December 13, 2004 became a historic date for Ukrainian football: Andriy Shevchenko received the most prestigious individual award in the world of football - the "Golden Ball" from France Football. This moment forever etched his name in the pantheon of the best players on the planet.
"Today is twenty years since I received the Golden Ball." But this victory is not only mine, it is the victory of all of Ukraine. I want to thank my coaches and fans for their faith, support and love. Because you were always there. I am sincerely grateful to my friends, teammates and sports legends for their kind words and greetings. Already on December 16, "Golden Ball" will go on its first tour of Ukraine with "Ukrzaliznytsia" - from Kharkiv to Lviv, from Zaporizhzhia to my native Yagotyn. To inspire children to play football and believe in their dreams," Shevchenko wrote.
The Ukrainian Football Association posted a video on its Instagram page with memories of Shevchenko's partners at the Italian Milan, as well as his rivals. In particular, the legends of "Milan" Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Zvonimir Boban, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi, who played together with Shevchenko, appeared in the video.
The long-time captain of "Milan" Paulo Maldini, who was surprised how Shevchenko eats lard, said that "I remember a young and shy Ukrainian guy who came to "Milan" in 1999. And I'm very happy to see the grown-up man I know now."
In one of the interviews, Andriy Shevchenko said that when he first brought a lot of Ukrainian lard to the Milan base, some guys were scared.
"Fair. Someone even thought it was a drug. After all, I did not understand then that Italians had never seen lard in their lives. Just as there is never snow in Africa at the equator, so do they. I remember cutting off the first thin piece and offering it to Maldini. He refused. Then I put the lard on the bread and started chewing. We would see the eyes of Paolo and the entire company at this moment. And how do you think it ended? Every time after that I returned to Italy, I had to carry half a bag of lard for the Milan players, they loved it so much. There were so many orders that I already regretted that I came so recklessly with the Ukrainian drug to the base in Milan, - said Shevchenko.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti, under whose leadership Shevchenko played at Milan, said he was "happy that the whole country is celebrating this award with you" and added that Shevchenko "helped us win the Champions League with Milan".
Gianluigi Buffon, the legend of Italian football and Turin "Juventus", jokingly emphasized that it was he who helped Shevchenko win the "Golden Ball".
Our friend Sheva's "golden ball" turned 20 years old. And since I also helped win it by conceding many goals from Sheva, I want to join in and congratulate him," said Buffon.
Javier Zanetti, the former captain of Inter Milan, who is a sworn enemy of Milan, joined the congratulations, as well as Ukrainian athletes: boxer Oleksandr Usyk, Yaroslava Maguchih, Elina Svitolina, Olga Kharlan and former partner in Kyiv "Dynamo" and coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhiy Rebrov.
"I am sure that your story inspires many children to play football," said Rebrov.
On December 13, 2004, Andriy Shevchenko became the winner of the "Golden Ball", beating the Portuguese Deco and the Brazilian Ronaldinho in the final voting. Shevchenko became the third Ukrainian who was able to receive the award of the best player in the world - before that, Oleg Blokhin (in 1975) and Igor Belanov (in 1986) received this prestigious award.
In the 20:23 program on Yevhen Yanovych's YouTube channel, Shevchenko admitted that he knew about the victory even before the ceremony began.
"I found out a little earlier. The journalist of France Football must arrive early to take photos and interviews, because it is necessary to prepare for the ceremony. Therefore, I knew that I had a very good chance to win the Ballon d'Or. In 2001, I entered the top five football players. We had a very good season with Milan. And the national team of Ukraine performed very strongly. That's why I was waiting for this moment. Journalist Roby called me. I knew him, he was recorded in the phone. For 2-3 years, I talked to many journalists, I knew that he is a journalist of France Football. When he called me, I knew it was very good news. Therefore, I immediately picked up the phone and said: "Where are you, I'm waiting for you." He says: "And when can you come?" I answer: "You can come now, I'm waiting for you." I flew out of Milan, the club gave me a private plane. I, the directors of Milan and several journalists boarded a plane and flew to Paris. I arrived at the hotel, changed clothes, and in the evening there was a ceremony," Shevchenko said.
In 2004, Andriy Shevchenko became the champion of Italy for the first time, and the top scorer of Serie A for the second time, scoring 24 goals and a total of 29 that season, and also won the Italian Super Cup. A year before that, he won the Champions League with Milan, where he scored Buffon's decisive penalty in a series of post-match kicks, and Shevchenko was also the captain of the Ukrainian national team, which in 2004 successfully started the selection cycle, after which it reached the final part of the World Cup for the first time.
"Milan won the Champions League and the European Super Cup last year. This season, the club won the Scudetto, and I became the best sniper in Serie A. The national team of Ukraine ends the year as the leader of the selection group. I manage to score in both teams. In addition, this year was marked by several happy events in my personal life - I got married and became a father. What more could I ask for in life? "Golden Ball" is not a personal award, but a team award. I have to share it with many people in Milan, in the national team of Ukraine," Shevchenko said back in 2004.
We should also note that in honor of the anniversary of receiving the Golden Ball, Shevchenko brought the award to Ukraine. It was exhibited in Kyiv in the park named after Taras Shevchenko, where she will be from December 7 to 15, and on the 16th she will go on a tour of Ukraine.
"Ukrzaliznytsia" reported that the trophy travels by train to the cities of Ukraine:
December 17, Ternopil 11:30-13:00;
December 17 Khmelnytskyi 17:40-21:30
December 18 Kharkiv 12:30-18:30;
December 19, Vinnytsia 8:00-20:50;
December 20, Lviv 8:00-20:50;
December 21 Zaporozhye 3:10-8:00 p.m.;
December 22, Dnipro 9:00-17:00;
December 23, Odesa 9:30-20:00;
December 24, Yagotyn 9:10-16:20.
On December 16, the "Golden Ball" was supposed to be presented in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, but, unfortunately, the event was canceled for security reasons in consultation with the regional military administration.
In each city, the award will be displayed at the central railway station, where it will be available to everyone.
