Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Dynamo diamond: When Ukraine legend Andriy Shevchenko starred at Aberdeen International Football Festival

Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko celebrates his side's 2-1 win against Sweden at Euro 2012.
Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko celebrates his side's 2-1 win against Sweden at Euro 2012.

When you think of Ukraine one player comes to mind – the great Andriy Shevchenko.

Shevchenko is a former player and manager of his country, having scored 48 goals in 111 appearances before taking charge of the national team from 2016 until the conclusion of last summer’s delayed Euro 2020 championship.

But did you know the former European football of the year’s fledgling career started in Aberdeen?

Shevchenko was just 13 when he was sent to the Granite City with the Dynamo Kyiv under-15 squad to compete in the Aberdeen International Football Festival in 1990.

He was, understandably, an unknown at the time but the teenager who would go on to score 175 goals in 322 games for Milan left a lasting impression in Aberdeen as he helped Kyiv win the tournament.

The teenage striking sensation who led Dynamo to the title at Seaton Park

Andriy Shevchenko, pictured, front row left in the Dynamo Kyiv Under-15 team which played at the Aberdeen International Football Festival in 1990.

George Wyatt, former chairman of the AIFF, said: “I remember well that Dynamo Kyiv team coming over.

“They came over because they had a link-up with Rangers, I believe they went to Glasgow for a tour around Ibrox before the tournament.

“I clearly remember seeing Shevchenko, he played extremely well in the tournament.

“He was a year or two younger than his team-mates but even then he stood out.”

Aberdeen had been the dominant team in the tournament with their youth select having won six of the previous eight years and more than 3,000 fans turned out to watch the Ukrainian side take on the holders in the final.

Dynamo had reached the final courtesy of a 5-1 win against Middlefield Wasps in the semi-final and, while the young Dons select pushed them all the way, Shevchenko’s man of the match display helped the visitors take the title with a 1-0 win.

Shevchenko was pipped to player of the tournament title at Aberdeen International Football Festival

Incredibly, considering Shevchenko’s glittering career as an adult, he lost out to another future professional star in the race to be named player of the tournament.

Wyatt said: “That was an especially strong year, because Peter Ndlovu, who went on to play for Sheffield United, was playing for a team from Zimbabwe.

“He won player of the tournament and was absolutely outstanding.”

Less than four years after starring at Seaton Park Shevchenko had forced his way into the Dynamo Kyiv first team and he would go on to become a global football star following his exploits in Italy.

Thankfully the legendary former Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan and Chelsea striker will have to settle for a seat in the stand at Hampden on Wednesday when his successor Oleksandr Petrakov leads the team against Steve Clarke’s side.

The World Cup play-off semi-final promises to be a titanic struggle between two sides chasing a place in Qatar in November with the winners off the semi-final travelling to Cardiff to face Wales in the final on Sunday.