million. He made his league debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2–2 draw withLecce.[27] Alongside five other players –Michel Platini,John Charles,Gunnar Nordahl,István Nyers, andFerenc Hirzer – he managed, as a foreign player, to win theSerie A best goalscorer award in his debut season, finishing with 24 goals in 32 matches. Shevchenko maintained his excellent form into the2000–01 season, scoring 24 goals in 34 matches, including nine goals in 14 Champions League games. During the same season, he also reunited withKakha Kaladze as teammates when Milan signed the Georgian defender from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2001.[28]
Despite netting only five times in 24 matches, mainly due to injuries, Shevchenko became the first Ukrainian-born player to win the Champions League after Milan lifted their sixth trophy in2002–03. He scored the crucial away goal against rivalsInter Milan in the semi-final,[29] and then scored the winning penalty in theshoot out againstJuventus in thefinal, which had ended goalless after extra time.[30] Following Milan's Champions League victory, Shevchenko flew to Kyiv to put his medal by the grave of his former managerValeriy Lobanovskyi, who died in 2002. He also scored the winning goal in the2003 UEFA Super Cup victory overPorto.[31] Shevchenko finished top goalscorer in Serie A in2003–04 for the second time in his career, scoring 24 goals in 32 matches as Milan won theScudetto for the first time in five years, leading to Milan's second trophy of the season.[32] In August2004, he scored three goals againstLazio as Milan won theSupercoppa Italiana.[33] Shevchenko capped off the year by being awarded the2004 Ballon d'Or, becoming the third Ukrainian player ever to win the award afterOleg Blokhin andIgor Belanov.[34] In the same year, Shevchenko was also inducted into theFIFA 100.[35]
He scored 17 goals in the2004–05 season after missing several games with a fractured cheekbone. Shevchenko made Champions League history the following season; on 23 November 2005, he scored all four goals in Milan's 4–0 group stage drubbing ofFenerbahçe, becoming only the fifth player to accomplish this feat; his company includesMarco van Basten,Simone Inzaghi,Dado Pršo andRuud van Nistelrooy (whileLionel Messi joined that group in the2009–10 season and Robert Lewandowski in2012–13 and2019–20), and Shevchenko was the only player to have done it in an away game untilOlivier Giroud did so forChelsea, away toSevilla, in the2020–21 season.[36] Milan eventually lost the tournament when Shevchenko missed the deciding penalty in thefinal shoot-out against Liverpool.[37] In the2005–06 Champions League, he scored his last Milan goal in the second leg of the quarter-final as they eliminatedLyon after a last-minute comeback in a 3–1 victory.[38] In the semi-final, Milan lost to eventual winners Barcelona 1–0, a match where Shevchenko controversially had a last minute equaliser denied by the referee.[39] Despite this, he still ended up being the top scorer of the whole competition with 9 goals in 12 games.[40]
On 8 February 2006, Shevchenko became Milan's second highest all-time goalscorer, behind Gunnar Nordahl, after netting againstTreviso.[41] He finished the season as joint fourth-top scorer with 19 goals in 28 games. Shevchenko ended his seven-year stint with Milan with 175 goals in 296 games.[citation needed]
During the summer of 2005, there were persistent reports thatChelsea ownerRoman Abramovich offered a record sum €73 million and strikerHernán Crespo to Milan in exchange for Shevchenko.[42] Milan refused the monetary offer but took Crespo on loan. Chelsea chief executivePeter 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."[43] Shevchenko cited that the persistence of Abramovich was a key factor in his move.[44] Milan, desperate to keep the striker, offered Shevchenko a six-year contract extension.[45]
Shevchenko with Chelsea in 2007
On 28 May 2006, Shevchenko left Milan for Chelsea for £30.8 million (€43.875 million[46][47]), toppingMichael Essien's transfer fee from the previous year and also breaking the record for a player signed by an English club.[48] He received the number seven shirt, as Chelsea managerJosé Mourinho said that Shevchenko could continue wearing it.[49]
