Dimitar Berbatov on his footballing roots, Spurs, Sir Alex Ferguson and Man United

Sport360 staff 21:01 27/10/2017
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  • Berbatov played for United from 2008-12.

    Dimitar Berbatov‘s days used to start off by standing in line at 6AM to buy bread for his family. Even as a child, however, football consumed him, and he quickly developed a reputation in his hometown of Blagoevgrad.

    The Bulgarian’s professional career began at CSKA Sofia under legendary coach Dimitar Penev, and he made the move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2001 with some reluctance. But it was at the German club that a star was born, as the young Berbatov helped Leverkusen knock Liverpool and Manchester United out of the Champions League that season.

    “My friends would play teams from the other tower blocks,” Berbatov said in an interview with ESPN FC. “They would say: ‘Berba is coming with his team; we need to prepare.’ I was 10. We played six-a-side, which I still play. I had street cred. Like drug dealers. I walked to school with my chest out.” Berbatov never lost that swagger on the pitch, although he says he’s actually a shy person off it.

    He recalls coming onto the pitch as a first-half substitute in that season’s Champions League final, best remembered for THAT Zidane goal.

    “I almost scored too and we almost beat Real Madrid, if it wasn’t for that fabulous Zidane goal. I was in the centre of the pitch and saw the ball drop down. That left foot of his. Bang.”

    Berbatov picked up the first of three Champions League runners-up medals in 2002.

    Berbatov picked up the first of three Champions League runners-up medals in 2002.

    Five successful years at Leverkusen meant Berbatov was catching the eye of Europe’s leading clubs, although he admits he didn’t know of the club he ended up signing for in 2006.

    “My agent said we’d had a serious offer from Tottenham. I said: ‘Who?'” Berbatov recalls. “I was watching German football, not English. There were rumours of Man United’s interest too. I’d definitely heard of United, but they told me I was effectively a second choice if another player didn’t happen. So I took the offer to move to London, which I loved, and play for Spurs, who I grew to love.”

    Berbatov played some of his best football for the north London side, thriving under then-manager Martin Jol – the Bulgarian would be reunited with Jol later in his career, at Fulham.

    He struck up a hugely successful partnership with Robbie Keane, while endearing himself to Spurs fans with his goals and all-around play.

    “In Martin Jol, I saw my grandfather. He was a big man and you think he’s a tough guy, but underneath he is a kind man. I knew immediately that I could have a good relationship with him.

    “Spurs fans liked me. When I heard them singing my name I thought: ‘What the f***? Why are they singing for me?’ I didn’t like that attention. Some players do, but I was embarrassed!”

    Berbatov describes his partnership with Keane as the best of his career. “We just understood each other. He knew who I was. He wasn’t going to bother me and ask why I wasn’t speaking and I respected that. We had an understanding on the pitch and I always knew where he was.

    “Robbie was so passionate, always running, while I ran in my head, trying to anticipate the moves and see where the ball was going to go before it went there. That’s what good players do. We complemented each other very well and scored so many beautiful goals.”

    It may have been a prolific partnership but it was also short-lived, as Manchester United came in for the striker after two seasons.

    “When you follow your own path, you have to make decisions like this. I wanted to win trophies and play for the biggest club and the biggest club in England is Manchester United. They had been interested before and I thought: ‘If they come again, I’m not going to miss that chance.’

    “It was not a difficult decision; Manchester United were the English and European champions, they had the best players, they had Sir Alex Ferguson and Old Trafford. How could I not be seduced?

    “When I signed for United, I felt like it was a reward for everything that I’d been through in my life. Like Nemanja Vidic, I came from a small town in a small country in Eastern Europe, but we had reached the top.”

    Berbatov completed a dramatic deadline-day move to United in 2008.

    Berbatov completed a dramatic deadline-day move to United in 2008.

    Berbatov’s time at United was a qualified success. He won two league titles and the Premier League Golden Boot in 2010-11, but missed out on winning the Champions League as United lost to Barcelona in the 2009 and 2011 finals, and he left the club on a low note after they dramatically lost the 2011-12 Premier League title to Manchester City. But the Bulgarian still regards that spell as the pinnacle of his career.

