Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko recently appeared on 1vs1, a new social-first brand by Footballco, where he reminisced about key moments in his career, including the memorable Champions League victory with AC Milan in 2003 against Juventus at Old Trafford. Shevchenko described the experience as “an incredible emotion, even now I smile so much because it’s something that happens to you once in a lifetime.”
When discussing the toughest defenders he faced, Shevchenko surprisingly named his former AC Milan captain, Paolo Maldini, as the most challenging. He recounted a match against Italy in March 1995, saying, “I played my first match against the Italian National team. I played against Paolo Maldini, I can’t not mention him. That day I wasn’t playing as a striker yet, I was playing a bit on the right. We played in Ukraine, and I played against Paolo and realized he was too strong. I went to the coach and said, ‘Can I change sides?’ I went to play a bit on the left, but Paolo was a complete player. For me, he’s the strongest defender there has ever been.”
Shevchenko also named other top defenders he faced: “Jaap Stam, another very strong player, intelligent, had physical strength. John Terry, Thuram, and Zanetti must be there for sure.”
When asked about the best striker of his generation, Shevchenko didn’t hesitate: “Ronaldo is the strongest of all, the strongest of our generation, because he’s a complete player. A player who had class, power, speed, incredible dribbling, scored many goals, an intelligent player, fun, he’s a superstar.”
Shevchenko’s all-time top five included some legendary names: “The best goalkeeper I played with? Dida. Defender, Paolo Maldini. Midfielder, Andrea Pirlo. Attacker? I played with Ricky Kakà, let’s say not a striker but an attacking player. Best coach? Lobanovskyi.”
Finally, when asked to construct the ideal footballer, Shevchenko said: “Right foot of Francesco Totti, left foot of Messi, heading ability of Cristiano Ronaldo, speed of Mbappé, dribbling of Ronaldo The Phenomenon, physical power of Didier Drogba.”
