There have been few more complete strikers in the modern game than Andriy Shevchenko.
A powerful all-rounder who could score from distance or slalom through opposition defences, he was, at his peak, the world’s best striker, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2004 to sit alongside winners’ medals from Serie A and the Champions League.
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To mark the release of his new book entitled My Life, My Football, Shevchenko talks The Athletic through 10 goals from his long career. It comprises some with his right foot, his left foot and with his head. It features long-range screamers, poacher’s efforts and powerful dribbles. It includes goals for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea and Ukraine. Arguably no one else has been capable of scoring in so many different ways.
A headed opener in a 4-0 win at Barcelona, November 1997
This is when people started to realise that this was a brilliant Dynamo Kyiv team, and you were a fantastic player, on a wider European stage…
Exactly, yeah. It’s like an exhibition and our best performance. After this game, everybody started talking about me, and the team, too. An excellent game, a good goal.
And when people talk about this team, they always mentioned you and Serhiy Rebrov as a partnership. Why did you two work so well on the pitch?
Because we saw football in the same way. We were also friends off the pitch and when that relationship was built, we started to play better.
Tell me about the run for this goal…
I make the space for myself because I know the timing. This is all about when the taker is gonna come to the ball and cross, to calculate the trajectory, and when you stay back a little bit here (just before the free kick is taken)…
… and then the players start to move, you start to get inside of the box and you can see the trajectory of the ball. I already know where the ball is going to land. The defenders don’t read that it’s going to land in behind them. That’s how I’ve read the game well.
Are you looking at the defenders?
That gap (between the defenders) and the cross. It’s started, I’ve given myself the best possibility to get into the position in which to score. Because if my run is here (far post), well, the ball could come here. But what’s the percentage I could score? That’s what I’ve calculated.
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I see this space (at the near post). I calculate if the ball is going to come here with this trajectory, and if I’m gonna be there, I score. But if I come here (far post), no chance, even if the ball comes. But on this occasion, the ball is perfectly delivered in the space, when I’m thinking I’m going to go there.
Can you see the goalkeeper coming?
I knew the goalkeeper was going to come out. You have to understand the angles. That was enough for me, a little touch in front of the goalkeeper.
A famous run through the Bari defence in a 4-1 win, February 2000
I’m sure you remember this one. A classic goal.
Yeah, just running… I know if I run with the ball… at that time I was quite speedy and just tried to get past the first defender. That was one of my strengths because I stayed up front, waiting for something like that to come.
So you never had to go back to defend corners?
No, I didn’t go back. The coach put me there, in that position. Just waiting for the ball to come. I want to be in the best position to hold the ball. I pass the defender and just start running.
There are a few of these goals where the defenders are always trying to barge you off the ball, but you’ve got great strength. In your new book, you speak about the intense physical training at Dynamo. Was that a big factor when you came to Italy?
No, the big factor was my low centre of gravity, it’s very low, quite stable.
When you’re here, do you always know you’re going to go into the space?
No, I just go straight to him. Just make sure the ball is close to me. With good control of the ball, you don’t have to go right or left and the defender has to make the decision, what is he going to do?
There’s a good angle here of your body feint.
I’m at the point where I can trick him because the distance between me and him is short, but it’s enough for me to make that (trick) — because if I come closer, I’ve lost control and he’ll take the ball from me. And then, with the finish, I just work an angle and just placed the ball.
You were very comfortable on both feet. Is that something you worked on as a kid?
Well… especially when I played in Italy, I started to work on my left foot.
A legendary goal from a crazy angle against Juventus in a 1-1 draw, December 2001
This goal, I don’t have to introduce. It’s often spoken about as your best goal. Is this your favourite?
One of them. I have to say that it’s a great goal, but… there’s a little bit of luck. Because I was looking, (to see) where are my team-mates… and then just tried to hit it because there’s no chance of anyone coming in the box. I just tried to place the ball and finished it very well. It’s a good goal, good skills, stay up and then shoot.
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I remember people were saying…
… cross…
They saw you look up…
I always look! Because I have to understand the position of players, the position of the goalkeeper. It would be crazy if I didn’t look before I shot.
When I pause it there, there’s no way that’s a cross.
No, of course.
And this is against Gianluigi Buffon. When you were playing against someone like that, did it change the way you shot?
No, this one is just… because from that angle, that’s the only way I could get it in. If I shot strong, it would be easy to save. What’s the best decision? If I’m in that position, I can only go over him, try to do that shot.
A disguised shot inside the near post in a 3-3 draw with Bologna, February 2001
So the interesting thing here is, we spoke about your partnership with Rebrov, here on the ball is Pippo Inzaghi…
No, this is not Inzaghi… I think… (stares closer at screen, looks surprised)… yeah, this is actually Inzaghi…
So it’s a surprise to see him linking play? What was your partnership with him like?
It was fine. Pippo was a different kind of player. I had to adapt myself for him, not him for me. Because Pippo is a typical striker, he’s not moving around, he only sees the goal. So I have to adapt to play together with him, I was the one adapting. Most of the time we were both scoring, we were very close, because in the box we read situations quite similar.
If I slow this down, maybe the goalkeeper thinks it will be the curler?
From this position, I immediately make the decision. Because in the moment I stop, I read the situation, I saw the position of the goalkeeper and to shoot at the angle, I can trick the goalkeeper. Because there’s no way if I shot like that (for the far post), there’s no chance. This is a very simple way to score. He can’t see my shot in here (the near corner). It’s not even a very strong shot, I just placed it there.
