Shevchenko discusses Milan return, Juventus penalty and message from Dinamo: “I would have to”

Andriy Shevchenko is among the most elite names in football history, and he enjoyed some of the highest highs at AC Milan.

When you think of top-tier strikers, especially in a Milanese sense, few names get level with Shevchenko, and even fewer surpass him. The Ukrainian striker was simply that good, and he made a great team an even better one.

With the Rossoneri, he enjoyed a successful seven years, scoring 127 games in just more than 200 games. In that time, he also won the Champions League, a Scudetto and several other individual accolades.

However, the peak was the Ballon d’Or he received in 2004, a crowning moment of an already illustrious career.

Shevchenko’s words

For him, the decision to move to the Diavolo was mandatory, and he was told the same at Dinamo Kyiv if he ever wanted to win the Golden Ball, as he tells Prime Video, via MilanPress.

“When I played at Dinamo, they told me that if I wanted to win the Golden Ball, I would have to play for Milan. In Ukraine, it is not even clear how we manage to play, but the importance of football is that it is a hope for many children.

“In all these years of the war, I have understood that there are no impossible things.”

A larger excerpt of his discussion with Luca Toni on ‘Fenomeni’ was published by Calciomercato.com.

“In 2008, I was at 50% of the Sheva of before. Spalletti had also called me to go to Rome, a gentleman. But for me, returning to Italy only meant Milan.”

Saying no to Real Madrid…

“In 2002 and 2003, they looked for me, but I reassured Berlusconi by telling him that I felt I had not yet done anything for Milan. For me, the goal was to win and give everything with Milan. It was a challenge [to leave for Chelsea]. At that time, English football was reaching today’s levels.

“I remember watching Milan-Roma from the corner with the fans, the whole stadium sang for me, asking me to stay, and I cried with them. It was a difficult decision, but I wanted to try a new experience.

“The companions were very close to me at that time. The following year, Milan won the Champions League, but I have no regrets. I know I gave them my soul.”

That penalty vs. Juventus…

“I had observed it in all the previous penalties. I had to wait for him to choose a corner. Every step I took towards the penalty spot, I kept repeating to myself “Don’t change the decision, don’t change the decision”, because I already knew where to kick it, but not how.

“Arriving on the penalty spot for a while, I didn’t hear the referee’s whistle, so as you can see from the pictures, I kept turning around looking at him and Gigi alternately. Later, when I returned to the locker room, I felt tired; I was empty. I had given everything I had.”