Dimitar Berbatov - Gone but never forgotten

Modified Sep 06, 2012 14:14 GMT

When Manchester United bade farewell to the languid Bulgarian Footballer, Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov, many fans breathed a sigh of relief as they were happy to see his back finally after slating him for the 4 torrid years he had at the club. He never had the support of the MUFC faithful because of his playing style.

That ‘Berba’ as he is fondly called is a talented footballer is beyond any doubt, but MUFC fans demanded much more than he was displaying. The consensus was that he had to put in more work on the field, forgetting that not all players have the ability to work as hard. Berba is a master in every sense of the word. Unarguably the 2nd greatest Bulgarian player of all time (behind the GREAT Hristo Stoichkov), his foray into English football began at North London where he flied out for Tottenham.

It was his combination with Robbie Keane that was even more captivating. With/alongside the Irishman, Dimitar terrorized defenders in England with devastating ease and finesse. When he signed for Manchester United, the club of my life in 08, I was the happiest man in the world. For a long time, I had been looking for someone Ibra-esque who would wear the great red shirt of the most successful EPL club of all time.

Berba brought with him the complete package and even though things did not work out for him as planned/ anticipated, he still caught the eye in more ways than one. The highlight of his MUFC career was the game v Liverpool at Old Trafford two years ago when he took it upon himself to destroy our greatest rivals with a fantastic hat-trick that even the legendary Ferenc Puskas would be thrilled with. He entered his name into United folklore after that match winning performance. No one had managed to score a hat-trick against the Merseyside club in more than 40 years.

For the Bulgarian genius to achieve it was beyond memorable. He went on to become the joint highest goal scorer (with Tevez) that season (10-11) with 20 exceptionally fantastic goals. He would have scored many more if he hadn’t been consigned to the bench by SAF in favour of the just discovered scoring jewel – ‘Chicharito’.

Berba didn’t play much in his final season at MUFC because another ‘Englishman’ Danny Welbeck leapfrogged him & Chicharito to 2nd choice. He still managed 7 goals and kept his head held high as he only started a handful of games. Berba was the ‘perfect professional footballer on and off the pitch’. As disclosed by Chairman, David Gill, Berba was extremely loyal and never gave anyone a single cause for worry in his 4 seasons at the Theatre of Dreams.

Finding chances few and far between, he chose to leave a few days ago, and Fulham was his preferred destination much to the amusement of football lovers. Juve and Fiorentina, in particular, couldn’t believe their eyes when he chose to pitch his tent with the West London outfit coached by Martin Jol, the man responsible for bringing him to England from German Bundesliga giants, Bayer 04.

I am happy that he can find a place to play regularly at and also continue to fascinate the spectators, fans and haters alike with his mesmerizing talent that sometimes takes my breath away.