Dimitar Berbatov
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitar Berbatov | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:51, 3 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Бербатов) (born 30 January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. He is captain of the Bulgarian national football team.
Early life
Berbatov was born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. His father was a professional footballer with local outfit Pirin Blagoevgrad, and his mother Margarita was a professional handball player. As a youngster, Berbatov supported AC Milan and modelled himself on Marco van Basten until the 1996 UEFA European Championship in England, when the then fifteen year old discovered a new role model in Alan Shearer[1], formerly of Newcastle United, even sleeping in a Shearer shirt.[2][3][4]. Berbatov learned the English language by watching the "Godfather" films.[5] Outside of football, he lists his hobbies as drawing and basketball.[6] His favourite movie is Scarface, and his favourite band is Das EFX.
Club career
Early career
Berbatov's career began at the Pirin Blagoevgrad club, and continued until he was spotted by legendary scout and coach Dimitar Penev.
CSKA Sofia
At the age of just 17, Berbatov moved to CSKA Sofia following in the footsteps of his father, Ivan, who also played for the club as a left winger and later as a defender. He played for CSKA in the Bulgarian A PFG between 1998 and January 2001 making his debut as an 18-year-old in the 1998–99 season. He started to make his name the following year when he scored 14 goals in 27 league games and won the Bulgarian National Cup in 1999.
Bayer Leverkusen
A run of nine goals in 11 games in 2000–01 was enough to persuade Bayer Leverkusen to sign Berbatov in January 2001. Berbatov had a slow start to his Leverkusen career with just 16 goals in his first 67 appearances for the club. He did however play a crucial role in the Champions League during his first season with the club scoring a memorable solo effort against Lyon with an excellent bit of skill, as well as a goal against Liverpool in the quarter finals. He also played a part in the final against Real Madrid coming on as a substitute for Thomas Brdaric after 38 minutes.
In 2001–02 Leverkusen were runners-up in the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. During the 2002–03 Bundesliga season Berbatov established his place as the first-choice forward at Bayer Leverkusen but it was not until the 2003–04 season that he really began to shine scoring 16 goals in 24 starts. The following two seasons saw him go from strength to strength, netting another 46 goals including five in the Champions League 2004–05 raising awareness of his talent and generating interest from teams throughout Europe.
Tottenham Hotspur
Speculation surrounded a potential move in 2004 for the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year, but it was May 2006, when Berbatov finally joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €16m,[7] (£10.9 million).[8] making him the most expensive Bulgarian player in history. After being granted a work permit, the transfer was completed, and Berbatov joined Tottenham on 1 July 2006. He scored two goals in two minutes in his first match as a Tottenham player against Birmingham City in a pre-season friendly match.[9]
Berbatov scored his first competitive Tottenham goal 2 minutes into his home debut in the Premiership game against Sheffield United at White Hart Lane. He built up a rewarding partnership with Robbie Keane in the UEFA Cup until Spurs' departure to Seville in the quarter-finals, and, despite Martin Jol's rotation of his strikers, Berbatov firmly established himself as the first choice forward at the club. He scored five goals in four games during the group stage of the UEFA Cup, with his performances earning two man-of-the-match awards in the group stages against Besiktas and Club Brugge.
Despite his good form in European competition, Berbatov took a while to adapt to the Premiership, however he soon began to regain the league form he had shown at Leverkusen with an excellent performance against Wigan, scoring one and creating the other two in a 3–1 win. On 9 December 2006, Berbatov scored his first Premiership brace for Spurs in a 5–1 victory for his side against Charlton Athletic. Berbatov came on as a second half substitute against Fulham FC in the FA Cup to score his first two goals in the competition. Berbatov scored his first away goal in the Premiership at Goodison Park against Everton, a first-time shot from around the penalty spot after an Aaron Lennon cross. Spurs went on to win the match 2–1.