    “When I stood in the tunnel as a Manchester United player, I saw Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Vidic, Rio, Evra, Edwin van der Sar. I said to myself: ‘Berba, you need to cherish this moment forever, my friend.’ And then I looked at the opponents. They were already beaten.

    “I had cost a lot of money and I felt the pressure sometimes, even though I didn’t want to admit it. Sometimes you put pressure on yourself; we’re all human. You need to be mentally strong, but sometimes you doubt yourself, you overthink. I would see people who understand football speaking about me and think: ‘You are speaking s***.’

    “A player would take notice of someone who had played at a high level over someone who has never kicked a ball in his life. I see the same thing now with Paul Pogba.

    “But I am a striker and people expect strikers to score goals. But I don’t see myself as a striker. I like to play with the ball and have the freedom to move around. If every player is on the left and I am on the right, you need to trust me that I have seen something the other players have not seen.

    “I like it when the coach knows this and allows me to express myself. I felt that Ferguson trusted me.”

    That trust led to some of Berbatov’s career highlights, and the striker keeps a picture of the Premier League trophies he won at United as his WhatsApp profile picture.

    “I’m proud of them. I was the first Bulgarian to win them,” Berbatov says.

    “We lost the title to Chelsea in my second season but won it again in my third. That was one of my best seasons in football, 2010-11. I kept scoring hat tricks. I have those balls at my home, all signed by the United players. I treasure them.”

    One of the hat-tricks was a memorable one against United’s bitter rivals Liverpool, which included one of the best goals ever seen at Old Trafford – Berbatov’s famous overhead kick. It’s a goal the now 36-year-old can recall with exacting detail – and a sense of appreciation for what he achieved.

    Berbatov's memorable overhead kick against Liverpool in 2010.

    Berbatov’s memorable overhead kick against Liverpool in 2010.

    “Football players score hat-tricks all the time. But this one was special because it was against Liverpool. The second goal was really special. Nani crossed the ball and I saw Rooney in front of me. I saw by his body movement that he was going to try and go for the ball. I said: ‘Wazza, leave it. Wazza! Wazza! It’s me.’ He left it and afterwards he was very proud as he said: ‘I left you the ball.’

    “I controlled the ball with my thigh. I would be lying if I said I did this intentionally. The ball was falling and my thigh was the best option. The decisions were made in nanoseconds. It was automatic; I didn’t think about it. And the way it went in off the bar and down made it more cool. By the roar of the crowd, I knew it was in.”

    Berbatov recalls his time at United with joy, savouring the friendships he made – with “everyone”, he says, highlighting how universally liked he was. Many of his former United team-mates played in Berbatov’s charity game in Sofia last summer, a moment of great pride for him.

    “I was delighted that they came and shows the strength of the relationship I had with them. I respected them greatly. You don’t play for the best team in Europe if you’re not special.”

    And the striker reserves special praise for Sir Alex Ferguson.

    “When he walked into the room, people would stop talking. He commanded so much respect and attention because of all the success he’d had. He was good with words, probably from all the books he read. I’d go to his office and he’d have Napoleon’s biography on the table.

    “He bragged about what a good striker he was to me. He’d say: ‘Berba, I was so good, I scored so many goals!’ We laughed. He knew how to speak to people in their language, even if he was telling them that they were not going to play.

    “He’d say it in a way that you didn’t feel it was a personal criticism. He’d say: ‘You’re not playing today but you’re playing next week.’ And you’d think: ‘Maybe he’s right.’ You need to have this psychology in football these days because there will always be someone saying: ‘What the f***? I deserve to play!'”

    Berbatov had a great relationship with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

    Berbatov had a great relationship with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

    It was that honesty that led to Berbatov leaving United, as the club bought Robin van Persie in 2012 as a reaction to losing the title to Manchester City on goal difference. Ferguson told the striker that he couldn’t make any guarantees about playing time, and the Bulgarian knew it was time to move on. But the impact the club left on him is clear even today.

    “At the heart of United – this huge club known around the world – it feels like a family. Lots of the staff have been there for decades and they cared so much about the club. The chef’s ring tone was: ‘Glory, Glory Man United.’ They cared about the team and doing their job, so that made us care about the team and do our role.”

    *Quotes taken from Dimitar Berbatov’s interview with ESPN FC.

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