Ukraine's main man

Tonight he returns to St James' Park as one of the best strikers in the world, a Champions League winner with AC Milan and accepted as the greatest player from Ukraine since former European Player of the Year Oleg Blokhin, now his national team manager.

It is an emotional return to the North East for the 27-year-old, who acknowledges that playing against British teams has helped develop his glittering career.

"The Champions League games for Dynamo Kyiv against Newcastle in 1997 had a major impact," he recalls.

"I will never forget our match in Kyiv. There were 100,000 fans inside the stadium and I was lucky enough to score an early goal.

"Kenny Dalglish was the Newcastle manager. At one stage we were leading 2-0 but it ended up 2-2. It was an important lesson, English teams never give up and you have to carry on playing them until the final second."

Kyiv were beaten 2-0 at St James' Park but still topped their qualification group with Shevchenko forming a famous partnership with Sergiy Rebrov, now at West Ham.

More Champions League success followed the next season – Shevchenko scored against Arsenal's David Seaman – and the prolific young striker was snapped up by Italian giants AC Milan in 1999.

Since then, life has turned upside down for Shevchenko.

The boy from Dvirkivshchyna, whose ultimate childhood luxury was a bicycle, now scores goals by day and models for Armani at night.

He will never forget his relationship with Britain though, which goes way back before his first trip to Newcastle.

"I was just 13 when I went with a Dynamo Kyiv boys team to play in a tournament in Wales," he recalls.

"We won the tournament and I was named the best player. What made it special was that Ian Rush was there to give me a pair of football boots as my prize.

"It meant such a lot because everyone in Ukraine knew about Ian Rush, the legendary Liverpool player."

Shevchenko's journeys are rather more high-profile these days. In 2003, he scored the winning penalty in the Champions League final at Old Trafford when Milan defeated Juventus on penalties.

Just two weeks ago, he scored the winner for Milan against Chelsea in the United States to show he still likes putting English opposition to the sword.

Despite Milan's star-studded team sheet, Shevchenko is first on it for the important matches.

He is very much the modern forward. Mobile and strong, he can link play and create space for others. But he can also finish - sometimes subtly, sometimes through brute force.

"My priority is to score goals and be a threat up front but I also see myself as an assistant to my defenders and midfielders," says Shevchenko, who made his debut for childhood heroes Kyiv at 17.

"It is a hard position in Italy where you are always closely marked."

Like Ryan Giggs, George Best and George Weah, Shevchenko is a superstar who hasn't been able to parade his talents at a major international tournament.

Twice he has been foiled in the play-offs and admits it is a burning ambition to play for Ukraine in either the World Cup or European Championship.

"I have come so close. The biggest disappointment was losing 3-2 on aggregate to Slovenia in the Euro 2000 play-offs. I was so upset after that, I didn't want to play football again."

His first target though is to beat England tonight and gain revenge for a 2-0 defeat at Wembley in 2000.

"The England defenders concentrated their attention on me and I found it very tough," he admits. "Gary Neville and Gareth Southgate were very strong but at least Tony Adams has retired now!"

The statistics already prove Shevchenko is one of the greatest strikers of his generation.

His record of 88 goals in 147 games for Milan would be impressive in any country, but it's astounding in Italy where defences are notoriously mean.

He was the top scorer in Serie A last season as Milan won the Scudetto. And he hasn't been forgotten in his homeland either, four times being named Ukraine's Player of the Year.

In lots of ways, Shevchenko leads a fairytale existence. But to those who know him, he yearns success with his country before he can call his life perfect.

Andriy Shevchenko Factfile

Nationality: Ukraine (52 caps, 22 goals)
Date of Birth: 29 September 1976
Place of Birth: Dvirkivshchyna, Ukraine
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 76 kg