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Born on 30th January 1981 in Bladoevgrad,
Bulgaria.
Position : Forward
Height : - 1.89m
Weight : - 82 kgs
A skilful and potent striker, who often looked
as though he lacked the input into the team's game, Dimitar Berbatov was
a striker who shone brightly and scored some memorable goals.
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 leaving 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 goal-scorer in the league and had
been named Bulgarian Player of
the Year in 2002, 2004 and 2005, with Berbatov scoring a high
ratio of goals to games in his senior international appearances.
Tottenham had followed his
progress for some time at Bayer Leverkusen, making him
feel wanted and a fee of £10.9 million brought him to
White Hart Lane in the summer of 2006, ahead of other
teams, including Manchester United, who were not willing
to take a chance on the forward.
Joining Spurs, he found his
style suited the Premier League very quickly and his
languid approach fooled many defenders into thinking he
was not a threat, but his quick thinking often caught
them and opposition goalkeepers unaware. With 22
goals in his first season and 23 in 2007-08, he was
hailed as a player who could become a legend at the
club, but the rumours linking him with a move away from
the club almost as soon as he joined, re-surfaced.
Tottenham put a £30 million price tag on his head, but
this might be less for a transfer abroad and
precipitated a complaint to the Premier League over Alex
Ferguson's pursuit of the Bulgarian for over a year,
without being given permission to speak to him.
In the end, he went to Old
Trafford for £30.75 million plus Spurs got striker
Frazier Campbell on loan for a season, but the Bulgarian
had problems at United, with some fans considering him
to be lazy and not to have hit the heights he did with
Spurs. He won things there though, but was
disappointed to be left out of the Champions League
final squad in 2011, prompting rumours of a return to
White Hart Lane. Berba moved on eventually,
signing for Martin Jol at Fulham in 2012, but while his
ability could not be questioned, his attitude was, but
that was true of a lot of his career. After Jol
was replaced by Rene Meulensteen, a coach he knew well
from Manchester United, he was soon a striker in a team
struggling at the foot of the table and in the Janaury
2-14 transfer window made his exit to join AS Monaco on
loan for the remainder of the season to cover for the
injured Radamel Falcao.
In his spare time he enjoyed drawing and singing, but only amongst friends.
NICKNAME : Berba
Career Record
| Club |
Signed |
Fee |
Debut |
Apps |
Goals |
|
Pirin Bladoevgrad (Bulgaria) |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) |
1997 |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) |
January 2001 |
£1,560,000 |
?? |
?? |
?? |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR |
July
2006 |
£10,900,000 |
19th
August 2006 v Bolton Wanderers (Premier League) (Away) lost 0-2 |
?? |
?? |
|
Manchester United |
1st September 2008 |
£30,750,000 |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
Fulham |
31st August 2012 |
Undisclosed |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
AS Monaco (France) |
31st January 2014 |
Loan |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
- |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
Career Record
Pirin Bladoevgrad (Bulgaria)
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
- Other appearances; ?? goals
CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria)
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
European/Other appearances; ?? goals
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
European/Other appearances; ?? goals
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
European appearances; ?? goals
Manchester United
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
European/Other appearances; ?? goals
Fulham
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
- Other appearances; ?? goals
AS Monaco (France)
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
European/Other appearances; ?? goals
- -
- League appearances; ?? goals
- FA Cup appearances; ?? goals
- League Cup appearances; ?? goals
- Other appearances; ?? goals
Honours
Bulgaria international
78 full caps; 48 goals
3
Under-21 caps; 3 goals
2
Under-21 caps; 2 goals
Bulgarian Cup winners medal 1998-99 (CSKA Sofia)
Bulgarian Player of the Year in 2002, 2004 and 2005
League Cup Winners medal 2007-2008 (THFC)
Selected in the PFA Premier league Team of the Year 2006-07
Joint Barclaycard Player of the Month with Robbie Keane - April 2007 |