Shevchenko, the alpha and omega of Ukraine

Shevchenko during the last match of the Eurocup against Austria.Daniel Mihailescu / POOL / EFE

PreviousDirect

Ukraine has already made history in this European Championship with Shevchenko.

The Eastern European team will play the first round of 16 in their history on Tuesday after getting a pass in the group stage, finishing third behind the Netherlands and Austria.

“Thanks to Spain and Sweden!”, The Ukrainian media headlined, as they achieved qualification because neither Slovakia nor Poland could add on the last day, which would have left their team out.

The victory of the Swedes gave the pass to Ukraine and they face both teams this Tuesday (21.00, Telecinco) in Glasgow with a place in the quarterfinals at stake. “Sweden is a very organized team, and I have a lot of respect for them. They have a certain style of play, and they do not deviate from it, ”said coach Andrei Shevchenko, the leader of the team that laid the first stone of the project as a player and who now commands it with the respect of being the idol of his pupils.

Shevchenko is considered the best player in the history of Ukraine after a long career full of successes at Dynamo Kiev, Milan and Chelsea. Champion of the Champions in 2003, he was named Ballon d'Or the following year, becoming the first Ukrainian to receive the award for best footballer in the world. Top scorer in the history of his team (48), led the team to their first major tournament at the 2006 World Cup, in which they reached the quarterfinals.

In 2012, Ukraine hosted the Euro Cup that summer with Poland.

As hosts, they directly qualified to play their first European championship in their history.

Shevchenko, who was 35 years old at the time, decided to lead his team in its debut at a European Championship and to retire definitively at the end of it.

Along with him were some of the players that make up the current squad such as Yarmolenko, the current captain.

More information

• The strength of a team without Ibra

• The Zinchenko sponge

In his debut, the rookie Ukrainian team played Sweden, the same rival he now faces in his first round of 16.

"If I could have chosen my dreams, I would have chosen this one," he confessed.

And it is that the party could not go out better to him.

Ibrahimovic scored the first goal but in the second half, in five minutes of pure fury, Ukraine turned it around with two heads from Shevchenko.

“It was a historic match for the country, a great victory.

I feel like I'm 20 and not 35! ”Declared the forward, exhausted after the game.

Ukraine ended up eliminated in the group stage and the forward hung up his boots to embark on a brief adventure in politics.

His teammates managed to qualify for the next European Championship in France, but they came out of the group stage shorn losing all three games.

After the tournament, the federation called Shevchenko and he did not hesitate to assume the position of coach.

He stumbled on his first mission to qualify the team for the 2018 World Cup, but got the pass for this Eurocup as the first of his group ahead of Portugal, which he beat in Kiev.

In his first major tournament leading the team, he has managed to reach the eighth for the first time and has consolidated a block that follows him with his eyes closed.

"We are a community, like our second family," said player Serhiy Kryvtsov.

Zinchenko, one of the team's figures despite his youth, also highlighted the unity of the team.

“I probably had the worst days of my life after losing the Champions League final.

But I recovered quickly thanks to the great atmosphere we have ”.

Statistics and bookmakers favor Sweden, a team with more experience in these games, but the same happened in 2012. On that occasion, Shevchenko left the doomers speechless.

This Tuesday he will return to look for the surprise to continue starring in the rise of Ukraine.

Subscribe here

to our special newsletter about Euro 2021