Shevchenko: 'Most beautiful win' was Milan's pen win over Juve in UCL Final

  /  autty

Andriy Shevchenko has revealed that the ‘most beautiful win’ of his career was Milan’s penalties victory over Juventus in the Champions League Final.

“When I arrived at Milan I was very happy, it was a special moment,” he told DAZN.

“There’s a good story about the No 7 I wore. I remember that when I arrived, Ibrahim Ba told me: ‘If you want, I'll leave you this number.’

“I thanked him, he was perfect. Two days later a childhood friend called me, he told me: ‘Do you know that in Hebrew, the number ‘seven’ is ‘sheva’?’ I couldn’t believe it.

“He told me it would bring me luck, and the rest is history. My most beautiful win? The Manchester Final at Old Trafford against Juve.

“That was a very strong Juventus side at Old Trafford, which is a special stadium. It was the most important game of my life.

“Kaka? I’ve never seen such a perfect player in the history of Milan. He was fully immersed in the team’s mechanisms.

“After just one training session, I realised he was special and that with him, we would’ve stepped up a level: he changed Milan’s gear.

“Maldini? He’s in Milan’s history. He was a great captain, a great friend and a great player. Berlusconi was a great President and person, who created 25 years of incredible Milan history.

“Ancelotti was a friend, as well as a Coach. He was a special person. The respect we had for each other, the friendship that binds us was beautiful.

“I’ll never forget those 12-15 seconds, those in which I walked from the halfway line to go and take the penalty.

“Your whole life passes before you, from when you were a child. After that, you grow up with your dreams and going to the penalty spot, you understand that now, right now, you can make them come true.

“When I went up, I told myself to play it safe and take it the way I knew how, not change my mind.

“I watched the referee, then the ball, then Buffon. I finally heard the whistle and took it as I wanted.”

Arguably the Ukrainians’ best goal came against Juve in December 2001, when he beat Gianluigi Buffon from long range – so was it a shot or a cross?

“Not often do you score goals like that, even if you keep tying,” he explained.

“But I took a shot, I didn’t cross! There’s no doubt about it. Indeed, it was a wonderful move: I turned around, then weaved past my man and unleashed an incredible shot.”

Related: Milan Juventus Andriy Shevchenko
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