Goal.com Profile: Dimitar Berbatov

Having become the subject of the eighth most expensive transfer in football history - on the same day that Robinho’s deal put him fifth on that particular list - Dimitar Berbatov fulfilled his ’dream.’
The Bulgarian striker, disaffected at White Hart Lane, moved to Old Trafford on transfer deadline day for £30.75million, bringing to an end a protracted and often bitter episode of brinkmanship between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, for whom he has signed a four-year contract, with Fraizer Campbell joining Spurs on a season-long loan as part of the deal.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has long coveted the Bulgarian with the silkily sublime skills, and hailed him as one of the best strikers in world football when he’d finally signed him. But Berbatov, who is revered in his native country, and who made an immediate impact on the Premier League when he joined Spurs, also displayed a sulky side, and had been axed from Juande Ramos’s squad and criticised by his team-maters in his final week as a Tottenham player.
So who exactly have United bought for so much money, and what makes him tick?
Early Days
Dimitar Berbatov was born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, on 30th January 1981, to sporting parents. His mother Margarita was a professional handball player; father Ivan a professional footballer with local side Pirin Blagoevgrad.
It was at the same club, Pirin, that Dimi began his own career, having been in love with the game since boyhood. He is said to have supported AC Milan initially, modelling himself on their superstar Dutch forward of the time, Marco van Basten. However, when he was 15 he discovered a new hero at Euro 96 - England striker Alan Shearer. His dream then was to play for Newcastle United and wear for real the famous black-and-white striped shirt rather than the replica one he insisted on sleeping in.
Role models loomed large in Berbatov’s early life because he taught himself English with the aid of repeated viewings of the Godfather films; his distinctive appearance today owes much to his resemblance to the actor Andy Garcia, who figured prominently in the third film of the mafia trilogy.
CSKA Sofia & International Recognition
Having followed in his father’s footsteps to Pirin Blagoevgrad, he was soon spotted by top Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia, who signed him when he was just 17. In the 1998-99 season, aged 18, he made his debut for the capital club. He made 16 first team appearances and scored six goals that season.
The following campaign (1999-2000) saw him net 16 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions, and the next season he’d scored 15 in just 16 games before Bayer Leverkusen bought him in January 2001.
By then Berbatov had won the Bulgarian Cup with CSKA in 1999 and earned his first cap for Bulgaria, against Greece, in November of the same year. Within three months he’d scored his first international goal, against Chile.
The Move To Bayer Leverkusen
His German career began fairly quietly, Berbatov averaging a goal every four games (16 in his first 67 appearances) in a Bayern shirt. But he was making an impression in the Champions League, scoring a classic individual goal against Lyon in his first season with the club, then netting against Liverpool in the quarter-finals and replacing Thomas Brdaric after 38 minutes in the final against Real Madrid.
In 2001–02, as well as finishing runners-up to Real in that Champions League final, Leverkusen were runners-up in both the German Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal (national Cup), and by 2002-03 Berbatov had established himself as Bayer’s leading striker, although he managed only four Bundesliga goals that season. In contrast, his five in six games for his country helped Bulgaria qualify for Euro 2004.
In 2003-04 he hit 19 goals in 36 games for Bayer, and in 81 appearances over the subsequent two seasons he racked up a further 50 goals for the club, including five in the Champions League of 2004-05. That season saw him named Bulgarian player of the year for the third campaign in succession.
By now major clubs throughout Europe were monitoring his progress with keen interest and in summer 2006 they were vying for his services. He might have joined Manchester United then, but by their own admission they acted too slowly and Tottenham Hotspur won the race, snaring Berbatov for £10.9million in May of that year. The fee made him the costliest Bulgarian player in history. On 1st July 2006, after he’d been granted a work permit, his transfer was completed.
On To Tottenham Hotspur
Berbatov scored two goals in two minutes in his first Spurs match, a pre-season friendly against Birmingham City. That was followed by a goal just two minutes intoi his first competitive match for Tottenham, a Premier League clash against Sheffield United at White Hart Lane.
Despite the then Spurs manager Martin Jol’s rotation policy with his forwards, Berbatov established an excellent strike partnership with Robbie Keane. In the first of his two full seasons with Tottenham, the Bulgarian scored 23 goals in 49 games, including seven in the Lilywhites’ Uefa Cup campaign. 12 of his goals had come in the Premier League, but he’d also supplied 11 assists in his 33 appearances. In April 2007, joint-winners Berbatov and Keane became the first players to share the Barclays Premier League Player of the Month Award since Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp and Edu (February 2004). Berbatov was also selected in the Premier League's PFA Team of the Season, and was named the Tottenham Hotspur player of the season for 2006-07.
A further 23 goals followed last season, including his first Premier League hat-trick on 29th December 2007 when he hit four in Tottenham’s 6–4 win over Reading. He also scored at Wembley in the Carling League Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley - an equalising penalty as Spurs won 2-1 in extra-time to give him his first medal in English football.
Finally, Transferred To Manchester United
Throughout the summer of 2008 Berbatov was unsettled by rumours of a substantial bid from Manchester United - a club whose style of play, success and participation in the Champions League fuelled his ambition.
In July Ferguson was wrongly quoted as saying: "We have made Tottenham an offer on Berbatov," and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy flew into a rage of righteous indignation, reporting United to the Premier League and threatening to submit a dossier of evidence dating back a year detailing what they claimed represented an illegal approach to Berbatov by United, who denied any wrong-doing
By mid-August, reports were claiming that United had lodged a bid for Berbatov with Spurs. Ramos felt the speculation meant Berbatov had lost focus and, although he trained with the first-team, he was dropped for Tottenham’s games against Sunderland and Chelsea.
On Monday 1st September, transfer deadline day, Manchester City - newly taken over by an organisation acting for the Abu Dhabi royal family, had a bid for Berbatov accepted by Spurs. But United managed to hijack the deal with what has been described as a smash-and-grab raid - one that reputedly left Spurs fuming, though they have decided not to pursue any legal action against the Red Devils. Spurs claimed United had illegally approached the player, who was flying into Manchester for talks with City, when Ferguson met him at Manchester Airport without Spurs’ permission. Ferguson apparently drove Berbatov in his Bentley with the player hiding under a cover on the back seat.
Did You Know?
Outside football, Berbatov’s hobbies include drawing and basketball.
Berbatov scored his first Premier League double for Spurs in a 5–1 victory over Charlton Athletic.
Berbatov came on as a second half substitute for Tottenham against Fulham in the FA Cup to score his first two goals in the competition.
When Arsenal beat Spurs in the North London derby on 22nd December 2007. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger compared Berbatov to Thierry Henry.
Others have predicted that his influence on Manchester United’s young side could be similar to that of Eric Cantona’s in the early-mid 1990s.
Berbatov has been given United’s number 9 shirt, vacated by Louis Saha.

