08/09 Review: Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov polarised opinion during his first season in Red, but crucial winning goals, assists aplenty and a bagful of breathtaking tricks tell their own story…

Start to finish: Berbatov's skill soon caught the eye following his deadline-day switch from Tottenham, and it wasn't long before he opened his account with a Champions League brace at Aalborg. Just as a certain mercurial Frenchman could change the flow of a game, United’s Bulgarian is equally effective. And, like Eric Cantona, he shares a knack for scoring important (often late) goals, as Middlesbrough and Bolton found out to their cost midway through the season. Berba really hit his stride around the New Year, with four goals in six league games, including that last-gasp header at the Reebok and a key goal against Chelsea in the 3-0 win. He also netted in the dramatic comeback against Spurs at Old Trafford in April.

In position: Although he was mainly deployed alongside Rooney, Berbatov also partnered Tevez, Ronaldo, Giggs and Welbeck in a fluidly rotated forward line.

Season highlight: Who could forget his sumptuous piece of skill against West Ham? With little room on the byline, he stopped the ball with his left foot, pirouetted and flicked it over James Collins’ challenge with his right. He then fed a perfect pass across the box for Ronaldo to slide the ball home.

Vital contribution: At the end of a week in which he missed a penalty in the FA Cup semi-final shoot-out against Everton, he tormented his previous club with a dazzling display at OT. He played a part in two of United’s first four goals, before bundling home the fifth.

Any lows? Perhaps a spur to his stellar January, a virus kept Berba from playing any part in the Club World Cup, a period he described as ‘the worst week of my life’.

Any other business? Tottenham must be sick of the sight of their old boys prospering at Old Trafford. In the FA Cup fourth round, Michael Carrick played an exquisite through ball to Berbatov who applied an unerring finish to knock Spurs out.

Berba tipped for starring role

Teddy Sheringham is tipping Dimitar Berbatov to have a bigger impact at Old Trafford in his second season as a United player.

The Bulgarian striker bagged 14 goals and countless assists in his maiden Reds campaign, but is still to win over everybody after commanding a transfer fee in excess of £30million. Having trodden the same path from Tottenham, and taken time to settle as a United player, Treble-winning striker Sheringham expects Berbatov to convince his doubters next term.

"He is an outstanding player," Sheringham told the Manchester Evening News. "Sometimes it takes people longer to fit in at a club in terms of the lifestyle and the football, which is probably what’s happened to him.

"But I’ve watched him and I’ve every confidence he will be even better next season. I’ve seen him be outstanding for Tottenham and I’m sure he will be again."



Berbatov's equanimity in possession is in stark contrast to the likes of firebrand forwards like Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, but Sheringham - never known for blistering pace himself - deems it harsh to compare the Bulgarian to his all-action colleagues.

“I was very similar to Berbatov in terms of the way I looked as a player,” he said. “I didn’t look like I was running around either. But just because he is not like Rooney or Tevez doesn’t mean he doesn’t work."

9. Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov is a classy and complete centre-forward, pairing the ability to ruthlessly and regularly find the net inside the box with the aptitude to create moments of sheer magic outside it.

Sir Alex likes players with plenty of charisma in the way they play, and the Bulgarian’s languid style is instantly recognisable on the field. It’s also an approach that has drawn comparisons with former United talisman Eric Cantona.

Like the captivating Frenchman, Berbatov loves to entertain with the ball at his feet, and he also shares Cantona's happy knack for scoring important (often late) goals,

which he showed more than once in his first season at United.

Berbatov started out at Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia. He joined The Armymen aged 17, following in the footsteps of his father, Ivan, who also played for the club. After making his debut aged 18 in the 1998/99 campaign, he went on to score 14 goals in 27 league matches the following season.

His talent quickly attracted attention from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, who made their move for the Bulgarian front man in January 2001 after an impressive start to the season for CSKA. Berbatov – national-team captain and Bulgarian Player of the Year in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 – made a slow start to his time in Germany, but he regularly shone in the Champions League.

The only blot on his copybook is that he was part of the Leverkusen team that knocked United out of the Champions League semi finals in April 2002. He came on as a substitute in the final as the Germans lost 2-1 to Real Madrid.

Berbatov was eventually lured to the Premier League when Tottenham signed him in July 2006 for a reported £10.9million fee. He was an instant hit at White Hart Lane, scoring his first competitive goal two minutes into his home Premier

League debut against Sheffield United. He went on to score 23 goals in his opening season, which he matched again in 2007/08.

However, after months of speculation linking him with a move to Old Trafford in the summer of 2008, Sir Alex Ferguson finally got his man on transfer deadline day with just minutes to go. Berbatov signed a four-year contract on 1 September 2008 for an undisclosed fee, with Fraizer Campbell heading to White Hart Lane on a season-long loan as part of the deal.

Berbatov opened his account for the Reds the same month with two goals away at Aalborg in the Champions League.

