http://www.chelseafc.com/Player.asp?plid=6618

PLAYER PROFILES

Andrei Shevchenko


Andriy Shevchenko was purchased from AC Milan for a Chelsea record fee on
the final day of May 2006. He signed a four year contract.


The arrival prompted Jose Mourinho to declare: “Today is a day when the
dream became reality. Andriy has always been my first choice for Chelsea
since I arrived.  Before it was not possible, now it is for real. He has
great qualities, ambition, discipline, tactical awareness and of course he
is a great goalscorer.”


Shevchenko began his professional career at Dynamo Kiev in his Ukraine
homeland, winning five league titles and two national cups in five seasons
between 1994 and 1999.


He came to prominence across Europe when scoring a first-half hat-trick in
a Champions League win against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the 1997-98
season. The season after, he spearheaded Kiev into the semi-finals of the
competition. The giants of AC Milan came calling, paying a transfer fee of
$26 million.


Shevchenko's debut Serie A season ended with the player topscorer, having
found the net 24 times in 32 appearances. He was the first non-Italian to
achieve such a feat in his first Serie A season. His Champions League
debut for Milan came at Stamford Bridge in a 0-0 draw.


The Champions League would eventually provide a major career highlight,
the striker scoring the winning penalty in a shoot-out in the Final. That
was against Juventus at Old Trafford in 2003. He followed this up by
scoring the winning goal in the UEFA Super Cup - the opposition, Jose
Mourinho's Porto.


He finished top of the scoring chart in Serie A for the second time in
2003-04, with same total as four years earlier - 24 goals in 32 matches -
helping Milan to end a wait of four years for the league title.


In December 2004, Shevchenko was named the European Footballer of the Year.


In total with Milan he won one Serie A title, one Champions League, one
European Super Cup, one Italian Cup and one Italian Super Cup.


There was disappointment in the Champions League Final against Liverpool
two years ago when a penalty shoot-out brought defeat, Shevchenko this
time missing the decisive kick.


The 2005/6 season saw milestones passed. He became Milan's second all-time
topscorer after netting against Treviso in February and a goal against
Lyon in the Champions League quarter-finals made it 52 goals in 90 games
in that competition, a record including qualification games. His nine
goals in the tournament this season was bettered by no-one.


He scored 173 times for Milan in 296 games.


In the summer of 2006 Shevchenko captained Ukraine in their first World
Cup Finals having scored six times during qualification.