Shevchenko made his debut for Chelsea on 13 August 2006 in theFA Community Shield, scoring his side's goal in a 2–1 loss to Liverpool.[50] On 23 August, he scored his firstPremier League goal – and his 300th in top-flight and international football – in a 2–1 loss toMiddlesbrough.[51] He scored goals sporadically throughout the season, including equalisers against Porto andValencia in the2006–07 Champions League and another againstLondon rival clubTottenham Hotspur in theFA Cup to help take his side into thesemi-final.[52][53] He finished with a total of 14 from 51 games. During the campaign, he netted his 57th career goal in European competitions, leaving him second behindGerd Müller on the all-time European goalscorers list, beforeFilippo Inzaghi made the record his own in the2007–08 Champions League.[54] Shevchenko's 2006–07 season was cut short due to injury and a hernia operation. He missed the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool and theFA Cup final againstManchester United at the newWembley Stadium on 19 May 2007.[55] He did, however, start for Chelsea in the2007 League Cup final victory overArsenal in which he hit the crossbar which would have given Chelsea a 3–1 lead.[56]
Shevchenko was handed his first start of the2007–08 season againstBlackburn Rovers at home to cover for the injuredDidier Drogba, but the game finished goalless.[57] His first goal of the season came three days later, equalising for Chelsea in a match againstRosenborg, which turned out to be Mourinho's last game as manager of Chelsea.[58] Throughout the season, Shevchenko was in and out of the starting line-up because of injuries and the appointment ofAvram Grant following the departure of Mourinho. During the Christmas period, however, Shevchenko enjoyed a good run of form. He scored the first goal in Chelsea's 2–0 win overSunderland,[59] and he was namedman of the match in Chelsea's 4–4 draw againstAston Villa atStamford Bridge, scoring twice (including a stunning 25-yard shot into the top left hand corner) and assistingAlex to make the score 3–2 in Chelsea's favour.[60] Shevchenko scored his last goal in the 2007–08 season in a 1–1 draw withBolton Wanderers.[61] He finished the season with five league goals in 17 games. Shevchenko also played a part in a pre-season match which was against his former team, Milan.[citation needed]
Shevchenko was not used very often in the starting line-up at Chelsea, and with the appointment ofLuiz Felipe Scolari, he was deemed surplus to requirements. Due to this, Milan vice-presidentAdriano Galliani offered to take Shevchenko back to theSan Siro and Shevchenko wasloaned back to his old club for the2008–09 season.[62]
Shevchenko failed to score any league goals and only scored 2 goals in 26 appearances, starting only nine of those games. He returned to Chelsea for the final year of his four-year contract, where he was joined by his former Milan managerCarlo Ancelotti.[63]
Shevchenko was not even on the bench for Chelsea's penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United at Wembley at the weekend in the season-opening Community Shield.[7] After making a late appearance for Chelsea in their second game of the2009–10 season, Ancelotti announced that Shevchenko would be likely to leave Chelsea before the summer transfer window closed.[64] Despite this, Ancelotti said it had nothing to do with his decision to leave Shevchenko out of Chelsea's2009–10 Champions League squad, but just to continue playing first-team football.[65]
On 28 August 2009, Shevchenko signed a two-year deal at his former club Dynamo Kyiv,[66] and scored a penalty-goal in his first game upon returning to his former club againstMetalurh Donetsk in Dynamo's 3–1 victory on 31 August. He was mostly used as a left winger and central midfielder, and was named left winger in the 2009 team of the season.[67] On 16 September, Shevchenko played his first Champions League match after returning to Dynamo, againstRubin Kazan, in Dynamo's first game of the 2009–10 season. In October, he was named the best player of theUkrainian Premier League. On 4 November, he scored a goal in the game againstInter Milan,cross-city rivals of his former club AC Milan, in the fourth game of the Champions League season. It was the 15th goal he had scored against Inter in his career.[68]
On 28 July 2012, Shevchenko announced that he was quitting footballfor politics.[13]
