The Ukrainian hit-man Andreï Shevchenko is the AC Milan?s leading striker and the man who poses arguably the biggest threat to Liverpool ambitions of lifting the European Cup for a fifth time in Istanbul tomorrow.

Andreï, is it true that Liverpool legend Ian Rush was a hero to you ?

? He certainly was. Rush was a terrific striker, one of the best of his time, and I?ll never forget receiving a pair of football boots from him at a youth tournament in Wales. I must have been about 14 and he?d actually organised the tournament. I used to love those boots and wore them even when they were too small.

Would you say he inspired you to be a striker ?

? Obviously I was a big admirer of Rush and in a way I suppose he did but there were other influences. Players like Belanov and Zavaro, they were my heroes from Ukraine and Russia and both of them also inspired me a lot.

As a fan of Rush, did you use to follow Liverpool?s fortunes ?

? Yes, I used to watch Liverpool?s matches as a boy on television and I continue to do so now. When we are here at Milanello or in a hotel for an away match I watch a lot of Premiership football with my team-mates. We are all very interested in the English game.

Despite not being in a European Cup Final for 21 years do you still consider Liverpool to be one of Europe?s top clubs ?

? The fact that Liverpool have reached the final of this season?s Champions League means they have deserved it. We will not be underestimating them and must be very careful. I think this season, whenever I have seen Liverpool play in the Champions League they have performed in a good way. So although they haven?t been to the final for many years it is obvious to me that they are a very good team.

Are you expecting a tough battle against Liverpool defenders Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia ?

? I don?t fear the defenders especially but what I would say is that all of our team must be careful about all Liverpool?s team. It?s not a battle between Shevchenko and the Liverpool?s defence, it?s a battle between all the players. It is one team against the other, one trainer against the other and so all the players will count as much as the others.

How do you rate the Liverpool strikers Milan Baros and Djibril Cisse ?

?They are very, very good strikers. I know about Baros more because he has played for his national team at Euro 2004 and he is very talented, as are all the Liverpool players are important. We must be aware of everyone in their team.