dimitar berbatov - fact file

Born on 30th January 1981 in Bladoevgrad, Bulgaria.

Height : - 1.89m

Weight : - 82 kgs

As a schoolboy, Berbatov was a good student and enjoyed drawing. Dimitar was also a very good athlete, specialising in running and long jump, but he excelled at football, first playing with a basketball he was given.

Started his career with Pirin Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria, who sold him to CSKA Sofia for 20 pairs of football boots, but got a five figure pay-out from a sell-on clause when he joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen for £10.9 million in the summer of 2006.

Was castigated by CSKA fans for missing three chances in a Bulgarian league game against Levski that decided the title even though he was only 19 at the time. This was followed by telephoned threats and he also was abused by his own fans, along with his mother, when CSKA drew a match - an incident that made him consider quitting football for good.

The forward moved to Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £1.56 million in the summer of 2001 and he cried on levaing his family behind to move to Germany. While at the club, he played alongside Michael Ballack and was coached by Rudi Voeller, Jurgen Topmoller and Berti Vogts.

The striker scored 21 goals in 34 matches for Bayer in the Bundesliga in the 2005-06 season - the second highest goalscorer in the league.

Named Bulgarian Player of the Year in 2002, 2004 and 2005, Berbatov has scored 31 goals in 50 senior international appearances.

In his spare time he still enjoys drawing and also sings, but only amongst friends.

As a boy he supported Newcastle United.
His favourite player is Marco van Basten.
The only opponent's shirt he has kept is that of the Brazilian striker Ronaldo - all the others he ahs given away.
His favourite actor is Robert De Niro.
Enjoys gangster and action films (Godfather; James Bond) and learned a lot of his English from them.

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Career Record
Pirin Bladoevgrad
CSKA Sofia
Signed : 1997
Bayer Leverkusen
Signed : January 2001
Tottenham Hotspur
Signed : July 2006

Honours
Bulgaria international
50 full caps; goals 31
Under-21 caps; goals
Bulgarian Cup winners medal 1998-99
Bulgarian Player of the Year in 2002, 2004 and 2005