In a 21 December 2009 interview withUEFA, Shevchenko declared that he was keen to play in his home country atEuro 2012. "After a disappointing2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, that is my new challenge, or even dream. I will do everything to achieve that."[75] In May 2012, Shevchenko was named in the Ukrainian squad for Euro 2012. InUkraine's opening game, Shevchenko scored two headers to beatSweden 2–1 inGroup D.[8][76] After his country was eliminated from the group, Shevchenko announced he would retire from international football, having been Ukraine's youngest and oldest goalscorer and record marksman with 48 goals in 111 appearances.[77]
Shevchenko's number 7Milan jersey in theSan Siro museum
A fast, hardworking, energetic, and well-rounded striker, Shevchenko was a prolific and highly opportunistic goalscorer, who was usually deployed as an out-and-outstriker in acentre-forward role,[78][79][80] although he was capable of operating anywhere along the front line,[79] and often played in a free role, in which he could attack from theleft wing, and get past opposing defenders with his runs into the penalty area, courtesy of his pace and movement off the ball. He also occupied a wider position as an outright winger on the left flank at times, in particular at the beginning of his career, and also during his second stint with Dynamo Kyiv during his later years;[67][80][81][82] he was also capable of playing on the right.[79][80] Shevchenko was also effective from set-pieces,[80][83][84] and was an accurate penalty taker.[79][80][84][85] A strong and physical striker with a clinical eye for goal, he was primarily known for his excellent positional sense, movement off the ball, and finishing ability inside the box, as well as his composure in front of goal; moreover, he possessed a powerful and accurate shot with either foot, from both inside and outside the area. Although he was not known to take part in aerial duels frequently, he was also good in the air, due to his heading ability. Often compared by pundits to fellow former Milan striker Marco van Basten, although he was not as elegant as the Dutch forward, he also possessed good technical skills himself, which along with his pace and physicality, made him effective whendribbling or carrying the ball at speed on the run. Furthermore, despite mainly being a goalscorer, he was capable of playing off of his teammates and providing assists, in addition to scoring goals himself, due to his link-up play.[6][78][79][80][84][86][87][88][89][90]
Shevchenko is considered by several pundits to be one of the greatest strikers of all time, as well as one of the best footballers of his generation, and Ukraine’s greatest player ever.[9][10][91][92][93] In 2004, he was named byPelé as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration.[12]
Shevchenko during a game between Ukraine andIceland in 2016
In November 2012, Shevchenko initially refused to acceptFootball Federation of Ukraine's proposal to become head coach of the Ukraine national team.[94]
From 16 February to 15 July 2016, Shevchenko served as the assistant manager of the Ukraine national team. On 15 July 2016, Shevchenko was appointed as manager of the Ukraine national team. The 39-year-old replacedMykhaylo Fomenko, whose four-year spell ended with elimination at the group stage of Euro 2016. He signed a two-year contract with the possibility of another two-year extension. Former Italy and Milan defenderMauro Tassotti, who was assistant coach when Shevchenko was at Milan, joined his coaching staff, as did former Dynamo coachRaúl Riancho, and formerMilan Youth System coach Andrea Maldera.[95] On 14 October 2019, Shevchenko led Ukraine toqualify for Euro 2020 with a 2–1 home win over reigning European championsPortugal.[96][97]
AtUEFA Euro 2020, Shevchenko led Ukraine to reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in their history.[98] His side finished as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group stage, then beatingSweden in extra time in the round of 16 and suffering an exit toEngland in the next round. Despite Ukraine’s successful tournament, on 1 August 2021, he announced his departure from the post.[99]
On 7 November 2021, Shevchenko was announced as the new head coach ofSerie A sideGenoa, following the club's takeover by US investment firm 777 Partners, replacingDavide Ballardini. He signed a contract until 2024 for the 18th-placed team who had won once in 12 games.[100][101] Two weeks later, he lost 2–0 on his debut at home toRoma, managed by his former Chelsea bossJosé Mourinho.[102] On 15 January 2022, Shevchenko was sacked after two months having won just one match and lost seven during the time.[103]
