Source: Daily_Mail
Edin Dzeko: I won't be a flop like my hero Andriy Shevchenko
Edin Dzeko comes up against his boyhood idol Andriy Shevchenko once again in the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium here tonight determined not to be a big-money flop in English football like the former Chelsea striker.[LNB] Dzeko, who still has Shevchenko's signed AC Milan shirt framed on the wall of his home in Sarajevo, saw the Ukrainian's career dip dramatically after leaving Italy for Stamford Bridge in a ?30.8million deal and can sympathise with the Dynamo Kiev star after enduring a less-than-prolific start to his life in England with Manchester City.[LNB] Old guard: Andriy Shevchenko will spearhead Dynamo Kiev's attack[LNB] The Bosnia striker has yet to score in the League since arriving from Wolfsburg for ?27m in January, although his two goals against Aris Salonika saw City safely through to the last 16 of the Europa League and tonight's first leg.[LNB] Asked about facing his hero, now 34, Dzeko (below) said: 'He was always the favourite player for me. My idol. I met him a few years ago when Wolfsburg played Milan and we exchanged shirts.[LNB] 'He had some tough times in England but that's football. England is very different from other leagues and I'll have to get used to it. Hopefully I'll have a lot of success there.'[LNB] [LNB]Dzeko's other two goals for City came against Notts County in the FA Cup and manager Roberto Mancini boss backed the 24-year-old to come good, admitting that he has faced difficulties adapting to life in England and learning to play alongside his new strike partners. [LNB]'Edin is one of the best strikers in Europe,' said Mancini. 'It's not easy to start with a new team in a new league in January, but I'm happy that he will be one of the best strikers in England.[LNB] 'I know Shevchenko because he played in Italy for a long time. He was a fantastic player in Italy. But Shevchenko has other important players around him in Kiev as well.'[LNB] The statistics appear to back that up. Kiev have only lost twice to English teams at home and beat Turkish side Besiktas 8-1 on aggregate in the last round.[LNB] City also have to play in Kiev's smaller 16,900- capacity venue - not the Olimpiyskiy Stadium which is being renovated for the Euro 2012 finals - and in temperatures touching minus 10 degrees.[LNB] At a bizarre press conference, some Ukrainian questions were translated first into English for Mancini by one interpreter and then Italian by another.[LNB] To take care of confused local reporters wanting to find out why their visitors had decided to train behind closed doors, City's boss stated that, in fact, it was never his intention to train in Kiev because they had trained in Manchester.[LNB] However, Mancini did criticise the playing surface, saying: 'The pitch isn't good enough at the moment. It's so hard because of the cold. We only came here to see the pitch.'[LNB] Ready for action: Edin Dzeko speaks to the media in Kiev[LNB] Dynamo Kiev v MANCHESTER CITY: Wright-Phillips winging his way back after injuryMancini seeking silverware as City boss hails the Europa LeagueFIFA tell Toure he should have had diet pill checked by Man City's doctors [LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Edin Dzeko, Roberto Mancini, Andriy Shevchenko Places: Milan, Manchester, Bosnia, Italy, United Kingdom, Europe