Career Summary
Dates
Club
Appearances
Goals
1998-2001
CSKA Sofia
65
37
2001-2006
Bayer Leverkusen
195
90
2006-2008
Tottenham Hotspur
102
46
2008-
Manchester United
0
0
1999-
Bulgaria
65
43


Personal Details

Name
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov
Date of birth
30 January 1981
Place of birth
Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Height
1.89 m (6ft 2 1/2 in)
Position
Striker

Costliest Transfers In Football History
01 Zinedine Zidane, Juventus-Real Madrid £46m 02 Luis Figo, Barcelona-Real Madrid £38.7m 03 Hernan Crespo, Parma-Lazio £35.5m 04 Gianluigi Buffon, Parma-Juventus £32.6m 05 Robinho, Real Madrid-Manchester City £32.5m 06 Christian Vieiri, Lazio-Inter Milan £32m 07 Andrei Shevchenko, AC Milan-Chelsea £30.8m 08 Dimitar Berbatov, Tottenham-Manchester United £30.75m 09 Pavel Nedved, Lazio-Juventus £30.6m 10 Rio Ferdinand, Leeds United- Manchester United £29.1m 11 Gaizka Mendieta, Valencia-Lazio £29m 12 Ronaldo, Inter Milan-Real Madrid £29.49m 13 Juan Sebastian Veron, Lazio-Manchester United £28.1m 14 Wayne Rooney, Everton-Manchester United £27m

Source :http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=846822