Week In Review: Ukrainians On European Stage

Ukrainian clubs and national team players put in a solid showing in UEFA Cup Round of 32 first leg action this week. Anatoliy Tymoschuk did not let his impending departure from Zenit Saint Petersburg prevent him from scoring the winner as his club downed Stuttgart 2-1. Artem Milevskiy pulled Dynamo Kyiv level with Valencia before being inexplicably sent off as the UPL leaders were held to a 1-1 draw. Milevskiy’s potential national team strike partner Yevhen Seleznyov came off the the bench and promptly nodded in the opening goal as Shakhtar Donetsk beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. And Metalist Kharkiv shocked Sampdoria with a 1-0 away victory on a neat header by former Dynamo midfielder Denys Oliynyk.

Perhaps the only sour note for Ukrainian football this week was Andriy Shevchenko’s inability to make it on the team sheet as his AC Milan side took on Werder Bremen. The striker, who missed Ukraine’s training camp because he was visiting the dentist in London (yeah…), has a hip issue and was not part of the squad that traveled to Germany. It is a sad state of affairs for Shevchenko as the 2004 Ballon d’Or winner has become an afterthought in the minds of Rossoneri fans, even so far as having been mentioned as possible compensation in Milan’s bid to pry David Beckham from the LA Galaxy. Silly rumors aside, the window on Shevchenko’s time as a world class striker is closing fast. If the 32 year old cannot earn playing time in Milan he is unlikely to figure in Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko’s plans as Ukraine continues its World Cup 2010 qualification campaign.

Tymoschuk

Milevskiy

Seleznyov

Oliynyk