The Observer 'Interview' with Andriy Shevchenko

James Eve 'interviews' new Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko.

It is odd to call it an interview because there are very few quotes from Shevchenko himself. It is more of an article written after the interview, but the tone of the written words give the interview a tangible existence at least. For all of you sport psychologists out there, this gives a feel of how Sheva might perform in the Premiership, if you believe in that sort of thing. For me personally, it puts a nice perspective on the transformation process of eastern european stars in western culture. Mainly because it reaches outside of American soil for once. It never felt right trying to get into the mindset of Sergei Federov or Pavel Bure in the early nineties because the fall of communism was so fresh in their rearview mirror. But Shevchenko has a good decade behind him (sort of like living in the 70's era U.S., but without the disco and keener fashion design with his Armani friendship). It is no wonder he is considered such a national hero in Ukraine, and I would wager in the rest of the Russian (former or present) speaking world despite spending nearly the last decade in western Europe. I will go no further in this evaluation this evening, but if anyone truly cares, give me a telephone call or an electronic mail and we can discuss the implications of all of this.

In other news, Alberto and I upgraded to digital cable finally to specifically watch the Fox Soccer Channel. (Thanks to Time Warner for stepping into the fold to replace the struggling and inept Adelphia/Comcast) Last night we watched the replay of the Chelsea v. Blackburn match for the FanZone. I am not sure if this is a normal broadcast, but at one in the morning, it is quite a delight watching the game and listening to two fans from the opposing sides commentating and emails scrolling through the lower third ticker. I suggest everyone watch out for this when perusing the Channel.