Last Stand For Sheva & Co?

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of Saturday’s World Cup qualifier between Croatia and Ukraine. The teams are in direct competition for the runner up spot in Group Six. A loss for either side would make them outsiders in the race for South Africa 2010, that much is certain. But if retaining hope to play on football’s biggest stage is not enough of an incentive, consider this: next summer’s tournament is likely the last chance for Andriy Shevchenko and a whole generation of Ukrainian footballers to represent the national team in a meaningful competition before they enter the twilight of their careers.

Football is a young man’s game, and nowhere is it more apparent than on the international level. Walking away from your national team at 30 is becoming the norm rather than an exception. Players trying to squeeze a few more years out of their club careers cannot handle the added workload. Witness England’s Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher, or the recent departure of Andriy Nesmachniy from Ukraine’s setup. Sure, there are the likes of TnT’s Dwight Yorke or the recently recalled by Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco, but their presence is a reflection of the state of their respective sides rather than their abilities. A European team cannot be carried by 30+ year old legs, and France’s woeful display at Euro 2008 is a case in point.

With that in mind, lets take a look at Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko’s current squad, and how old those players will be when Ukraine hosts the European Championship in 2012. I have included several players who were not called up for this week’s matches but figure to play a part in the immediate future:

Oleksandr Shovkovskiy GK 37
Andriy Shevchenko F 36
Valentyn Slyusar M 35
Andriy Voronin F 34
Yevhen Levchenko M 34
Serhiy Valyayev M 34
Anatoliy Tymoschuk M 33
Vyacheslav Shevchuk D 33
Maksym Kalynychenko M 33
Serhiy Nazarenko M 32
Ruslan Rotan M 31
Oleksandr Kucher D 30
Oleksiy Gai M 30
Rustam Khudzhamov GK 30
Andriy Rusol D 29
Taras Mykhalyk D 29
Oleh Husyev M 29
Serhiy Kravchenko M 29
Marko Devic F 29
Stanyslav Bohush GK 29
Mykola Ischenko D 29
Oleksandr Kovpak F 29
Andriy Pyatov GK 28
Denys Golaydo M 28
Artem Milevskiy F 27
Oleksandr Aliyev M 27
Hrygory Yarmash D 27
Yevhen Seleznyov F 27
Volodymyr Homenyuk F 27
Dmytro Chyhrynskiy D 26
Bohdan Shust GK 26
Vitaliy Mandzyuk D 26
Oleh Dopilka D 26
Oleksandr Hladky F 25
Vitaliy Fedoriv D 25
Pavlo Pashaiv D 24
Artem Kravets F 23

Shevchenko and Voronin are already struggling to make an impact for club and country, respectively, and I am not enough of an optimist to expect them to contribute in three years. Tymoschuk is still at the peak of his powers, but how much of his legendary workrate will he retain at 33? In all, eight players who started for Ukraine at Wembley in April will be on the wrong side of 30 by the time Ukraine/Poland 2012 rolls around. No more than a couple of them will be in the squad, let alone the first eleven, by then. So the international careers of a footballing generation hinge on Ukraine getting a result in Zagreb. No pressure, boys, none at all.