Chelsea have revolutionised their efforts to get the best out of
£31m striker Andrei Shevchenko by employing the former British
Olympic sprinter Darren Campbell to help the Ukrainian regain his
explosive pace.
The job of rehabilitating a player whose reputation has nosedived
since he came to Chelsea falls to Campbell, 34, who is well-known
as a lifelong Manchester United fan as well as a decent former
amateur footballer.
His qualities as a sprint coach are not in doubt. He was twice an
Olympic medallist, winning the silver in the 200 metres in Sydney
in 2000 and a gold in the 4x100m relay team in Athens four years
later.
He has worked with Shevchenko at both the club's training ground
and the striker's home in Surrey.
The sessions began in the last few weeks of Jose Mourinho's reign
and Shevchenko is believed to be already seeing a difference in his
pace and sharpness. When he joined the club in the summer of 2006,
Shevchenko brought a personal trainer with him from Italy although
he has since returned. The player himself is understood to be
enthusiastic about the new approach and has got on well with
Campbell.
Their focus has been on the short bursts of pace which were the
hallmark of Shevchenko's successful seven years at Milan. The
coaching with Campbell has been in addition to the work that
Shevchenko does with the rest of the first-team squad.
The use of Campbell was never really approved by Mourinho but his
subsequent introduction after the departure of the Portuguese
manager shows that Grant is willing to try new ideas and
practices.
