Andriy Shevchenko is now Ukraine FA president and has been given the huge task of leading his country’s football out of darkness
Andriy Shevchenko is thinking back to a summer of joy, promise and kinship that feels a lifetime away. It was 12 years ago that Ukraine co-hosted the European Championship and a continent could, in many cases for the first time, discover the nation’s riches.
“That was a happy time for Ukraine,” he says. “A country together, smiling people enjoying their love of football. That tournament united people a lot and we felt proud. We tried to show the best of ourselves so that visitors could come and enjoy a beautiful competition. The memory of that time is like a bright light.”