Nikolai Vasilkov, the former press attache of the Ukrainian national team, revealed to former coach Andrei Shevchenko, the scenes of the meeting that brought the latter and his players together with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“After the Russia-Ukraine match in 1999, he (Putin) gave the players watches and told Shevchenko, ‘I remembered you,'” Vasilkov was quoted as saying.
Shevchenko, now 45, was awarded the “Golden Ball” for the best player in the world in 2004 as a player for Italian club AC Milan, and is the third Ukrainian to win the award following compatriots Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov.
“Shiva” played with his country from 1994 to 2012, then took over his coaching in 2016, and from there he moved to coach Genoa, Italy, between 2021 and 2022.
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