Andriy Shevchenko finally gets his World Cup chance this summer - at the third time of asking. The AC Milan striker has been labelled as on of the best players in the world never to feature in a World Cup, but when he leads out Ukraine against Spain, June 14 fulfil his dream at last.
Now knocking on the door of 30 - he reaches that milestone in September - Shevchenko has won just about all there is to win in Italy's Serie A, in his native Ukraine, and in Europe at club level. He has been a scorer of winning penalties, and missed a key spot-kick when losing, in Champions League final shoot-outs, and was named European Footballer of the Year in 2004.
Now, with the world watching, comes his chance to grab international attention at the highest possible level.
Shevchenko has always been fiercely patriotic - he dedicated his 2003 Champions League winner's medal to all his fellow Ukrainians - but it looked as though a World Cup appearance may elude him forever when Ukraine lost out in the qualifying play-offs in both 1998 and 2002.
However, this time Oleg Blokhin's side have stormed through qualifying Group Two and booked their place in the 2006 finals in Germany with games to spare, thanks to the heroics of their talisman.
Barring the heartbreak of injury, Shevchenko will now go one step further than the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, George Best, Ryan Giggs and George Weah have ever ventured. Those legends could not mask the shortcomings of their respective national teams and so missed out on the World Cup experience.
Shevchenko is not a one-man team however and was ably assisted in qualifying by the likes of goalkeeper Aleksandr Shovkovski, defender Andriy Rusol, midfielder Andrei Gusin and fellow striker Andriy Voronin. And while everyone connected with the Ukraine side is determined to play down their chances of summer glory, Shevchenko believes a strong team ethic will make them a tough side to beat.
"We are still a long way off being the finished article," he said. "We are in the process of building a new side but we have the will to win and formidable team spirit. What's more, my team have the right temperament."
Finished article or not, Shevchenko and co are being quietly tipped as a major force for the World Cup and will be confident of progressing through a group containing Spain, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Much will depend on the form of their imposing skipper - but that has never been a problem in the past.
