The Curious Case of ‘Dimitar Berbatov’

“I no longer feel valued at Manchester United”

He is classy, stylish and adorable. He has the moves, the skill and the technique to put the ball into the net and he does it so beautifully. His stance in front of the goal is described by many as “elegant and calm”. The lad is known for his footballing intelligence, but his critics call him lazy and arrogant.

Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov, born in Bulgaria and with the passion of playing football like his heroes, Marco Van Basten and Alan Shearer. He started his career with his hometown club Pirin and then went on to play for clubs like CSKA Sofia, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United.

Berbatov in his early career joined CSKA Sofia and impresses many clubs and was bought by the German club Bayer Leverkusen in 2000-01, where he spent five and a half years and played in one Champions league final which they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid in 2002. He joined English club Tottenham in 2006 and won his first trophy on English soil, the League Cup, when his team beats local rivals Chelsea 2-1 where he scored from a penalty.

With his style of play and elegance and especially with his first touch, he impressed Sir Alex Ferguson who bought him in 2008-09 for a club record fee of £30 million. At the start of his United career ‘Berba’ struggled a lot and Sir Alex was heavily criticized by the English media. Berbatov, then went on to win the Premier League, League Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with them. His best season at United came in 2010-11 when he scored three hat tricks and scored five goals against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford and ended up being joint top scorer of the league with Carlos Tevez.

But the downfall came when Sir Alex Ferguson left him out of the team that faced FC Barcelona in the Champions League final which United eventually lost 3-1 at Wembley.

This downfall continued and he was linked with many German and Italian clubs in the summer with a move away from the club but he refused to move away. The rumors subsided and talismanic Bulgarian continued his career with Manchester United.

The 2011-12 season did not start as expected as he struggled to get into the first team due to the emerging Danny Welbeck who performed well to get a first team place. Berbatov went on the bench, but he scored few goals whenever he got a chance to play in the first team. He scored goals in the Carling cup matches, but was not at his best and was continuously criticized by media. His scoring rate was as good as any other striker in the Premier League, but he struggled to make his way into the first team.

In the January transfer window he was linked with a move to Bayern Munich, but the rumor was squashed by Ferguson. Towards the end of the season, Berbatov was not even seen on the bench ultimately resulting in the end of his Manchester United career.

It’s a shame to see such a great and mesmerizing player leave the club in such acrimonious circumstances. Berbatov will always be remembered by United fans for his skillful grace and elegant touch, but alas he stayed a season too long.

Best of luck, Dimitar Berbatov.