Soccer fans, it’s D.C. United’s turn to enter the ever-churning Major League Soccer rumor mill.
The Daily Mail’s Ashley Gray reports this morning that former AC Milan and current Ukranian national team striker Andriy Shevchenko is close to signing with United.
Shevchenko’s career in Europe is the stuff of legend—his 175 goals as a member of AC Milan are good enough to make him the second most prolific scorer in that storied franchise’s history. He won the 2004 Ballon D’Or as Europe’s top player, and his 48 national team goals are more than any other player in the history of the Ukranian team.
The 35-year-old’s contract with his current professional team, Dyanmo Kyiv, is up, and his two goals against sweden in the European Football Championship this year have made him a frequent target of transfer rumors. Bear in mind that as recently as yesterday Shevchenko was linked to the Chicago Fire, and that the MLS rumor mill can be absolutely ridiculous at times. (The Post’s Soccer Insider is skeptical.)
There are reasons to believe the information though—Shevchenko’s wife is from the D.C. area, they were married here and Shevchenko is a Congressional Country Club member. The rumor emerges at a time when United is in talks to bring new investors on board, which could give the team the financial freedom to pursue bringing on a player who’s salary in MLS has been speculated to be in the Thierry Henry range—$5 million or more.
The question has to be asked, though—does United need Shevchenko? You can make the argument that he’s the type of player you always make room for, but with Maicon Santos and Chris Pontius both having career years up top and both Hamdi Salihi and Branko Bošković finally getting up to speed—how do you make room for him?
At 35, can “Sheva” keep up in MLS? His past two campaigns in Kiev have been rather pedestrian, and his age is beginning to show. MLS might not be the most technically gifted league, but it has its own rigors—travel is a nightmare and its style of play is much more physical than many leagues in Europe. There’s also the question of motivation. Shevchenko probably finds it easy, as a 35-year old reaching the end of his national team career, to go out and get hyped up for a Euro Cup match in his home country. Can he do the same, say, for a Wednesday night match-up with the Columbus Crew?
“I will decide after Euro 2012 what I’m going to do,” Shevchenko recently told Sports Illustrated. “Whether I will carry on in football or maybe finish, whether I’ll move in Europe, stay in Ukraine or have the opportunity to come to the U.S. and play.”
“I’m very interested in playing there,” he continued. “I’ve seen the level of the football every year is getting better and better. Also, I really like America.”
So is Shevchenko coming to the States to further the growth of the sport? Or is he just trying to pay for another few years at Congressional? Will he maybe just choose to see his career out in his home country? Another report from today says he’ll decide in the next week or two. Only time will tell.
