Sheva's debt to idol Rush

By Pete Sanderson

Scoring return
While AC Milan forward Andriy Shevchenko made a goalscoring return in the 2-0 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over FC Internazionale Milano, a man who played a significant role in kickstarting his rise in the game was contemplating the possibility of having to leave football forever.

End of an era?
Ian Rush, the former Liverpool FC legend and a man who knows all about the Italian game from his time at Juventus FC, resigned from his post as manager of English lower league outfit Chester City FC after a torrid time in charge. Whether Rush is plying his trade in Turin or Telford, however, he will always have a special place in Shevchenko's heart.

Golden boots
"I was just 13 when I went with a [FC] Dynamo Kyiv boys team to play in a tournament in Wales," he said. "We won the tournament and I was named the best player. What made it special was that Ian Rush was there to give me my prize. I treasured those boots for years. It meant such a lot because everyone in Ukraine knew about Ian Rush, the legendary Liverpool player. Funnily enough, the boots were too small for me but I still tried to play in them – until my big toes poked through."

Harsh reality
After a career which was steeped in silverware, Rush's eyes have been well and truly opened to the harsh realities of life at the other end of the football ladder. Despite a dismal final day in his tenure at Chester, however, Shevchenko hopes his performance in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League will have brought a smile to the face of the former Welsh international, now 43.

Brave decision
"It was my first game in six weeks and I had doubts about my physical condition," the striker told uefa.com after the game. "I have been speaking with the coach and he was brave to field me. I think he did the right thing. We played well in the second half and the second goal was very important even though I think the return leg will be another difficult game. But it would be great to think Ian Rush was watching to see how I have developed since back then."

World stage
They may sit at different ends of the football spectrum now but, in many ways, Shevchenko's career has mirrored that of Rush since that fateful day in 1990. Both players lifted the UEFA European Champions Clubs' Cup [Rush in 1984 and Shevchenko in 2003], both went to Italy to try and further their careers and, most significantly, both have failed to take their striking talents on to world football's greatest stage – the FIFA World Cup – a fact that the AC Milan striker is keen to put right.

Brave decision
"Obviously I am focused on winning the Champions League with Milan right now but the most important task for me in the long term is to reach the World Cup finals in Germany with Ukraine," he said. "I will simply not consider my football career as complete if we don't qualify for the most prestigious football competition in the world."

Highs and lows
Rush's recent setbacks will perhaps serve as reminder of how much Shevchenko should appreciate the highs in the fickle world of football. But, unless Rush awards him another pair, Shevchenko seems unlikely to get too big for his boots again.