The UAF president received a special award from the Italian Football Federation.
Former Milan forward and current president of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Shevchenko was included in the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
This was reported by the official website of the Italian Football Federation.
Shevchenko was nominated for category “Foreign Footballers” and received the award at a ceremony in Coverciano.
At the ceremony, the 48-year-old Ukrainian read out his letter in which he thanked Italy and Milan.
“This is a letter from a Ukrainian child who dreamed of coming to you. I saw you and your champions on TV: Maldini, Baresi, Maradona, Platini, Van Basten, Baggio and Vialli. I froze, as if in front of a work of art. I saw stadiums full of people and passion. You were almost a religion. I felt good during my first trip to Rome as a child and since then I wanted to return to Italy. It happened.
Dear Milan, thank you for believing in me. You immediately made me feel like a member of the family, we won a lot together. Entering the Hall of Fame of Italian Football is a huge privilege, and I thank all my Milan teammates and all the managers and fans for this. Italy, I love you,” Shevchenko said.
In addition, the head of the UAF thanked Italy for supporting Ukraine and helping to develop sports during wars.
“Thank you to all of Italy for being with Ukraine at the most difficult moment in our history. Football and sport have great value and great power to help people. They build a bridge of relations and are a kind of therapy for people affected by the war,” Shevchenko added.
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Recall , Shevchenko played for Milan from 1999 to 2006, and also from 2008 to 2009. In his first season after moving from Dynamo, Andrey scored 24 goals in Serie A for the Rossoneri, becoming the top scorer and the best legionnaire of the league.
In total, the Ukrainian forward played 322 matches in all tournaments for the Italian club, scoring 175 goals. In 2003, Andrey won the Champions League with the Rossoneri, and in 2004 he became the owner of “Golden Ball”.
