20 years ago, Andriy Shevchenko won the Ballon d'Or. Football legends recall interesting stories about the Ukrainian footballer, including how he introduced the AC Milan players to Ukrainian lard.
On December 13, 2004, the former player of Dynamo Kyiv and AC Milan, and now the president of the Ukrainian Football Association, Andriy Shevchenko, won the award for the best player according to the authoritative publication France Football, reports UNN.
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"Today is twenty years since I won the Ballon d'Or. But this victory is not only mine, it is a victory for the whole of Ukraine. I want to thank my coaches and fans for their faith, support and love. For always being there for me. I am sincerely grateful to my friends, teammates and sports legends for their kind words and congratulations. On December 16, the Golden Ball will embark on its first tour of Ukraine with Ukrzaliznytsia – from Kharkiv to Lviv, from Zaporizhzhia to my native Yahotyn. To inspire children to play football and believe in their dreams," Shevchenko wrote.
The Ukrainian Football Association posted a video on its Instagram page with memories of Shevchenko's teammates at AC Milan, as well as his rivals. In particular, the video features AC Milan legends Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Zvonimir Boban, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, and Filippo Inzaghi, who played with Shevchenko.
Long-time Milan captain Paulo Maldini, who was surprised by Shevchenko's eating lard, said that "I remember a young and shy Ukrainian guy who came to Milan in 1999. And I'm very happy to see the adult man I know now.
In an interview, Andriy Shevchenko said that when he first brought a piece of Ukrainian lard to the Milan base, some guys were scared.
"Honestly. Some even thought it was a drug. I didn't realize then that Italians had never seen lard in their lives. Just as there is never snow at the equator in Africa, so do they. I remember cutting off the first thin piece and offering it to Maldini. He refused. Then I put the lard on the bread and started chewing. At that moment, the eyes of Paolo and the whole company would have seen it. And how do you think it ended? Every time I went back to Italy later, I had to drag half a bag of lard for the AC Milan players, they loved it so much. There were so many orders that I already regretted that I had so recklessly arrived with a Ukrainian drug at the base in Milan, "Shevchenko said.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti, under whom Shevchenko played at Milan, said he was "happy that the whole country is celebrating this award with you" and added that Shevchenko "helped us win the Champions League with Milan.
Gianluigi Buffon, the legend of Italian football and Juventus Turin, jokingly emphasized that it was he who helped Shevchenko win the Ballon d'Or.
"Our friend Sheva's Golden Ball is 20 years old. And since I also helped to win it, conceding many goals from Sheva, I want to join in and congratulate him," said Buffon.
The congratulations were joined by the former captain of Inter Milan, who is a sworn enemy of Milan, Javier Zanetti, as well as Ukrainian athletes: boxer Alexander Usyk, Yaroslava Maguchikh, Elina Svitolina, Olga Harlan and former Dynamo Kyiv partner and coach of the Ukrainian national team Sergey Rebrov.
"I am sure that your story inspires many children to play football," Rebrov said.
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On December 13, 2004, Andriy Shevchenko won the Ballon d'Or, beating Portuguese Deck and Brazilian Ronaldinho in the final vote. Shevchenko became the third Ukrainian to win the World Player of the Year award – before that, Oleg Blokhin (in 1975) and Igor Belanov (in 1986) received this prestigious award.
In the program 20:23 on the YouTube channel of Yevgeny Yanovich, Shevchenko admitted that he knew about the victory even before the ceremony began.
"I found out a little bit earlier. It is mandatory for a France Football journalist to arrive early to take photos and interviews because they need to prepare for the ceremony. So I knew I had a very good chance of winning the Ballon d'Or. In 2001, I was one of the top five players. We had a very good season with Milan. And the Ukrainian national team performed very well. So I was waiting for this moment. I got a call from a journalist named Robbie. I knew him, he was on my phone. I had talked to many journalists over the past 2-3 years, and I knew he was a France Football journalist. When he called me, I realized it was very good news. So I immediately picked up the phone and said: "Where are you, I'm waiting for you." He said: "When can I come?" I answered: "You can come right now, I'm waiting for you." I flew from Milan, the club gave me a private jet. I, the directors of Milan and a few journalists got on the plane and flew to Paris. I arrived at the hotel, changed clothes and in the evening there was a ceremony," Shevchenko said.
In 2004, Andriy Shevchenko became the champion of Italy for the first time, the top scorer in Serie A for the second time, scoring 24 goals and 29 in total that season, and won the Italian Super Cup. The year before, he won the Champions League with AC Milan, where he scored the decisive penalty kick against Buffon in a series of penalty kicks, and Shevchenko was also captain of the Ukrainian national team, which in 2004 successfully started the qualifying cycle and reached the final of the World Cup for the first time.
"Last year, AC Milan won the Champions League and the European Super Cup. This season, the club won the Scudetto, and I became the best sniper in Serie A. The Ukrainian national team ends the year as the leader of the qualifying group. I manage to score in both teams. In addition, this year was marked by several happy events in my personal life – I got married and became a father. What more can I ask for in life? "The Golden Ball is not a personal, but a team award. I have to share it with many people in AC Milan, in the Ukrainian national team," Shevchenko said back in 2004.
It is also worth noting that Shevchenko brought the award to Ukraine in honor of the anniversary of his Ballon d'Or win. It was put on display in Kyiv's Taras Shevchenko Park, where it will remain from December 7 to 15, and will go on tour across Ukraine on December 16.
"Ukrzaliznytsia reported that the trophy is traveling by train to Ukrainian cities:
December 17 Ternopil 11:30-13:00;
December 17 Khmelnitsky 17: 40-21: 30
December 18 Kharkiv 12:30-18:30;
December 19, Vinnytsia, 8:00-20:50;
December 20, Lviv, 8:00-20:50;
December 21 Zaporizhzhia 15:10-20:00;
December 22 Dnipro 9:00-17:00;
December 23, Odesa, 9:30-20:00;
December 24 Yagotin 9: 10-16: 20.
On December 16, The Golden Ball was supposed to be presented in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, but, unfortunately, the event was canceled for security reasons in coordination with the regional military administration.
In each city, the award will be displayed at the central railway station, where it will be available to everyone.
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