Football Update: Dimitar Berbatov explains decision to quit International football.
Newly appointed Bulgarian coach, Lothar Mattahaus has claimed to battle out to convince Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov out of International retirement. The 29 year old put his international career in the hold indefinitely this summer, following
his achievement of being the highest scoring footballer in history of Bulgaria.
Since his retirement from the International fold, Berbatov has shown his form to date, having already scored 7 times in all competition so far, which included his famous hatrick against Liverpool on Sunday. Since his 30.75 million pound transfer from Tottenham
Hotspurs to Manchester United, Berbatov has struggled to find his form with the Red Devils, but has shown his quality by scoring almost at will. The Bulgarian boss now looks to have a word with Berbatov, who has been appointed as the new manager to take the
European side out of turmoil in the Euro 2012 campaign. The side suffered a 3-0 loss to England at Wembley, which was followed by a shock home defeat at the hands of Montenegro, which has heavily depleted their chances to play in the championship final which
is to be held in Poland and Ukraine.
The manager believes that having the hit man back among the ranks at the National side would provide the side with the much needed inspiration and create a U-turn for Bulgaria’s poor form. Yet, the player himself seems pretty content with his decision to
retire.
"I promised to myself when I was nearly 30, if I didn't do anything with the national team it would be best to retire and give chances to younger players. I wanted to let them see what it is to have the national team on your shoulder," claimed the
hatrick hero. However, owing to this statement being given before the manager’s appointment, no one knows what will go down once Berbatov meets the new manager. Many believe that reaching the all time high with Bulgaria last season would have been the only
realistic target for the 29 year old, as the side has not featured in a single major tournament since Euro 2004.
"I wanted to reach the record before I retired. It was a goal I had in front of me but it was difficult. I tried not to think about it too much because if you want to score every game, you are going to have a problem. When I did break the record it was
one of my proudest days,” claimed Dimitar Berbatov.
Berbatov is a changed player this season, as he seems to be filling the shoes of misfiring Wayne Rooney. Rooney, who bagged 34 goals last season, has scored just one goal so far and doesn’t seem like his usual self. The player was the inspiration behind
the team’s second place finish in the league last season but seems like second best this season owing to problems in his private life. With Rooney not in the equation, it was up to Dimitar Berbatov to start scoring and that is exactly what he’s been doing.
Berba’s first goal of the season came from a beautiful chip against Chelsea in the Community Shield and then has scored in all the premier league games. The player’s highlight of the season was his hatrick against Liverpool on the weekend, where he was a one
man army against the arch Rivals. Berbatov proved too hot to handle and used his aerial ability to net a brace. His second goal was pure class as he managed to pull an inch perfect overhead kick, which gave Liverpool goal keeper Pepe Reina absolutely no chance.
Manchester United would be having four straight away games in the coming weeks and would want to get their best from all of them owing to tough competition from Chelsea.
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