Legendary Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko called time on an 18-year soccer career back in July in order to concentrate on a new profession -- politics.
But just four months after
turning his back on football, Shevchenko has been offered the chance to immerse
himself in the beautiful game once again, as coach of the national side.
As Ukraine's most capped player
and their highest goalscorer of all time, with 56 goals in his 111 games,
Shevchenko is the finest player the country has produced since gaining
independence in 1991.
He won five consecutive league
titles with Dynamo Kiev between 1995 and 1999 before joining Italian giants AC
Milan, where he played his part in their 2003 European Champions League triumph.
Shevchenko was signed for English
club Chelsea by Jose Mourinho in May 2006 for a reported fee of $47 million but
failed to make an impact in his two years at the club.
After another loan spell with
Milan he returned to Dynamo Kiev for three final seasons and signed off from the
national team after they failed to get out of their group in Euro 2012, which
Ukraine co-hosted with neighbors Poland.
Though the 36-year-old has no
previous coaching experience, he is the Ukrainian Football Federation's (FFU)
first choice to take over from Oleh Blokhin, who left the post to coach
Ukrainian club side Dynamo Kiev.
A statement on the FFU's official
website read: "President of the Football Federation of Ukraine Anatoliy Konkov
has decided to invite Andriy Shevchenko to take the post of head coach.
"Andriy had a prominent schooling
at renowned clubs such as the Dynamo Kiev, Milan and Chelsea, led by legendary
coaches Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho.
"He had a unique ability to
absorb their talent, their knowledge and their experience.
"It should be noted that at one
time Andriy Shevchenko debuted in the youth national teams under the leadership
of Anatoly Ridge. And today the FFU president offers Shevchenko a new
debut!"
The statement quoted Konkov as
saying: "I'm sure Shevchenko will also be able to conquer great football
countries as head coach of this country. He has enough experience and
character.
"The federation, in turn, will
ensure to give him all the help he needs with the national team."
Would Shevchenko abondon politics to return to football the sports that made him famous? I wonder....
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