The former captain of Aston Villa and the Bulgarian national team Stiliyan Petrov has announced his retirement, following his battle against acute leukaemia. The official announcement was released by his club Aston Villa. Stiliyan thanked all his fans in the UK and Bulgaria as well as his family and friends who helped him in his heavy battle against blood cancer. He said he was ready to embrace new challenges and the retirement would make this process easier. One of his future plans envisages the setting up of a foundation to help address the issues involved when people are diagnosed with this terrible illness. This will be Petrov’s biggest challenge in the future and he hopes that he will face it with all his energy, enthusiasm and drive. Petrov also paid huge tribute in his retirement address to the medical staff at the University College London Hospital where he was practically brought back to life.

One of the most popular sports media in the UK-BBC Sports focused on his appreciation of the opportunity to work with many big professionals when he joined his first British club Celtic (Glasgow) and later in Aston Villa FC. In his words, he was privileged to compete at a high level in these two clubs and be supported by very passionate fans who gave him the power to become a leading figure in his teams.

Another leading media in England, the Daily Mail,

 elaborated on the love and support of the Aston Villa fans and his teammates towards him over the past 14 months since he was diagnosed with the disease. In his emotional farewell speech to the fans Stiliyan said that seven years was enough to know that he has been part of something unique and special. As a recognition of Petrov’s great football career at Villa Park, the team manager Paul Lambert said he was considering the idea to welcome the former captain in his management team and continue to work with the Bulgarian on a professional level for the well-being of this great club. He said that Petrov’s presence on the stadium during his fight against his illness was very inspiring to everyone associated with Villa football club. Football experts believe that the good performance of his team in the British league was also due to the emotional impact Petrov had on all his teammates. His popularity at the club has been evident all season with fans applauding throughout the whole 19th minute of the games in reference to his squad number.

Mirror newspaper stressed on his emotional attachment with his family and the support he received from all his family members. He said that the continuing support of family and friends as well as all great people he knew made it easier for him to move on from the only life he had ever known-football. This media also accentuates on the recognition of his manager Lambert who had admitted that it was extremely hard for him to find a replacement of such a great footballer who left a serious mark on the performance and the appearance of this club over the past years.

His professionalism is highly appreciated not only by his club fans, but also by fans of Villa’s rivals. This became clear in the comments of Birmingham City Supporters on the web page of one of the biggest sports media on the island-Sky Sports, where they wish Stan all the best, saying that if he puts as much dedication into his new project as he did on the football pitch it could only mean good for young sufferers of this awful disease. According to all his British fans, Stiliyan turned into a legend of the British football and will never be forgotten. 

The Bulgarian media also commented positively on the great football skills of Petrov and his strong character which helped him become the captain of the national squad. The Bulgarian National Television will make a live broadcast of the charity game in support of Stiliyan and the Bulgarian children suffering from leukaemia. Aston Villa veterans will face legends of the Bulgarian national team on May 26 (Sunday). The game will be played on the Vasil Levski National Stadium. The event is organized by the Bulgarian Football Union and the Aston Villa’s football veterans. Hristo Stoichkov, Krasimir Balakov, Dimitar Berbatov, Luboslav Penev, Nasko Sirakov and other Bulgarian legends will face Stan Collymore and other Villa legends. The British team will be coached by former Arsenal manager Bruce Rioch. All who join the event will see a video address of Stan where he will thank all his fans for the massive support in his battle of his life. 

The great midfielder said for the BNT that he was proud to be a national player. He said it was a great honor for him to play over 100 games for the Bulgarian squad. Stiliyan called on all fans to flood the National Stadium in Sofia and help the good cause. “All football legends on the pitch will play for the children suffering leukaemia. These people will sacrifice part of their precious time for a great cause. I would love to see many fans on the stadium. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the event, because doctors do not let me fly now. It would be great if I had the chance to feel the atmosphere on the stadium. However, my eyes will surely fill with tears when I watch all that on the TV”, the Bulgarian football legend concluded.

English version: Kostadin Atanassov