Bought by Chelsea in July 2006 for what was at the time a lucrative £39.5m, Andriy Shevchenko will always be remembered as a flop at Stamford Bridge.
The Milan legend, who scored over a goal every two games in Serie A, managed to find the back of the net just nine times in 48 Premier League games, and returned to his former club on loan a couple of years later.
Now retired, the ex-striker is the manager of the Ukraine national team, and doing a fairly good job of it, losing just four of his first 19 games in charge, and only just missing out on a spot for the last World Cup.
Beating both the Czech Republic and Slovakia in their last two games in the Nations League, his side are preparing themselves to face Roberto Mancini’s Italy in Genoa, meaning he’s back in the country, where Gazzetta dello Sport had to grab him to have a quick chat.
Among the many questions, they enquired about his views on Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli, leading the former Chelsea man to reveal a relationship that could prove useful to him going forward as a manager.
He said: “Ancelotti is bringing something of his own, he’s changing his style from Sarri’s, who had done a great job and is doing an equally good one in the Premier League. In fact, I often go to see Chelsea in Cobham, and we talk. It’s a pleasure to meet with coaches like that.
“I was lucky to have many good ones. Carlo is different from Sarri, but he has great experience and knows very well that you cannot transform everything. In football, everything takes time.”
Managed by and already learning from the likes of Ancelotti and José Mourinho in his career as a player, learning from Sarri now will only expand his views as a manager, which, in the long run, could benefit Ukraine as a whole, especially with some of the attacking players at their disposal these days.