The title race in quotes

The 2008/09 campaign can be most succinctly described by those closest to the action; here's our pick of the season's soundbites…

“The gaffer insists on good defending, but sometimes there's not much defending to do."
Jonny Evans shows his stargazing powers following the 3-0 win over Celtic in October. The Reds would soon embark on a British league-record 1,311-minute shutout

“It’s scary. You spend all week discussing tactics, but when a team is that good, you can’t do anything about it.”
Blackburn boss Paul Ince reflects on losing 2-0 at home to United in October

“Berbatov's play for the second goal was absolutely magnificent. You'd pay double the money to watch that."
Sir Alex marvels at the Bulgarian’s stupendous touchline wizardry against West Ham in October

“Once the prayer mats have been left in the dressing-room, it’ll be a case of defending in numbers, stubbornness, organisation, discipline and a lot of luck.”
Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller gives us the lowdown on Stoke City’s prep in November. United won 5-0

“I’ve been doodling on my pad, trying to see how I can fit all these players in. People ask me what I consider to be my best side, and the short answer is that I don’t have one.”
Sir Alex's oft-experienced selection headache ruins Christmas

“When you're in the tunnel and you hear on the speakers: ‘Please welcome the champions of England, the champions of Europe and the champions of the world...’ you believe that you're going to crush anybody that's in your way. I get goose bumps every time I walk out at Old Trafford.”
Dimitar Berbatov gets the sweetest chill in January

“He has a wonderful velvet touch; the ball goes stone dead when he gets it. In the midst of all the mayhem it's wonder to see."
Sir Alex lauds Paul Scholes on his 600th appearance for the Reds in April

“I probably wouldn’t have believed them if they’d said I’d play one game for United or score one goal. Numbers don’t really matter. I’ve just been lucky to play for a great club that happen to be my local club.”
Typical understatement from Scholes himself in April

“I don’t know about playing as well as I have done, that’s for other people to judge.”
And the jury was in favour. Ryan Giggs, shortly before being named PFA Player of the Year, for the first time, February

“Everyone thinks the money will make the job easier for Mark Hughes, but I don't."
Paddy Crerand looks into his crystal ball as the curtain opens on the new campaign

“At United, you learn from the best."
Kiko Macheda in November. His first examination at senior level was passed with flying colours five months down the line as his red arrow pierced Villa hearts.

“Scoring in front of the Stretford End is a dream for every boy from Manchester.”
Danny Welbeck reflects on his first United goal against Stoke in November

“Yes, we take terrible risks, but there's always a chance we'll win the match."
Sir Alex sums up the essence of Manchester United after the 3-2 win over Villa in April

“I did not think I would reach this level so quickly. But I always believed in my talent.”
The last word from Cristiano Ronaldo on his FIFA World Player of the Year award, November.

Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov

After playing a major role in United's title success, Dimitar Berbatov admits his debut campaign couldn't have gone much better.

The Reds' number nine has netted 14 goals in all competitions, including nine towards the title-race triumph, but the Bulgarian knows he can't rest on his first-season laurels.

"It's a dream come true to be at United," Dimitar told MUTV. "But I know I must keep playing and training at the highest level possible because that is what life at this club is about - playing every game 100 per cent, training 100 per cent and of course, winning things."

Comparisons have been drawn between the playing styles of Berba and Reds' legend Eric Cantona and Dimitar revealed that, like the French maestro, he is a bit of a perfectionist.

"I know when I play well and when I play badly," he added. "When I go home I stare at the TV and watch so when the next match comes I try to learn from my mistakes and do better. And I have Sir Alex telling me what I do wrong and how I can improve."

Berbatov was also keen to pay tribute to his team-mates for helping him settle in so quickly to life at Old Trafford.

"I don’t have the words to say how much I appreciate the help the players have given me, from my first day here until now. They've made me feel like I have been here for ten years!"

Dimitar Berbatov

Date of birth: 30.01.1981
Country: Bulgaria
Position: Forward

Dimitar Berbatov defies statistics

Dimitar Berbatov defies statistics

In this age of clipboards and computers, number-crunching and ProZone, there seems to be a growing view that football and footballers can be reduced to a set of statistics, like anonymous data in some gigantic calculation. For those who insist on seeing the world in such terms, allow me to give you the stats on Dimitar Berbatov’s first season at Manchester United. He has scored 13 goals in all competitions; eight goals in 27 matches in the Barclays Premier League; he has had eight assists; has a shooting accuracy of close to 50 per cent; and a chance conversion rate of 20 per cent. Many argue that these numbers provide conclusive proof that the Bulgarian, for a player who cost the small matter of £30.75 million, has had a woeful season. Now, I don’t know about you, but while I find these statistics interesting I also think they fail to convey the essential meaning of Berbatov’s contribution.

Matthew Syed, The Times

Syed goes on to say that "players like Berbatov... make football matter to so many of us".

Elsewhere, the daily papers are full of paeans to Paul Scholes, who will make his 600th United appearance this evening should he take to the pitch against Portsmouth.

The Independent describes Scholes as "a quiet legend", The Telegraph a "reluctant hero".

Sir Bobby Charlton is quoted in The Sun:

"In so many ways Scholes is my favourite [ever United player]. I love his nous and conviction that he’ll find a way to win, to make the killer pass or produce a decisive volley."