POTSDAM, Germany - Ukraine captain Andriy Shevchenko appeared spry and
limber during training Sunday, showing no sign of his nagging knee injury. At
least for the 15 minutes that the media was allowed to witness, anyway.
Chelsea's latest high-profile acquisition stretched, practiced headers,
scored a few goals and appeared unhindered by the knee injury that has
threatened his start to the World Cup.
Coach Oleg Blokhin has refused to say whether he would start the 29-year-old
striker in Ukraine's opening match against Spain in Leipzig on Wednesday,
prolonging the suspense.
"It's true that Shevchenko is the team leader, but we'll carry on whether
he's fit or not," Blokhin said. "Our performance doesn't depend only on him."
Team spokesman Igor Miroshnyschenko said Blokhin will likely only announce
whether Shevchenko is playing or not an hour before Wednesday's kickoff.
Wanting to keep the favored Spaniards guessing could explain the team's
caginess and the reason reporters were shuffled out of the training center after
a quarter of an hour.
Blokhin may want to leave Spain's coach Luis Aragones wondering until the
last moment whether to employ the 4-3-3 formation he tested during Sunday's
training.
Many experts believe Blokhin, who is determined to beat the group favorite,
will play Shevchenko.
"Our team will be ready for the first match against Spain. We are currently
analyzing the Spanish team but I'm not prepared to give away our conclusions,"
Blokhin said. "The game against Spain is an important one because it's the
first."
For Shevchenko, who at 29 could be playing in his only World Cup, the match
against Spain also has a heightened importance.
"Spain is a great team with a very complete squad. It would be great to beat
them," said the former European player of the year, who sprained his left knee
while playing with former club AC Milan against Parma on May 7. "I know many
Spanish players and they are very talented players. It would mean a lot to beat
them and give us a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament. If we beat
Spain, it means we can go far."
