SOCCER: Dynamo Kiev v Manchester City:THE LATEST chapter in Manchester City's Europa League adventure will unfold against a fascinating backdrop. Frozen Kiev will host a shoot-out between Dynamo's Andriy Shevchenko and City's Edin Dzeko. This sub-plot is spiced by the fact Shevchenko is an idol of City's €30 million January arrival from Wolfsburg.
“I still have a home in Sarajevo and there is a room where the walls are covered with football jerseys,” said Dzeko. “One is a Milan shirt with Shevchenko’s name and number on the back. It is an original from one of his Serie A appearances and he has autographed it. It has pride of place. It really is my prized possession. It always brings a smile to my face when I see it.”
One of Dzeko’s treasured memories is a meeting with the one-time Chelsea forward when Wolfsburg played Milan and he ended up with a second shirt.
“Shevchenko was always the favourite player for me. He was my idol. When we met we exchanged shirts and talked for a while. It was great.”
With temperatures forecast to drop to around -6C this first leg promises to be anything but straightforward for Roberto Mancini’s side.
A City defence lacking Kolo Toure will need to be mindful of not just Shevchenko but Artem Milevskiy. The Ukraine international tends to be deployed as an outright striker with Shevchenko occupying a deeper role.
“Kiev is a good team,” said Mancini. “It will be a difficult game but the big problem is the pitch. It’s so hard because it’s so cold, it isn’t good enough at the moment.”
GuardianService
