My Life, My Football

by Andriy Shevchenko

Ballon d’Or winner. Champions League winner. Serie A winner. Captain of Ukraine at their first-ever World Cup. Andriy Shevchenko conquered the football world. His career featured some of the sport’s greatest characters – from Valerij Lobanovsky, who shaped his early years at Dynamo Kyiv, to Carlo Ancelotti, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Kaka as part of a world-class Milan team. But Shevchenko’s story transcends football. Growing up 150km from the Chernobyl disaster, witnessing the decline of the Soviet Union and its descent into lawlessness, the struggles of his beloved Ukraine to gain independence in 1991 – and then the agony of the Russian invasion of his homeland in 2022. This is a football and human story like no other.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2023

Reviews

[Ilona Stukalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25
a bit poorly written

[Alex Cotterill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shame I couldn’t give this 4.5 stars but whatever haha.

Sheva, one of the GOATs of the current era of football, does an excellent job with his autobiography.

Unlike Scholes’ book, more like Roy Keane’s, Sheva doesn’t just comment or moan about key matches in his career (D. Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea, Ukraine), but rather intertwines it with his personal and social life which enables the reader to see how he integrated his life with football.

The book begins with the present day - Russo-Ukrainian war but spans from his childhood in Soviet Ukraine and how Chornobyl (Chernobyl) affected him; it moves onto his failings at school to his youth club in D. Kyiv etc.

I know that he wanted to finish his career back in Ukraine, specifically with Dynamo Kyiv, but I still think he went back to early; after being loaned out to AC Milan from Chelsea, maybe he could’ve stayed in Calcio A for longer or even moved to the Bundesliga for a few years b4 returning to Kyiv?

Like the GOAT, CR7 (Cristiano), it is clear from this book that Sheva is a honest and great family bloke who loves his wife and kids as well as his older sister and parents; evident both during the war section and throughout his life as a footballer. Although he focused on his sport (obviously - with his champions league, cup wins, ballon d’or etc), it still shows that he’s a man who primarily centres back to the love of his wife and the fun times with his friends - defo not a selfish and arrogant tosser like most footballers who don’t respect or treat their wives/ gfs right.

Wanted 4.5 as there are some places where translation from the original Italian/Ukrainian/ Russian hasn’t come through properly into English.

A must read for football fans!!

[Anton Garvanko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book in which Andriy Shevchenko shares his life story from his childhood and his roots in football all the way to the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The final of UCL in 2003 when Andriy lifted the trophy and subsequently became the best player in the world according to Ballon d’Or. Then the night in Istanbul final against Liverpool in 2005 and the whole other set of emotions. In this book Andriy is self critical about his time at Chelsea and shares his feelings from the time when he was rammed by injuries. And finishes the book with EURO 2012 in Ukraine and Poland which was the last time he wore a national team’s jersey. Overall, a good read about a man of extraordinary scale, a true hero of his country and an example for others to follow.
Thanks for a great book, Andriy!

[David Shlepakov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shevchenko introduced me to football and to Milan, both of which turned into lifelong passions. I grew up on Sheva’s career, so reading his stories was a walk down my own memory lane. I enjoyed reading Sheva’s takes on events that had massive impacts on my own life. But I can’t give this book 5 stars because it’s littered with typos. Other than finding the typos bothersome, I enjoyed the content of the biography.

[Hannah Reidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I’d love this book as Shevchenko is my all time favourite player, but it pleasantly surprised me as I absolutely adored it. This was very well written. It covers all of his playing career and of personal details of family life and his love for Ukraine. I thought the level of detail was perfect, and I genuinely couldn’t put this book down.

[Pietro Vettraino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the book is 3 stars.
I completely adore Sheva the man is probably the best striker I’ve ever seen and as any Milan fan would attest he is simply immense. However the book doesn’t do the legend justice.

[Jack Bawden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Starts off a bit shaky and it goes from him playing with his mates in the street to playing at an academy but It gets really good around the middle of the book