There are very few players in Aston Villa history who could match the heart and desire that Stiliyan Petrov demonstrated during his seven year stint at the club.
A masterful central midfielder, the Bulgarian first came to prominence during a highly successful period at Celtic where he helped the Scottish side win 10 major honours between 1999 and 2006, benefiting significantly from the guidance of manager Martin O’Neill.
After the Northern Irish manager moved to Villa in 2005, Petrov decided to join him a year later, signing for the Premier League side for a reported fee of £8m (via The Telegraph). Although O’Neill would have expected the midfielder to have carried on where he had left off with the Hoops, the first two seasons at Villa were a tad underwhelming as the former CSKA Sofia ace struggled to adapt to the pace of England’s top flight division.
Nevertheless, Petrov was backed by his boss to return to the levels demonstrated whilst at Celtic and he duly delivered throughout the 2008/09 campaign with his performances earning him the honour of captaining Villa for the first time, something of which he did on a permanent basis over the next four seasons.
The defining season of his career at Villa Park came in the following season as he made 47 appearances for the club in all competitions, playing a crucial part in helping the club finish sixth in the Premier League. Yet it was his heroics in the League Cup that year which will be fondly remembered by the club’s supporters as he led his side to the final of the competition where they were narrowly defeated by Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
Despite O’Neill’s departure from the Lions in 2010, Petrov remained loyal to the club for a further two years before suddenly being diagnosed with leukemia. Although the 39-year-old would recover from the illness, he decided to call time on his career in 2013 having made 185 appearances for Villa in the Premier League.
Considered a legend for his contribution to the Villans and dedication to the sport he loved playing, Petrov is still remembered to this very day as one of the club’s greatest ever servants. Such was the admiration for the midfielder in the Midlands, he was added to Villa’s Hall of Fame in 2013, which crowned him only the thirteenth player in the club’s history to achieve such an accolade.