Berbatov and Spurs team-mate Robbie Keane were named joint winners of the FA Premier League Player of the Month award for April, becoming the first players to share the award since Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp and Edu jointly claimed the award back in February 2004. He scored the 100th goal of Tottenham's 2006–07 season with the first goal of a 2–0 victory over Charlton Athletic on 7 May 2007.
Berbatov is also one of the few people to have two goals included in the BBC's goal of the month competition shortlist, with his sublime efforts against Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough both being included. Berbatov ended the 2006–07 season with 12 goals in 33 appearances in the Premier League, and also chipping in with 11 assists.
Due to his highly impressive displays, especially in the latter half of the season, he won the Tottenham Hotspur player of the season award in 2006–07. Berbatov was also included in the FA Premier League's PFA Team of the Season on 21 April 2007, one of only three players in the team not to play for league winners Manchester United (the other two being Steven Gerrard and Didier Drogba). After Spurs narrowly lost to Arsenal in the North London derby on 22 December 2007, Arsenal manager Arséne Wenger compared Berbatov to Thierry Henry.[10]
His first Spurs Premier League hat-trick came on 29 December 2007 after he bagged four goals in an incredible 6–4 win against Reading.
Berbatov played in his first cup final for Tottenham on 24 February 2008 in the Carling Cup at Wembley Stadium against Chelsea in which he scored an equalising penalty. Tottenham went on to win the game 2-1 after extra time, with Berbatov collecting his first trophy in English football.[11] On 9 March, Berbatov scored a brace of headers in the 4-0 demolition of West Ham United.[12] This took his Premier League tally of goals for the season to twelve, which is equal to his 2007 league total.
Career stats
| Club | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cup | European Comps | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| CSKA Sofia | 98-99 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 |
| 99-00 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 16 | |
| 00-01 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 15 | |
| Total | 50 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 65 | 37 | |
| Bayer Leverkusen |
00-01 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 01-02 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 41 | 15 | |
| 02-03 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 31 | 6 | |
| 03-04 | 32 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 19 | |
| 04-05 | 32 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 43 | 26 | |
| 05-06 | 34 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 24 | |
| Total | 152 | 68 | 12 | 13 | 30 | 9 | 194 | 90 | |
| Tottenham | 06-07 | 33 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 49 | 23 |
| 07-08 | 33 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 49 | 23 | |
| Total | 67 | 27 | 16 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 98 | 46 | |
| Career Totals | 267 | 127 | 37 | 25 | 52 | 28 | 356 | 172 | |
Honours
Individual
- Bulgarian Footballer of the Year: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007
- FA Premier League Player of the Month: April 2007
- PFA Team of the Season: 2006-07
- Tottenham Hotspur Fans' Player of the Year: 2006-07
Club
CSKA Sofia
Bulgarian Cup: 1999
Tottenham Hotspur
References
- ^ "No dream duel for Berbatov". UEFA. 2003-02-18. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Blackburn, Martin (2007-10-20), "Toon-mad Berbatov slept in Shearer shirt", The Sun, retrieved 2007-10-23
- ^ "Toon-mad Berbatov slept in Shearer shirt", South Shields Gazette, 2007-10-20, retrieved 2007-10-23
- ^ "Tottenham's Berbatov was Newcastle mad". 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
- ^ "Berbatov excels in the spotlight to put Tottenham through". The Independent. 2006-11-24. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Dimitar Berbatov". BBC.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "NINE FOR BERBATOV". tottenhamhotspur.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "BERBATOV: SPURS ON THE 'UP AND UP'". premierleague.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Berbatov double sinks Birmingham". BBC Sport. 2006-07-22. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wenger: Berbatov Reminds Me Of Henry, Goal.com, 24 December 2007
- ^ Jonathan Stevenson (2008-02-24). "Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^
Saj Chowdhury (2008-03-09). "Tottenham 4-0 West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Dimitar Berbatov – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Dimitar Berbatov fansite
- Dimitar Berbatov at Soccerbase
- Leverkusen-who's who (German)
- Dimitar Berbatov profile at FootballDatabase