The keeper actually takes a step further away towards the far post.
Yeah, because he thinks I’m going to go there. And then I just cut it inside.
Which is a goal that Kylian Mbappe seems to score a lot.
Yeah. But mostly from here (points to the left of the box). He likes that goal because it always works! I scored a lot of goals like that, show them to the back post, then cut it inside.
Running in behind for the winner in a 1-0 win over Real Madrid, November 2002
The next goal is quite a famous one, against Real Madrid.
Yes, simple. Here, the great pass of Rui (Costa). And by the time the ball came, I’d already prepared myself, opened the space. I had already made the run. If you see my timing, it was perfect. I opened the space (by drifting towards the wing)… wait, wait, wait… and when he sees me, I make the run. But I created the space, to not go offside and then make three or four steps and receive the ball.
And then after that, it’s quite a simple finish. I control the ball very well. Control and shoot. The first part is more important, how you control the ball.
At this point, you’re often playing with Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Rui Costa and Kaka. That must have been a dream, so many passes to you.
Yeah, especially with the quality of those players.
The pass is so good you almost don’t have to control it.
Well, I have to. But it’s the first touch, if I control it a little longer, right or left, no.
The crucial “away goal” — on home soil — in a 1-1 Champions League semi-final second leg draw against Inter, May 2003
Ah, this one. This is a big, goal. Big, big, big goal. See the trick with Pippo?
Talk to me about the movement. At this point it seems Fabio Cannavaro has got you, Ivan Cordoba has got Inzaghi, and you just confuse them with that movement, which creates the space.
Yeah, you see we’re going in the same way, and now we’re open. First of all, the defenders, they’re playing man-to-man. When you play like that, there’s no structure for the defenders. It should be in a line, four defenders, or three against two.
It’s Materazzi up there.
Yeah, Materazzi has come out, he should have stayed back. In that case, we would never score this goal because in this position, if they’re defending three-against-two, no chance. But with Materazzi up, the pitch is quite open.
Clarence did a good job (with the pass). The ball is coming, I have to come inside, the ball comes inside between his legs. I get a little bit lucky because the ball stays with me. And then it’s a penalty because he kicks me, but I just… chip it.
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And it’s a great finish because you have to get under the ball while you’re falling.
Yeah, because I could anticipate the goalkeeper. I was 100 per cent sure that I could score that.
And Cordoba tries to trip you.
Yeah, he did it, but I stayed up!
The winning penalty in the European Cup final, May 2003
I remember just looking, then hearing the whistle. I made the decision when I saw the goalkeeper move. Wait, wait, wait… and then when I saw his body going left, I placed the ball to the right. This was an amazing feeling for me.
Buffon comes a long way off his line…
Yeah, but I saw his movement. He tried to trick me but I just waited enough to see his movement. Yeah, it’s beautiful. A good memory.
A thunderbolt against Tottenham in a 2-1 victory in March 2007
This is an incredible goal. Absolutely incredible. One of my favourite goals. The power of the ball when I hit it, that was crazy.
Did you see the reaction of Drogba? He couldn’t believe the goal. Because the dynamic of this… look how my steps are compact and short. Inside, boom.
Is this one movement?
No, I stop, and then, bam… I create so much power. Boom. It’s unbelievable. A great goal, the power of the shot… a good touch inside. I like the combination.
Two headed goals to come from behind for an emotional 2-1 win over Sweden in Kyiv, June 2012
Ah yes, my two goals.
This one is interesting. The first goal is a piece of art for me.
I’m waiting because I’m alone, you see how I know what’s going to happen? Because I know Andriy (Yarmolenko) is going to stop with the ball. I’ve already looked. He stops the ball, he comes inside, I know he’s going to do that.
And then I anticipate because I can read his steps. I create the space for myself and he delivers exactly where the ball has to come because he’s a great player, he understands. He looks and sees the space, I’ve created the space, and then I just know his steps and I know that, when he looks up, I have to make the move.
But before the move, I have to create the space where I want to go. And I have to give him (Yarmolenko) a look and say give me the ball here (at the near post).
Are you looking at how far the centre-backs are apart?
This one (next to him, No 3 Olof Mellberg). Not this one (further at the front post, No 4 Andreas Granqvist) — I don’t look at that player. I already know. I stop, I walk. I know I want to go here (near post). But I don’t let (Mellberg) know that early because if I show him early, he marks me close. I have to keep him a little bit back. It’s just about reading the steps well and anticipating. It’s a great goal.
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Had your game changed by this point?
Yeah, because I didn’t have the same speed anymore. And I had to prepare the position for myself much better. I was not the same player.
And the last one…
Yeah. But… there’s the same corner kick, five minutes before that one, the same position. On that one, I did a movement (forward) and then stayed back.
But on this one, I did the movement first to come back and then went forward. I move back and then move again in front of him.
We can just see it in the background here, you dart out…
You see? Because I know (Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in the space at the near post) is going to close me in front, so I go in behind him, so I walk in front a little bit so he can’t see my movement, and then the ball was close, I just did that step, just anticipating.
This was incredible – you must have had this tournament in your mind for so many years.
That was… for me… I will say, the Ukraine-ation of the ending of my career. I was 35 years old, almost 36. It was the last tournament of my career… and I tried… and I scored two goals in this amazing game.
