Petrov shows Celtic bravery

The Celts were known for their bravery, strength and nobility, and if Stilian Petrov can show the same heroism for Bulgaria as he has for Celtic FC, then a bright future could await Plemen Markov’s side. 
 
A hero at Parkhead
As Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side beat all-comers in Scotland in 2000/01 to win the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup, Bulgarian midfield player Petrov became a hero on the terraces at Parkhead. Petrov was named as the best young player of the year in Scotland, scored against Celtic’s Glasgow rivals Rangers FC and also opened their UEFA Champions League account in 2001/02 with their first goal in the competition against Juventus FC. These impressive accomplishments earned him the Bulgarian Player of the Year award for 2001.
 
Teenage prodigy
Born in Sofia, Petrov began his career with FC Montana as a 17-year-old in the 1996/97 season. Despite his youth, Petrov became an immediate fixture in the Montana side missing only one match and scoring four goals in his debut season. His talent did not go unnoticed and in the summer break Bulgarian champions FC CSKA Sofia signed the promising youngster. However, coach Georgi Vasilev preferred to field old and established players and Petrov found his way into the first team blocked.

Penev’s young lions
That all changed when Bulgaria’s most successful coach, Dimitar Penev, took control of CSKA. He introduced the likes of Stilian Petrov, Martin Petrov, Krasimir Chomakov and Aleksandar Tomash, who were all Bulgaria Under-21 internationals. With a young team like this, Penev – famous for taking Bulgaria to the last four of the 1994 FIFA World Cup - led his side on an impressive run in the UEFA Cup, overcoming Belarus’s FC Belshina Bobruisk, Norway’s Molde FC and Swiss side Servette FC before being beaten by Club Atlético de Madrid.
 
Celtic calls
The European campaign did Petrov’s international reputation no harm and the Bulgarian press were soon touting him as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of his generation. He played in both of Bulgaria’s draws with England (0-0 away and 1-1 at home) and was the subject of close scrutiny from Celtic’s scouts. In the summer of 1999 he moved to Glasgow after Celtic paid €4.6m for him and made him the most expensive Bulgarian player of all time, breaking the record set by Hristo Stoichkov’s transfer from CSKA to FC Barcelona. 

O’Neill’s magic
Celtic manager John Barnes welcomed Petrov in Glasgow and quickly established him as a first-team regular. The midfielder played well in his first season at the club and managed to score one league goal as Celtic triumphed in the Scottish League Cup. Under Barnes’s successor Kenny Dalglish, Petrov was also a regular, but it was when O’Neill took over Celtic in summer 2000 that the Scottish club really began to see the best of Petrov. 
 
Miraculous recovery
A key figure in the side that was on course to claim a domestic treble, Petrov broke his ankle in a game against Saint Johnstone FC in March 2001. Petrov may have missed Celtic’s end-of-term celebrations but he amazed doctors by recovering sooner than expected – returning to the team in August.
 
Coming of age
In his first few matches back from injury, Petrov scored important goals with free-kicks. He scored the winning goal in a Glasgow derby against Rangers FC and produced a superb performance against Juventus in the Champions League. He scored Celtic’s first goal, earned the penalty that gave them their second and totally neutralized Juventus star Edgar Davids, who was shown two yellow cards and sent off. However, even the best players have their ups and downs. This proved to be especially true in Celtic’s UEFA Cup campaign. In the decisive match against Spanish side Valencia CF, Petrov was among the players to miss penalties as Celtic were knocked out of the tournament.                 
 
Held in high regard
Penev once said that Petrov was a player with two lungs and two hearts, ready to give his all for his club and country no matter what. Celtic fans know that – on the day he broke his ankle, they went to the hospital in Perth where he was being treated and sang their support for him. In his home country, Petrov is held in just as high regard by supporters of CSKA’s arch-rivals PFC Levski Sofia as he is by fans of his old club. Everyone in Bulgaria knows that Petrov is a quality player and if he can do for Bulgaria what he has done for Celtic, doubtless there will be even greater reason to love him.