New Delhi: As figurehead of a Ukraine side with a limited sporting tradition and no other big name stars, Andriy Shevchenko was faced by the seemingly impossible task of hauling his country along the path to Germany practically single-handed.
But the Ukrainian captain is not one to be fazed by a tough challenge.
And while it would be simplistic to attribute Ukraine’s successful campaign solely to the performances of their famous striker, the man known as Sheva has definitely had a lot to do with it.
To qualify from a group containing not only reigning European champions Greece, but also a Turkish side that finished third at the last FIFA World Cup and a stalwart of top international tournaments, Denmark.
The Ukrainians were banking on their principal attacking weapon to see them through.
And the AC Milan striker who has now joined the English club Chelsea, did not let them down.
Top scorer for his team and one of the most prolific in the European zone with six goals, the Ukrainian ace justified the faith of a nation every time he turned out.
After getting off the mark with the winning goal against Greece and then bagging a brace to stun Turkey in Istanbul, Sheva soon had his country firmly on the path to Germany.
Although it is only now, at 30, that the Ukrainian is about to get his first taste of the FIFA World Cup, Shevchenko’s class has long been shining on pitches all over Europe.
In the early days of his career, he fired his first club Dynamo Kiev to five consecutive league titles, though it was not these fabulous domestic exploits that would change his life.
Instead, his talent was revealed during a 1997/98 UEFA Champions League match against Barcelona at the Camp Nou with the hitherto-unheralded Shevchenko grabbing a hat-trick and all the headlines.
The directors of AC Milan had seen enough and snapped up the Ukrainian prodigy the following year. Sheva promptly finished top scorer in Serie A in his very first season with 24 goals.
From then on, the scenario became a familiar one as, with each season, he defied statisticians and defenders alike by allying speed and technique with a rare composure and uncanny eye for goal.
And now just before his World Cup debut Shevchenko has joined Chelsea for a record club fee for a four-year stint with the English Club.
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