Andrey Nikolaevich Shevchenko (born. The best scorer in the history of the Ukrainian national team (48 goals). Since July 15, 2016 he is the head coach of the Ukrainian national team.
Winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2004, twice the top scorer in the Champions League and twice in the Italian championship. The second scorer in the history of Milan. He was recognized as the best football player in Ukraine six times.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Andriy Shevchenko, which we will tell about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Andriy Shevchenko.
Biography of Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko was born on September 29, 1976 in the village of Dvorkovshchina (Kiev region). He grew up and was brought up in the family of a serviceman, Nikolai Grigorievich, and his wife Lyubov Nikolaevna.
Childhood and youth
When Andrey was about 3 years old, he and his parents moved to Kiev. The boy took his first steps in football on the sports school ground. Soon he began to play for the ZhEK team, whose coach was a woman.
At one of the children's competitions, Shevchenko was noticed by the mentor of the children's and youth academy of Kiev "Dynamo" Alexander Shpakov. Initially, the parents were opposed to the son playing football, since the father wanted to make him a military man.
However, Shpakov still managed to explain to Shevchenko's father and mother that the child had great potential. As a result, the boy began to actively train at the academy.
In 1990, at the age of 14, Andrei became the top scorer in the Ian Russia Cup tournament. The famous Liverpool player Ian Rush presented Shevchenko with professional boots after the match.
After that, Andrei continued to perform in various competitions, winning international prizes and titles.
Football
Initially, Shevchenko played for the second team of Dynamo Kiev, where he demonstrated a high level of play. In 1994, he was invited to the main team, thanks to which he was able to play not only in the national championship, but also in the Champions League.
With each passing year, Andrey progressed noticeably, attracting more and more attention of both Ukrainian and foreign experts to his person.
The 1997/98 season turned out to be very successful for Shevchenko. He was able to score 3 goals in the match against Barcelona, as well as score 19 goals in the Ukrainian championship.
In the following season, Andrey scored 33 goals and became the league's top scorer with 18 goals. In addition, he also proved to be the top scorer of the Champions League.
Before moving to Milan, Shevchenko scored 106 goals for Dynamo in all tournaments. He became the champion of Ukraine 5 times and took the Cup of the country 3 times. In addition, he became a key player in the national team.
In the spring of 1999, Andrei moved to Milan for a fantastic $ 25 million. In his first year, he became the top scorer in the Italian championship, scoring 24 goals. The following season, he repeated his achievement.
The Ukrainian continued to demonstrate a bright game, becoming a favorite of local fans. It was during this period of Shevchenko's sports biography that he managed to fully reveal his talent.
Andrey was distinguished by high speed, endurance, technique, as well as a strong and accurate blow from both legs. In addition, he often scored from free kicks and was a regular penalty taker in both Milan and the national team.
Shevchenko played for Milan for 7 years and was able to win all possible titles with the team. He became the champion of the Italian "Serie A", won the Italian Cup, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.
In 2004, Andriy Shevchenko received the most prestigious individual award - the Golden Ball. In the same year he received the title of Hero of Ukraine. He soon found himself on the FIFA 100 Best Football Players list and the list of the 20th century's greatest footballers.
Football club "Milan" was among the strongest in the world at the time when Shevchenko played for him. After his departure, the Italian club began to regress.
In 2006, the forward became a player for Chelsea London. His transfer was about £ 30 million. However, in the new team, Andrei was no longer the leader he was in Milan.
In 48 matches Shevchenko scored only 9 goals. Later, he was injured, as a result of which he rarely appeared on the football field. In 2008 he was loaned back to Milan by the London club.
The following year, the Ukrainian returned to his native Dynamo, where he completed his professional career. For the Kiev club, he spent 55 more matches, scoring 23 goals.
After leaving football, Shevchenko underwent coaching courses, having received the appropriate license. In early 2016, he was offered a place in the coaching staff of the Ukrainian national team. In the summer of the same year, he became the main mentor of the Ukrainian national team, replacing Mikhail Fomenko in this post.
Personal life
Andrei met his future wife, model Kristen Pazik in Italy. In this marriage, the couple had four boys - Jordan, Christian, Alexander and Ryder-Gabriel.
Shevchenko is the founder of his charitable foundation, which helps orphans. He owns an Armani clothing boutique in Kiev, and his wife runs a clothing store in America.
Few people know the fact that Andrey is not only a talented footballer, but also a professional golfer. In 2011, he took 2nd place in the Ukrainian championship in this sport, and a couple of years later he became the winner of a tournament in one of the golf clubs in England.
In 2012, the athlete became interested in politics, joining the Ukraine-Forward party. In the parliamentary elections of that year, this political force was supported by less than 2% of voters, as a result of which the party was unable to enter parliament.
Andriy Shevchenko today
By 2020, Shevchenko heads the Ukrainian national football team. Under his leadership, the national team was able to take 1st place in the qualifying group for Euro 2020. It is worth noting that Portugal and Serbia were in the group with the Ukrainians.
In 2018, Andrey was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy.
Photo by Andrey Shevchenko
