Andriy Shevchenko: from the Chernobyl tragedy to leading his beloved Ukraine

Ditching the shorts and donning the tracksuit can sometimes be a challenging and traumatic experience in the world of football. The list is endless of the cracks that dazzled the fans on the pitch at the time, but when they had to grab the notebook, the blackboard, the whistle and guide a human group to success, they simply did not measure up. Marco van Basten, Bobby Charlton, Hugo Sánchez, Lothar Matthaus, Ruud Gullit… and so there are endless idols who have proven that, to be an elite coach, you need much more than knowing how to hit the ball. the same Diego Armando Maradona it is the living proof that it is forbidden to stay in the past. The demand and topicality of the king of sports devours technicians with outdated concepts, who do not get sick watching football all day, who minimize other branches that go hand in hand such as psychology, neuroscience, physical preparation and motivational talks and nothing plus.

There is also the other group that took this challenge with tweezers and knew that with his rich track record as a footballer it was not going to be enough to convince thirty-odd footballers that make up a squad to achieve the same goal. Examples of this are Marcelo Gallardo, Zinedine Zidane, Ricardo Gareca, Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola and, with less noise, just taking his first steps but with enormous merit, there is also Andriy Shevchenko. The reason? The former Ukrainian striker has been able to do what he did best on his magical nights with AC Milan in the enemy box: turn copper chances into pure gold. In his first technical experience and as coach of his country, he led Croatia to dispute qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. And, in qualifying for Euro 2020, Ukraine managed to qualify as first in the group, beating teams such as Portugal (2-1) and Serbia (5-0).

And as if it were a carbon copy of what he was as a striker for his team, where he is the top scorer in all history with 48 goals, this team and his past as a footballer are like two drops of water: He is talented but he also has enough honor to stand up to the most painted of the Old Continent.

He escaped for his life and football picked him up

‘Sheva’ was a winner on the field. In total, he won 12 trophies in his native country, two in England and five in Italy, one of which was the 2003 Champions League, which he won on penalties against Juventus at Old Trafford, after equalizing 0-0 in extra time. However, before beating the rival goalkeepers, he had to overcome a very tough childhood with a very particular history.

On April 26, 1986, one of the greatest tragedies of humanity happened. The nuclear reactor at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin power plant, located in the city of Chernobl, in the north of what is now Ukraine, overheated and exploded, causing one of the nuclear accidents so tragic that even today it is the subject of documentaries and series. One of those who had to escape from that hell as a preventive measure against exposure to high radiation was Andriy’s family, who at that time was only a 9-year-old boy.

“I remember that one day my father came home with a device that measures radiation. I played soccer in my neighborhood and the ball ended up in a house that was very high. Since I was tall, I managed to climb into the house and found several balls. My friends, since they were shorter, couldn’t climb up and I brought the balls home. When we measured the radiation from the balloons, we realized that it was very high”, the exgoleador pointed out a few years ago in an interview. However, who would say that this unforeseen and unforeseen move would help him to develop 100% in his future career as a good network breaker. Already in the big city of Kiev, the little boy entered the youth team of Dinamo, the most important team in Ukraine and the rest of the story is known.

At Euro 2012 Ukraine-Poland, Andry scored a brace against Sweden, giving him his nation’s first victory in the tournament. Now, already on the bench, he will seek to continue extending his legend in the third participation of his team in the competition. What Andriy experienced sounds like a fairy tale, but it has never been an easy task for a footballer to be the best in all aspects of his career. Shevchenko will one day have a statue in the city of Kiev for what was his career as a successful footballer for the club, the national team and now as a coach. That it be otherwise would be little and also unfair. What ‘Sheva’ did for his country is emotional, very difficult to imitate and heroic.

Correction: This note was initially published on November 16, 2019 after Ukraine qualified for the final phase of Euro 2020