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| Career | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Clubs: | Pirin Blagoevgrad (1997-98), CSKA Sofia (1998-Jan. 2001), Bayer Leverkusen (Ger/since Jan. 2001) |
| International appearances: | 30 |
| International goals: | 19 |
| International debut: | 17/11/1999, Greece-Bulgaria (1-0) |
| Last international appearance: | 02/06/2004, Czech Republic-Bulgaria (3-1) |
| First international goal: | 13/02/2000, Bulgaria-Chile (2-3) |
| Last international goal: | 28/04/2004, Bulgaria-Cameroun (3-0 - scored twice) |
Finalist (2002)
Winner (1999)
Runners-up (2002)
Finalist (2002)
Bulgarian player of the year (2002)
Biography
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| Dimitar Berbatov (L) from Bulgaria scores the second against Andorra's goalkeeper Koldo (R), 10 september 2003 at Communal stadium in Andorra, during their Euro 2004 qualifyer. AFP PHOTO PASCAL PAVANI |
With five goals in eight Euro 2004 qualifying matches Dimitar Berbatov played a major role in Bulgaria's successful run toward the finals in Portugal as winners of Group 8.
This followed a rollercoaster ride in 2002 with Bayer Leverkusen when his German club suffered an agonising campaign during which they saw victory snatched from their grasp on three fronts.
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| Manchester United's Laurent Blanc (L) fights for the ball with Bayer Leverkusen's Dimitar Berbatov during the Champions League Semi Final first leg match at Old Trafford in Manchester 24 April 2002. AFP PHOTO Adrian DENNIS |
After losing the Champions League final 2-1 to Real Madrid and a piece of Zinedine Zidane magic, they then threw the German title away as Borussia Dortmund pipped them on the last day and finally added to their horrors by losing the domestic Cup final.
An exodus of players meant Leverkusen just avoided relegation the following season but it was a year that Berbatov roundly proved his own colossal worth.
He was born in Blagoevgrad near the border with Yugoslavia where his father was a professional footballer with local outfit Pirin Blagoevgrad.
He made his own debut as an 18-year-old with the same club, but had a rough time to begin with and was whistled by fans for his hesitant inconsistency.
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| Bulgarian and Bayer Levekusen's Dimitar Berbatov jumps for the ball during a training session in Sofia, 02 June 2003. Bulgaria will play a 2004 European Championship qualifier match against Belgium 07 June 2003. AFP PHOTO DIMITAR DILKOFF |
But there has been no inconsistency at international level since his call up to the Bulgarian side in November 1999.
Three months later he scored his first international goal in a 3-2 defeat by Chile and has been on prolific form ever since.
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| EMBARGO - PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS PICTURE IN ANY ELECTRONIC MEDIA, ESPECIALLY THE INTERNET AND MOBILE DEVICES, DURING THE MATCH INCLUDING THE HALF-TIME IS FORBIDDEN BY THE GERMAN SOCCER LEAGUE.Bayer Leverkusen's Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov (L) vies with FC Schalke's Dutch midfielder Niels Oude Kamphuis, 09 November 2003 in Leverkusen, during their 12th day Bundesliga soccer match. AFP PHOTO DDP/ PATRIK STOLLARZ GERMANY OUT |
In January 2001 he joined Leverkusen where he suffered a knee injury that messed up his first season before he established himself as first choice striker.
His own idol is the Dutch master Marco van Basten and in Marvov's Bulgaria side he is on track to do justice to the memory of the legend who made headlines for AC Milan and on international stages.
He is equally shaping up to add his name to the all time great list of Bulgarian stars such as Stoichkov, Kostadinov or Letchkov.