Shevchenko and Mourinho's comments on each other before first managerial meeting

Andriy Shevchenko will welcome Jose Mourinho to his new home this weekend seeking to again outlast his old Chelsea boss - this time in his first job in Serie A.

The Ukrainian striker and the Portuguese coach suffered a strained relationship at Stamford Bridge after Shevchenko's £30.8m transfer in 2006. Mourinho famously mimicked a golf swing when asked the whereabouts of the former Ballon D'Or winner at the end of his first season - and later admitted Shevchenko was not his first choice at Roman Abramovich's club.

But the former Milan forward was still at Stamford Bridge when Mourinho was fired in September 2007 - and now the Portuguese's honeymoon period is over after winning only one match in seven with Roma on his return to Italian football.

Shevchenko, whose Ukraine side lost to England in the Euro 2020 quarter-final in the Italian capital in July, was diplomatic about facing Mourinho the manager for the first time at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Sunday night.

"I have great respect for Mourinho," he said. "His arrival has brought a great deal to Italian football."

But the two did not always show mutual respect during Shevchenko's nightmare spell in the Premier League. Former Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi branded him a "lapdog" for for leaving Italy because his American wife Kristen wanted to live in London - an accusation later echoed by Mourinho when he returned to Milan.

And in between Shevchenko, then the most expensive signing by a British club, was to become the lightning rod for the electric tensions between the Portuguese coach and the Chelsea hierarchy.

Mourinho rejected the club's attempt to appoint a Russian-speaking coach to help rediscover the striker's form. And the Portuguese was furious when Shevchenko withdrew from the 2007 Champions League semi-final defeat against Liverpool with a groin strain and did not play again that season. Didier Drogba scored the winner in the FA Cup final.

Mourinho later admitted: "At Chelsea, he was not my first choice. I had asked for another player, and I know at the time the club were doing everything to get me the players I wanted, or at least one of them, but it wasn't possible for various reasons. And when I was offered Shevchenko, I said yes because he is undoubtedly a player of quality."

"He was like a prince in Milan and at Chelsea our philosophy was different, we had no princes."

Shevchenko was also not wanted by Felipe Scolari and Carlo Ancelotti and after an unhappy loan return to Milan, he re-signed for his first club Dinamo Kiev in 2009. He scored 22 goals in 77 matches for Chelsea.

On his departure from Stamford Bridge, he blamed Mourinho and injuries for his English flop.

"He was an excellent organiser, attentive to every detail before games," said Shevchenko. "From this point of view, he was incredible. But maybe he needed to speak more with his players."

"Injuries were the man cause of my lack of success in England. Chelsea fans never got to see the real Shevchenko. English football is more physical and quicker than Italian football which is more technical."

Now he is back at Italy's oldest club - Genoa Cricket and Football Club - who sit in 17th place but have big ambitions after a takeover by new American owners 777 Partners.

The 2004 Ballon D'Or winner, now 45, said: "That belongs in the past while now I hope to do something important as a coach and I have come to do that, hoping to stay at Genoa for a long time.

"I have worked with Alberto Zaccheroni, Carlo Ancelotti, Cesare Maldini. Now I will have the chance to challenge the great coaches of Italian football. All this is exciting. I am ready. There is lots to do but I am not scared."