September 29th News. Today marks the 48th birthday of the Golden Ball winner and Ukrainian legendary player, Andriy Shevchenko. The official Golden Ball account sent their best wishes to him.

The official social media account of the Golden Ball posted a birthday poster of Shevchenko kissing the trophy, with the caption: "Happy birthday to our 2004 Golden Ball winner, Shevchenko!"

During his playing career, Shevchenko, primarily a striker, had stints at Kyiv Dynamo, Milan, and Chelsea. During his time at Milan from 1999 to 2006 and 2008 to 2009, he played 322 matches, scored 175 goals, and provided 46 assists. He helped the Rossoneri win one Serie A title, one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana, one UEFA Champions League, and one UEFA Super Cup. He also won the Golden Ball award in 2004.

At the international level, Shevchenko represented the Ukrainian national team in 111 matches, scoring 48 goals and providing 9 assists.

After retiring from playing, Shevchenko ventured into coaching and served as the head coach of the Ukrainian national team and Genoa. He currently holds the position of President of the Football Federation of Ukraine.