ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dinamo Kyiv and Ukraine national team as a striker. With 67 goals as of 10 October 2011 he is third-highest goalscorer in history of European club competition. He is also second most prolific goalscorer in history of A.C. Milan with 175 goals, and is also the all time top scorer of the Derby della Madonnina (derby between A.C. Milan and their local rivals Internazionale) with 14 goals and Ukrainian national team with 46 goals. Shevchenko in his career won many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Balloon d'Or in 2004 (becoming the third Ukrainian to receive it), and also won the Uefa Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy and England. AC Milan and later Chelsea FC fans gave him the nickname Sheva, a contraction of Shevchenko. Coincidentally, 'Sheva' literally means Seven in Hebrew, the number worn by Shevchenko during his first spell at A.C. Milan, Chelsea and current spell at Dynamo Kyiv. Shevchenko was nine when Chernobil nuclear disaster occured in April 1986. His home-town Dvirkivschyna was affected by the disaster, and his family was forced to abandon their home and relocate to the coast to escape the after-effects. At an early age, he was a competitive boxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league, but eventually he elected to move on to football.