Shevchenko invited to be Ukraine national coach

Retired Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko has been asked to coach the national team seeking to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, the Ukraine soccer federation said on Monday.

"Andriy Konkov, president of the Football Federation of Ukraine, made a decision to offer Andriy Shevchenko the job of head coach of the Ukraine team", the FFU's official website said.

Shevchenko, 36, who played for Italy's AC Milan and English club Chelsea as well as Dynamo Kiev in a goal-studded career, retired after his country's exit from the Euro 2012 tournament they co-hosted in June.

An attempt to enter politics came to a quick end when the party he was enlisted onto as a candidate for parliament failed to muster enough votes in an Oct 28 election to earn any representation in parliament.

Shevchenko, who was a record marksman for his country scoring 48 goals in 111 appearances, could not immediately be reached to comment on the report.

The job became vacant when Oleg Blokhin, the previous coach, accepted an offer from Dynamo Kiev.

Photograph: Handout/UEFA via Getty Images