Shevchenko and the sad years at Chelsea (Part 5)

Just three weeks before Sheva moved the club, he suffered a serious knee injury, in Serie A against Parma. It is difficult for him to rest to fully recover, because 2006 is the World Cup year. As captain, Sheva must take responsibility for leading Ukraine to the first World Cup finals in history.

Summer in Germany, Sheva scored twice, including the third in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, and a penalty against Tunisia. But his form dropped miserably though Ukraine played impressively and reached the quarter-finals. He was in such a gloomy mood for his first season at Chelsea, despite a promising start. In the Super Cup match, Sheva scored a goal against Liverpool after a clever move and cool finish.

He scored another goal in the defeat of Middlesbrough 1-2 in the Premier League. It took another two months for the name Shevchenko to return to the electronic whiteboard. That performance is too strange for a “machine” that has scored 173 goals in 269 AC Milan caps.

Abramovich did everything to make Sheva feel happy. He arranged luxurious accommodation in London while the couple sought to buy a home. He was a guest at the Cocoon Hotel in Mayfair, when Sheva celebrated her 30th birthday. Among the guests at the party were teammates such as John Terry, Frank Lampard or Michael Ballack.

But it turned out to be a rare night where Sheva was living with her team members. The remaining is a distant, silent. Mikel told The Athletic: “The Chelsea players get along very easily. We work hard on the training ground, win on the pitch, so we connect well in society. Not everyone sees this. But Sheva was not at the gatherings. He didn’t go out much with us. He was just at home all the time. Perhaps because Sheva could not speak English. “