Chelsea's Shevchenko talks about his difficult season

	Chelsea purchased former European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko for a reported $60 million one year ago. Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
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I finally have something in common with hundreds of thousands of Chelsea fans: I'm terribly disappointed in Andriy Shevchenko.

But my frustration has little to do with his shortcomings on the field. Sure, I understand why Blues fans feel let down by the Ukrainian superstar. After all, Chelsea didn't pay AC Milan $60 million to see its prize acquisition struggle on the field and then sit out key Champions League matches, as well as this Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester United.

No, I'm more let down by the opportunity Sheva let slip away. Last week, SI.com's Gabriele Marcotti and I drove out to posh Wentworth golf club in the southwestern London suburbs for an exclusive interview with the Chelsea striker. Shevchenko's people have guarded him carefully during this tumultuous season, and he has given few interviews to the English-language press.

But his handlers graciously gave us an audience with the 30-year-old scoring machine, and the timing couldn't have been better. Shevchenko has been absolutely pummeled by Chelsea fans, the media and English fans in general for his failure to produce this season. After scoring 173 goals in all competitions over seven prolific seasons at AC Milan, Sheva has managed only 14 in 52 matches in his first season in England.

He's also been the center of a supposed feud between manager José Mourinho and billionaire club owner Roman Abramovich, men with egos to match their expensive tastes. The story goes that Abramovich brought in both Sheva and German national-team captain Michael Ballack last summer against Mourinho's wishes.

Neither megastar fit into the outspoken Portuguese coach's system, and both players' inabilities to adapt this season threw the team off -- just one of many reasons why Chelsea flamed out of the Champions League again and came up short in its bid for a third straight English Premier league title.

Worse, one tabloid reported Shevchenko faked his recent groin injury at the behest of Abramovich, who was hoping a frustrated Mourinho would leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. (Chelsea issued a statement denying the report.)

That's quite a load to heap on Shevchenko's (very rich) shoulders. Yes, he's struggled mightily at times, but I don't believe it's all his fault.

He played out of position all season in a system that isn't geared to his strengths. The players who might have complemented his game the most -- Joe Cole and Arjen Robben -- struggled to stay in the lineup. And in Sheva's defense, without him on the pitch, there's probably no way Didier Drogba would have lit up Chelsea's opposition for 38 goals.

Still, I wanted to hear Shevchenko's side of the story -- if he thought he'd been treated unfairly by the club, if he thought Mourinho's criticism of him was unfounded, if he felt the English fans have been too harsh. And for a moment, I thought we were going to get an exclusive confessional.

"Do you feel the club has done everything in its power to support you this season?" I asked.

Marcotti quickly translated into Italian, the language Shevchenko speaks at home with his American model wife, Kristen Pazik, also in attendance at our interview. Sheva listened carefully to the question, looked me square in the eyes, and answered, point blank: "No."