ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO turns 40 today and there was time — before he became the Premier League’s first £30million star — when he was the deadliest striker on the planet.
And two English sides, as well as Barcelona, can testify to that after seeing first hand just how good he was at Dynamo Kiev in the late 1990s.
Newcastle first reached the Champions League in 1997-98 and thought they were on easy street when they beat the Catalans in their opening match thanks to a Faustino Asprilla hat-trick.
But the Ukrainians would top their group at a canter — making the whole of Europe stand up and take notice when Shevchenko’s hat-trick clinched a sensational 4-0 victory at the Nou Camp.
A year later, it was Arsenal making their bow in the competition, and they, too, were drawn alongside Dynamo Kiev in their group.
Shevchenko, along with strike partner Rebrov, ensured the Ukrainians took four points from their two encounters to finish first.
Despite being relative minnows, they became one of the most feared strike forces in Europe — and even the Champions League holders were no match.
Topping the group meant a quarter-final clash with Real Madrid.
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And Shevchenko scored three goals over the two legs as the Ukrainian side won 3-1 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals for the first time, where they faced Bayern Munich.
Their star striker’s double gave Dynamo Kiev a 3-1 lead at the Olimpiysky but the Germans’ resilience saw them come back with two late goals — and triumph 1-0 in the return leg.
However, Shevchenko’s work was done. He finished that season as the Champions League top goal scorer — and joined AC Milan for a fee of £19m.
He became the sixth non-Italian to finish his debut season in Serie A as top goal scorer, with 24 goals from 32 matches.
Victory over Juventus at Old Trafford in 2003 saw Shevchenko become the first-ever Ukrainian to win the Champions League — and flew home, where he lay his medal at the grave his former boss at Dynamko Kiev, Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Earlier that season, he had scored in the first-leg of the Coppa Italia final against Roma as Milan won the trophy for the first-time in their history.
Amazingly, he won his only Serie A title in 2003-04 — where he enjoyed arguably his best season on a personal level.
He was one again the league’s top goal scorer and won the Ballon d’Or.
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Shevchenko became the third Ukrainian after Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov to win the prestigious award.
Despite his achievements individually, Milan made Champions League history for all the wrong reasons.
The Rossoneri became the first side to blow a three-goal lead after beating Deportivo 4-1 in the first-leg of their quarter-final and losing the return 4-10.
But the hitman made more positive history a year later after becoming the fifth player — after Marco van Basten, Simone Inzaghi, Dado Prso and Ruud van Nistelrooy — to score four goals in one Champions League match.
However a fractured cheekbone seriously hampered his season, which culminated into the ultimate low.
His Milan side reached a second final in three years, where they faced Liverpool.
Paolo Maldini’s first minute goal and a Hernan Crespo double gave the Italians a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead — only to blow their advantage soon after the interval.
Shevchenko was a shadow of his former self and missed a late chance and the penalty which handed the Reds the trophy.
He came storming back in 2005-06, again netting four in 4-0 win at Fenerbahce as Milan reached the semi-finals.
Shevchenko netted against both Bayern Munich and Lyon — and even had a goal controversially disallowed against the Catalans.
It proved to be his final season with the club as Chelsea brought him to the Premier League.
It’s often forgotten that he scored on his debut, against Liverpool in the Community Shield — and on his second Premier League appearance.
However, his 14 strikes that season came across 51 games and he failed to recapture his Milan form.
He did claim an FA Cup and League Cup medal — though he wasn’t in the squad for the final of the former.
Jose Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant early in the 2007-08 season and, though Shevchenko’s form briefly improved around the Christmas period, Chelsea decided to sign Nicolas Anelka in January.
Shevchenko became a bit-part player and was an unused sub as the Blues reached a first-ever Champions League final.
New boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, sent him back on loan to Milan where his failure to score in 18 league games was a measure of just how far he’d fallen.
For 2009-10 season, Shevchenko’s former boss at the San Siro, Carlo Ancelotti, had been hired as Chelsea manager — but he decided to sell the Ukrainian.
Andriy Shevchencko's honours
Ukrainian Premier League (5) — 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Ukrainian Cup (3) — 1996, 1998, 1999
Ukrainian Super Cup — 2011
CIS Cup (3) — 1996, 1997, 1998
Serie A — 2003-04
Coppa Italia — 2003
Italian Super Cup — 2004
Champions League — 2003
Uefa Super Cup — 2003
FA Cup — 2007
League Cup — 2007
Ballon d’Or — 2004
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year (6) — 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005
Ukrainian Premier League top scorer — 1998-99
Serie A top scorer (2) — 1999-00, 2003-04
Champions League top scorer (2) — 1998-99, 2005-06
Serie A Goal of the Year — 2004
Serie A Foreign Football of the Year — 2000
Ukrainian all-time top scorer — 48 goals
Shevchenko returned to Dynamo Kiev where he stayed for three seasons, scoring 30 times.
He retired in 2012 and is now manager of the national team.
The striker played at two major tournaments with his country — the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 — scoring in each.
Although his demise was sudden, there were few more deadly in front of goal in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He is seventh in the all-time list of European Cup and Champions League top goal scorers.
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