Profile Football Stars | Dimitar Berbatov | He was signed by Bayer Leverkusen of Germany in January 2001 and played in his first Champions League final 18 months later, coming on as a substitute in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final, the which Leverkusen lost 2-1 to Real Madrid. Berbatov is the first non-Englishman in Premier League history to have scored five goals in a single match, having done so in Manchester United's 7-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in November 2010. Berbatov was born to Ivan and Margarita Berbatov, Themselves both professional athlete: Ivan was a footballer with the Pirin and CSKA Sofia, while Margarita was a handball player.
Berbatov joined the youth squad of his father's former club, CSKA Sofia, after being spotted by scout and manager Dimitar Penev in 1998. Berbatov's first game in Europe came in September 1999, in a 2-0 defeat against his childhood team Newcastle United; That it was during season, from 1999 to 2000, that he started to make-his name, scoring 14 goals in 27 league matches.
A run of nine goals in eleven games during the first half of the 2000-01 season was enough to persuade German club Bayer Leverkusen to pay € 1.3 million to sign a four-year contract with Berbatov on 1 January 2001. Berbatov played for the club's reserve team in the Oberliga Nordrhein at first, and scored six goals in seven appearances before being Promoted to the first team. He made his team debut in a 4-3 pre-season friendly win against DC United, scoring a hat-trick. FC Köln. Berbatov found Himself being used as a substitute by manager Berti Vogts, making six appearances and scoring no goals as Leverkusen finished fourth and qualified for the Following season's UEFA Champions League. During the next season, Berbatov scored 16 goals and Made Important Contributions to the club's Champions League campaign, scoring in a 4-2 win over English club Liverpool in the quarter-finals as Leverkusen eventually reached the final. Berbatov established his place as the first-choice forward during the next season , 2002-03, and netted his team's goal against Manchester United on 24 September 2002, during a 2-1 defeat for Leverkusen. He scored 16 goals in 24 league appearances during the 2003-04 season, before the Following two seasons saw the Bulgarian raise awareness of his talent by netting 46 goals in the league over the two seasons and five times in the 2004-05 Champions League.
After Tottenham lost 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers in Berbatov's first league match in England on 19 August 2006, he scored his first goal for Spurs three days later in a 2-0 home victory against Sheffield United. Berbatov scored his first Premier League hat-trick on 29 December 2007, scoring four in a 6-4 win over Reading. Berbatov scored an equalizing penalty as Tottenham went on to win the game 2-1 after extra time. He ended the season with 15 league goals. Before the next season, 2008-09, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was quoted by newspapers as saying he expected to sign Berbatov: Tottenham submitted a complaint to the Premier League alleging That Manchester United had broken league rules.
Berbatov marked his Manchester United debut at the age of 27, with an assist to a Carlos Tévez goal away at Liverpool, but United lost the game 2-1. Alex Ferguson has defended Berbatov after he was missing a penalty criticized for during the 2008-09 FA Cup semi-final against Everton, Manchester United the which eventually lost by a penalty shoot-out. Soon after, Berbatov scored the fifth of United's goals as They came back from 2-0 down at half-time to win 5-2 against his former team, Tottenham Hotspur. When Manchester United won the Premier League on 16 May 2009, Berbatov Became the first Bulgarian to win an English league title. After Berbatov struggled to Make an impact during the 2009-10 season, was linked with Berbatov away from Old Trafford, but this was denied by Ferguson. On 26 December 2011, Berbatov scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win against Wigan Athletic. This was Berbatov's fourth Premier League hat trick for Manchester United and 5th overall in the division. In the second half, after going 2-0 behind, United responded with two goals from Quickly Berbatov. However United went on to lose the game 3-2. On 31 January, Berbatov scored a goal in a 2-0 league win at Old Trafford against Stoke City, scoring the second of two Penalties on the night.
Berbatov captained the team from 2006 until May 2010, when he Announced his retirement from international football, leaving his tally for Bulgaria standing at 48 goals from 77 matches.
Personal information
Full name Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov
Date of birth 30 January 1981 (age 31)
Place of birth Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1/2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Manchester United
Number 9
Youth career
Pirin Blagoevgrad
CSKA Sofia
Senior career
years Team
1998-2001 CSKA Sofia 49 (26)
2001 Bayer Leverkusen II 7 (6)
2001-2006 Bayer Leverkusen 154 (69)
Tottenham Hotspur 2006-2008 70 (27)
2008 - Manchester United 108 (49)
National team
1999 Bulgaria U18 2 (2)
1999 Bulgaria U21 1 (2)
1999-2010 Bulgaria 77 (48)
Honours
Club
CSKA Sofia
Bulgarian Cup (1): 1998-99
Tottenham Hotspur
Football League Cup (1): 2007-08
Manchester United
Premier League (2): 2008-09, 2010-11
Football League Cup (1): 2009-10
FA Community Shield (2): 2010, 2011
FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008
Individual
Bulgarian Man of the Year (1): 2009 [98]
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year (7 - record holder): 2002, 2004.2005,
2007, 2008.2009, 2010
Tottenham Hotspur Club Player of the Year (1): 2006-07
Premier League Player of the Month (2): April 2007, January 2011
PFA Premier League Team of the Year (2): 2006-07, 2010-11
Premier League Golden Boot Award Landmark (2):
2010-11 (10 Goals) ,2010-11 (20 Goals)
Premier League Golden Boot (1): 2010-11
IFFHS (1): Europe's World's Most Popular Footballer Amongst Currently
Active Players in 2010
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