Aston Villa midfielder and Bulgaria team captain Stilyan Petrov plans to announce his retirement from international football with immediate effect before the end of the Euro 2012 qualifications, it emerged on Wednesday.

"Stiliyan is seriously considering the option to quit the national team right now. Bulgaria really needs him and not only him, but Dimitar Berbatov as well. We are all to blame for the decision of our best players to say goodbye," Stanimir Stoilov, the already former boss of the team said.

Bulgaria, beaten 4-0 by England at Wembley on Friday, lost 1-0 at home to Montenegro on Tuesday evening.

The deplorable performance made Bulgaria's chances of qualifying now virtually neglible and proved too much both for Stoilov, who resigned after the match, and Petrov.

Bulgaria is at the bottom of Group G and plays Wales on Oct. 8 in its next Euro 2012 qualifier.

Petrov made 97 appearances for his country and scored 8 goals.

The news of his upcoming retirement comes just three months after the previous captain of the team and Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov retired from international football after winning 74 caps for his country.

His decision was a blow for Stanimir Stoilov, who had an uphill task in trying to qualify for the European Championship finals in 2012, an apparently impossible task for the team.

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