Bulgaria’s ex-national team captain Stiliyan Petrov returned to the pitch in a charity match, organized by his foundation for gathering funds for the treatment of leukemia.

Petrov, who was diagnosed with the disease 2 years ago, and has since fought through it, gathered the ovation of the Aston Villa supporters who had come to see the match. The Bulgarian even managed to score a goal through a penalty kick, despite his team losing 3:8 to the legendary Aston Villa side of 1982, which won the European Cup of Champions.

Petrov once again thanked everybody in the club and the fans for the warm support they had offered him during his battle with the illness.

“Together with my wife, we would like to give back to the people who supported us”, Stan said after the charity game.

Many fans of the Birmingham team poured their kind words for Stan via social media. The club has also said they are ready to offer him a managerial position once he feels fit enough to return.

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