MLS Syndrome bites Chelsea Star Andriy Shevchenko

Yep, Chelsea superstar Andriy Shevchenko wants to play in Major League Soccer (MLS) too.

Shevchenko claims soccer, yep, he called it soccer, is growing in the United States and the Chelsea star wants to be a part of it before he calls it a career. Although he won't be making the change anytime soon, he wants to play in the States at some point of his career.

''Soccer is growing in the U.S. and I'd like to be a part of that. I played there last summer against the MLS All-Stars and I saw myself that it's definitely improving,'' Andriy Shevchenko said.

Andriy Shevchenko joined the English Premier League, signing a £30 million last summer with Chelsea FC after an awesome season with AC Milan in the Italian Serie A. However, since moving for the Premiership in England, Chelsea fans are yet to see the Shevchenko who became such a household name in Italy.

He failed to reproduce the kind of form that Chelsea paid AC Milan for. To make things worse, Shevchenko was sidelined with a groin injury that forced him to miss most of the English football season, including his team's 2007 FA Cup win over rivals Manchester United.

Shevchenko claims that playing out of position for the Blues did not help his cause during a difficult opening season at Stamford Bridge but he insists he was happy to make the sacrifice for the benefit of the team.

''It wasn't a great season but it hasn't been the worst,'' Shevchenko said. ''People always expect a lot from me. I wasn't well in the first four months, partly because of fatigue from the World Cup and partly because of the injury I was carrying. But then I had a good stretch in the middle of the season.''

''In the end, despite everything, I ended up with 14 goals and 11 or 12 assists, and that's not a bad season.''

As long as you say so Shevy...

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Andriy Shevchenko Chelsea FC