Dimitar Berbatov: You Won’t See Me Puffing

Views on BG | July 27, 2011, Wednesday // 11:16
Bulgaria: Dimitar Berbatov: You Won’t See Me Puffing Manchester United`s Dimitar Berbatov of Bulgaria (L) battles New England Revolution`s Benny Feilhaber of Brazil (R) for the ball during the first half of their match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA, 13 July 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES

From The Sun

by Neil Custis

Dimitar Berbatov says he will never change his languid style of play to satisfy his critics.

Berbatov can frustrate many fans thrilled by the all-action play of Wayne Rooney or Javier Hernandez.

But despite facing a fight to win back his regular first-team place at Manchester United, there will still be no scorched earth under his feet at Old Trafford.

Berbatov, 30, said: "You are not going to see me puffing around the pitch. There is a saying in Bulgaria that great quality doesn't require much effort.

"I always play like this. That is what got me here. Last season was proof that even if you have some downs in your career, if you believe in the way you play, in your style of play, you can do it as well."

Berbatov says he likes to do 'beautiful' things for the United fans. So how would he want those supporters to remember him?

He said: "As a good player, trying to do good things on the pitch. Doing things fans enjoyed.

"I always tend to think my goals are beautiful goals. That is what I want to score - beautiful goals, and create beautiful chances for my team-mates. The things that every player will tell you.

"Like I told you, you won't see me puffing around the pitch."

Nor showing the kind of emotion that betrays every thought of Rooney when he plays the game.

Look at Berbatov and it is often difficult to tell who is winning or if he has just scored or not, so why is that?

He said: "I am a very proud person. I don't like to show my weaknesses in public. I don't want to show my emotions in public. That is why people probably sometimes misjudge me. But that is OK."

Inside at least, Berbatov will have endured a rollercoaster of emotions last season.

He hit 20 Premier League goals that earned him the Golden Boot alongside Manchester City's Carlos Tevez as United claimed a record 19th title.

But his season finished with him being left out of the Champions League final squad as he sat on his own in the Wembley changing rooms watching the defeat to Barcelona.

Berbatov said: "I don't want to go back to that. What it is, it was - does that make any sense? Now I am looking to the future. I was pretty happy we did the historical thing about the 19th title. I was part of it and I was the top scorer.

"For me, the personal thing was great. I come from a small country and I have always dreamt big. I was pretty happy when we did all these things."

That night at Wembley will have seemed a long way from his early-season form which included a hat-trick against Liverpool in a 3-2 home win, the second goal of which was a spectacular overhead kick.

It was the first time a United player had achieved that treble in 64 years. Berbatov said: "I didn't know scoring three goals against Liverpool would mean so much to so many people.

"It was just a game for me. Even if it had finished 1-0 and I had scored the goal, it would have been fine. Obviously three goals - and the second one was a bit special - will stay in my memory forever. When they see me, people always ask about that goal. It is nice.

"Most players have a dream that some day, when they have finished, people will tell their grandchildren that they were a good player.

"I am the same. But I don't think it will be 64 years before someone does it again. Maybe the next one will be next year."

Berbatov suffered a 10-game goalscoring drought before hitting five against Blackburn in a 7-1 win, joining Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Jermain Defoe in an elite group who have scored that many in a Premier League game.

Berbatov said: "When I scored my second I thought probably here is another hat-trick for me.

"But five? Probably after the fourth, I was thinking about five.

"Surprisingly, people ask me why I didn't get a sixth. I would have been the only one to do that. First of all, I never thought about it. I never think about things like this. I just try to enjoy.

"Secondly, Andy Cole and Alan Shearer would be mad at me if I scored six. To be in their company is nice. And what makes me really proud is that there have been so many foreigners in English football but I am the only one with five goals."

When he bagged another treble against Birmingham in January he became the first United player since Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2002-03 to claim three hat-tricks in a season.

While they were the highs, the lows would come in the final three months of the campaign as he lost his place to the in-form Hernandez and then suffered that Champions League final humiliation.

He has one year left on his contract, though United have the option to extend it for 12 months. There has been no talk about a new deal. Berbatov said: "That is a personal thing that we only discuss with the boss and the chairman."

But right now he has no plans about going anywhere else. He said: "Manchester United is the top. Smaller clubs might be able to match United with the way they play, with their organisation, everything. But Manchester United are at the top. Where can you go from there? Only down. Maybe Barcelona. At the moment, I don't see anything else. If you go somewhere it is a big step down.

"I always went up, up, up in my career. I am happy."

United chief executive David Gill admitted last night there may be another signing on the way. He said: "We are looking at one more player to bring in."

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Tags: Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United, golden boot, Premier league, goals, Champions League

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