Alex Ovechkin at the Washington Football Game With Former Soccer Superstar (Photos)

October 20, 2013 11:54 pm

Nice photobomb, kid. (Photo credit: @Ovi8)

With the day off and some time to kill, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin traveled once again to FedEx Field to watch Washington’s game against the Chicago Bears. Ovi didn’t tailgate this time, but for good reason.

He was sitting up in the club level with some guy named Andriy Shevchenko. He is apparently super-famous outside of America.

Shevchenko, or simply Sheva, as he is known to millions of soccer fans around the world, started his illustrious soccer career in the mid 1990s with Dinamo Kiev, the powerhouse of Ukrainian soccer. By the end of the decade he was widely recognized as one of the most feared striker in the world– and when that happens, the moneyed clubs of Europe inevitably line up to get the player’s signature on a contract.

Sheva eventually left Kiev for AC Milan and Chelsea before returning home to Dinamo to finish his career. He retired after Euro 2012 and tried his hand, unsuccessfully, at politics.

Sheva attended the Russia-Canada game at the 2006 Turin Olympics and later commented about how impressed he was with Ovechkin’s play. Perhaps the two struck up a friendship, or perhaps Shevchenko is in town to visit his wife’s father, Mike Pazik, former pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, who now lives near DC. Whatever the reason, Ovi and Sheva ended up in a FedEx suite to watch some real American football.

Small world.