After his retirement in June 2012, Shevchenko immediately joinedUkraine – Forward! (formerly known as Ukrainian Social Democratic Party)[13][106] and took second place on the party list for the October2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[14] This was in spite of him stating a month earlier that he wanted to coach after his playing career: "This is the world I understand, the world I want to stay in."[107] In the election his party won 1.58% of the national votes and noconstituencies and thus failed to win parliamentary representation.[15][16]
Shevchenko became the Vice President of theNational Olympic Committee of Ukraine on 17 November 2022. He left the National Olympic Committee in January 2023 due to disagreement with the results of the election of its new PresidentVadym Gutzeit.[17]
Shevchenko in aposter campaign for the Ukrainian branch ofUNICEF, 2012
Shevchenko's first name (Андрій in Ukrainian) has multiple ways of beingtransliterated from its original spelling in theUkrainianCyrillic alphabet into theLatin alphabet;Andriy is the spelling used throughout the player's official web site.[108] It has also been adopted by UEFA andFIFA and is the preferred spelling in most English publications.
Shevchenko is married to American modelKristen Pazik, daughter of baseball playerMike Pazik. The couple met at aGiorgio Armani afterparty in 2002 and married on 14 July 2004 in a private ceremony on a golf course inWashington, D.C.[109][110] As of 2006, the couple communicated in Italian as he did not speak English and she did not speak Russian.[111] After his return to Dynamo Kyiv in August 2009, the couple declared that they want their children to learnUkrainian.[112]
The couple have four sons born between 2004 and 2014.[113][114] Shevchenko commemorated his first son's birth by scoring the only goal againstSampdoria;[115] Milan owner and formerPrime Minister of ItalySilvio Berlusconi was the boy's godfather.[116] The day after his second son's birth in 2006, Shevchenko scored in a 4–0 Chelsea victory overWatford and he and several of his teammates gathered and performed the popular"rock-the-baby" goal celebration as a tribute.[117]
Shevchenko was a close friend of fashion designerGiorgio Armani, and modelled for Armani and opened two boutiques with him in Kyiv.[109] With his wife, he has started an e-commerce website called Ikkon.com, dedicated to men's fashion and lifestyle.[107]
In June 2005, he became an ambassador for theSOS Children's Villages charity.[118] Shevchenko also has a foundation to support orphaned children.[107]
In 2022, Shevchenko became an ambassador forUnited24, a government-supported aid organization in Ukraine.[119]
Shevchenko, an avidgolfer, participated in his first professional golf tournament, theKharkov Superior Cup, in September 2013.[120]
Shevchenko represented the Rest of the World team against England forSoccer Aid on 8 June 2014.[121]
Besides Russian, Shevchenko also speaks English, Italian and to some extent Ukrainian. He has said that he is working to improve his Ukrainian.[122][123]
Shevchenko presented with a Ukraine shirt before making his 100th appearance in 2010.
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Shevchenko being honoured byUEFA in 2011 for their 100thcap. They are the first and third, respectively, most capped players in the history of Ukraine.
^ab"Ukraine's Ultranationalists Show Surprising Strength at Polls".The New York Times. 8 November 2012. p. A11.
^ab"Proportional votes" (in Ukrainian). Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine. Archived fromthe original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved14 November 2012.
^"Sheva ritorna dove è "nato"".La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 29 August 1999.Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved8 November 2019.
^Lyon, Sam (21 February 2007)."FC Porto 1-1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved20 March 2025. Stevenson, Jonathan (10 April 2007)."Valencia 1-2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved20 March 2025.
^abc"Hall of Fame". AC Milan.Archived from the original on 8 December 2011. Retrieved8 November 2019.
^abcdeSchianchi, Andrea (28 September 2004)."Cercasi anima gemella per Sheva".La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian).Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved8 November 2019.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
