Shevchenko calls time on career

Ukraine legend Andriy Shevchenko has announced his retirement from football as he plans for a new career in politics.



It had been suggested that Shevchenko, 35, would sign a contract extension with Dynamo Kiev if the club reached the group stage of the Champions League, but he has now decided to bring down the curtain on an illustrious career.



"Recently, there has been a lot of talk that I could sign a new contract with Dynamo or play abroad," he said. "I can say, with confidence, that neither will happen. Perhaps this will shock everyone: I have decided to bring an end to my football career and to enter politics."



He vowed to reveal more details of his future plans in the imminent future. "I will make an official statement," he said. "I hope to have your support."

Andriy Shevchenko netted 48 goals for Ukraine over the course of a 17-year international career.

In his prime, Shevchenko had been one of the deadliest strikers in world football. He had risen to prominence when his partnership with Sergei Rebrov made Dynamo Kiev a European force in the 1990s, and a move to AC Milan in 1999 enhanced an already strong reputation.



Across two spells with the Rossoneri, he became the club's second highest scorer of all-time behind the great Gunnar Nordahl, with 175 goals in 322 appearances.



His career took a backwards step, however, with an ill-fated move to Chelsea in 2006, with the forward struggling to find his place at Stamford Bridge and eventually being allowed to move on, with a loan return to Milan in 2008 followed by a permanent return to Dynamo in 2009.



He is also by some distance the all-time leading scorer for the Ukraine national team, with 48 goals in 111 appearances. At the recent European Championship, Shevchenko had scored a brace in Ukraine's opening game in Kiev to inspire a 2-1 victory over Sweden.

Shevchenko a threat to France

A partisan home crowd isn't the only thing France has to keep quiet when it plays Ukraine at EURO 2012.



A resurgent Andriy Shevchenko has shrugged off a combination of back pain and criticism to steal the spotlight at the tournament, scoring two superb headers to give Ukraine a 2-1 win over Sweden in its opening Group D match.



The 35-year-old Shevchenko's time on the international stage is almost up because he will retire from international duty at the end of the tournament.



Yet a win for the co-host will guarantee it a spot in the quarter-finals and extend the striker's international career by at least one more match.



"We really have a good chance to make it out of this group," said Shevchenko, who has scored 48 goals for Ukraine.



"That's why we cannot fall victim to the euphoria."



Try telling that to the fervent fans who will turn the Donbass Arena in Donetsk into a blue-and-yellow wall of noise.



The fact that Shevchenko plays for Donetsk's arch-rival, Dynamo Kiev, will melt into insignificance, much the same way as the 1,000 French fans expected to turn up will hardly be noticed. They were barely audible against England.



"It's going to be hard against Ukraine. They will be very motivated and have the crowd on their side," France right-back Mathieu Debuchy said.



"But we were already prepared for that."



France had better be ready, because a loss will leave the team perilously close to a third straight first-round elimination at a major competition after early exits at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2008.



Ukraine was the team tipped to struggle in Group D.



Reports before the tournament started were of a team in disarray, and coach Oleg Blokhin was heavily criticised for standing by the ageing Shevchenko, who scored 127 goals in 226 Serie A matches for AC Milan from 1999-2006 before his career started to fade.



"I was not surprised at all by his performance (against Sweden)," Blokhin said through a translator.



"I couldn't understand why he was written off before the tournament."



The early win hasn't fooled Shevchenko or any of his team-mates into dismissing the French threat.



Laurent Blanc's team is unbeaten in 22 matches and is far more technically assured than Sweden.



"The French team plays football differently and does more with the ball than the Swedish team," veteran Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin said.



"One chance could decide the game."