PLAYER PROFILE

Stiliyan Petrov

Position: Midfield

Height: 5'9

Weight: 12st 1lbs

Date of Birth: 1979-07-05 Montana, Bulgaria

Stiliyan Petrov

Stilian Petrov began his career with hometown side FC Montana. A year after making his professional debut he moved on to CSKA Sofia and eventually broke into the first team.

He emerged as one of Bulgaria's brightest young talents and it wasn't long before he was starring for his country. He made his debut in 1999, and since then, the midfielder has earned over 50 caps and is captain of his country. Now he has a wealth of international, domestic and European experience under his belt.

Petrov joined Celtic in a £2million deal in the summer of 1998, and despite struggling a little in his first full season in Scottish football, it wasn't long before things started going his way.

He was voted Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Year in 2001 in spite of a serious leg break. He played an important part and scored some crucial goals as the Hoops enjoyed Champions League and UEFA Cup runs, and secured domestic title success.

The 2003/04 campaign was a great season for Petrov. He scored ten goals in 55 games - including the third and winning goal in the Scottish FA Cup final win over Dunfermline - and lead Bulgaria to Euro 2004. He played in all three of their group games before they were eliminated from the tournament.

The 2004/05 campaign saw such fine form continue. He put in a season of fine performances for both club and country as Celtic narrowly missed out on the SPL but claimed the Scottish Cup. He conintued to be a vital player for Bulgaria, scoring once in their bid to qualify for the World Cup 2006.

The only downer in his season came in the final league match against Rangers in which he scored the opener but was hit by a plastic cup thrown by a fan.

His fine form continued throughout 2005/6 as he played 45 club games, adding a further 10 goals to take his overall tally for Celtic to 267 games and 63 goals. A personal highlight for Petrov was his hat-trick in the 5-0 demolishing of Motherwell back in Otober.

At the end of the season, Petrov requested a transfer away from Parkhead. Despite a reported £5 million interest from Portsmouth, he ended up signing for former boss Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa in August 2006 for £6.5m and his first season proved a satisfying one as he played 38 games.