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Fullname: Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov-Stenly
aka: Stilian Petrov, Stan Petrov
Height: 5.10
Weight: 11.05 st
Born: 5 July 1979
Birthplace: Bulgaria
Signed: July 1999
Position: Midfielder
Internationals: Bulgaria
International Caps: [TBC]

Summary

Born on the 05th of July 1979, in Bulgaria

Petrov was signed by Barnes/Dalglish in July 1999 for £2M from CSKA Sofia

A 2 year extension was sign in March 2003 [BBC], with a further 3 year extension signed in 2006 [BBC]

Sold to Aston Villa on 30/08/2006 for £6.5m rising to £8m depending on appearances (Martin O'Neill's first signing for Aston Villa). [BBC]

Biog

Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov-Stenly, better known as Stiliyan Petrov.

“Stan” began his career with his local side FC Montana in 1996, aged 16. He was spotted there by PFC CSKA Sofia’s legendary scout Dimitar Penev. In 1998 they paid €30,000 for Petrov. After only 38 league appearances (3 goals), Celtic paid £2M (€4.5M) for the young Bulgarian on 29 July 1999 and became Bulgaria’s most expensive export..

He made his Scottish League debut as a substitute against Dundee United in a 2-1 defeat at Tannadice Park on 13 August 1999. He made little impact in his first Scottish season, but things improved under new manager Martin O'Neill, as Celtic won the Scottish Premier League and both major domestic cups. Petrov was voted 2001 Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Year, despite breaking his leg in March. He was back from injury by August, and was a regular starter in Celtic's 2001/02 UEFA Champions League campaign, with the Glasgow club retaining the league title the same year.

In 2001, Stan was such a national hero in Bulgaria that they broadcasted live on television his wedding!

Petrov was a first-team regular again in 2002/03, scoring 12 goals in 34 league games and helping the club reach the UEFA Cup final, where we lost to FC Porto. Along with most of the squad, he played his heart in the season, and his stature with the fans was high, and still on the rise. A difficult game and like all the others he deserved more.

Stan was simply a phenomenally good player. He may have been bought whilst under the much discredited John Barnes regime, where he started as a right-back, but under Martin O'Neill he was moved to midfield and flourished. An important component, he was very much at the fore in attacking formations, leading by example ably working with fellow great players like Alan Thompson, Neil Lennon and Paul Lambert. He wasn't a selfish player and fed passes and tracked back when required, and many a time can be said to have been amongst our most important players during Martin O'Neill's reign. It wasn't just link-up that he excelled at, and he chipped in with plenty of goals as well, giving the squad some added firepower. He truly was an icon for many. He was overshadowed by players like Larsson, Sutton and Lambert but Petrov was no less important to the team.

The following season (2003-04), Petrov excelled as Celtic roared to the league title. He scored six goals in 35 games and was also on target in the Scottish Cup final victory against Dunfermline capping off a great year which saw us also defeat Barcelona in the UEFA Cup over two legs to reach the quarter-finals.

In January 2006 Stan signed a new deal with Celtic committing him to the club until 2010 and by April he helped Celtic claim their 40th Scottish title. Three months after signing the contract extension Celtic rejected a written transfer request submitted by Petrov, he was then linked with a transfer to move to Aston Villa F.C.

Stilian Petrov said he hoped that Celtic would agree to sell him before the transfer window closes. "Everyone in Celtic knows the situation, I've expressed my desire to leave many times," he said. The next day (August 30) Stilian Petrov has been reunited with manager Martin O'Neill after completing a move from Celtic to Aston Villa on a four-year deal worth £6.5M, a fee which could rise to £8M in the future. He scored 53 goals in 224 Premier league appearances for Celtic.

Truth is that at the end of this time at Celtic, things had got a bit frayed and he sulked at the presentation of the league trophy, which was sad to see from him. His loss to the squad was no easy thing to replace. A combatative hard working midfielder like himself, he gave his all to the team, and scored some scorchers against the Huns (for one goal he was given a full drink of coca-cola in the face from a hun as he celebrated the goal).

In many ways, no surprise he left as after seven years, what more could he give. Many had expected that he was going to leave after a couple of years, but he stood with us even after the disaster of the Barnes era, and under Martin O'Neill he grew in stature. For that we respect him.

Stories abounded in his first year away that he was not enjoying his move and was looking to come back, but since then he has fitted in well and many would have been happy with that he has settled at Aston Villa. Hoping all the best to him in the rest of his career.

National team:

He made his international debut on March 27 1999 against Belgium in a 1-0 win.

Despite appearing over 60 times for his country, in October 2006 Petrov shocked Bulgarian football by retiring from the national side aged just 27, promising not to return whilst Hristo Stoichkov manages the Bulgaria national team. However, just a few months later, Petrov patched up his differences with the coach, made himself available for selection for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Albania and was re-called. Too good a player to lose

Playing Career

	From	To	Fee	League		Scottish Cup		League cup		Other
Aston Villa	30/08/2006		£ 6,500,000
Celtic	29/07/1999	30/08/2006	£ 2,000,000	215 (13)	55	15 (3)	5	9 (5)	0	49 (2)	4
CSKA Sofia	01/08/1998	29/07/1999		No appearance data available
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

Honours with Celtic

UEFA Cup runners-up

• 2002-2003

Scottish Premier League

• 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06

Scottish League Cup

• 1999-00, 2000-01, 2005-06

Scottish Cup

• 2001, 2004, 2005

Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Year

• 2001
  

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