Where is Stiliyan Petrov now?
Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov’s Premier League career was cruelly cut short at the age of 32 after he was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in March 2012.
Making over 450 club appearances over an 18-year career he won the Bulgarian Championship and Cup twice with CSKA Moscow as well as the Scottish Premier League four times, the Scottish Cup three times and the Scottish League Cup three times with Celtic.
He also made over 100 appearances for the Bulgaria national team and was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 2003 and placed runner-up on five occasions.
Officially retiring from playing in May 2013, Petrov was immediately given a coaching role at Villa assisting the club’s development coach, Gordan Cowans.
During this time he set up his own foundation with the purpose to revolutionise the way leukaemia and cancer are treated. The foundation seeks to develop a safer, more practical and effective process for treatment, relapses and prevention of these illnesses.
In 2014 whilst nearing the end of his treatment, he made a return to football with West Midlands Sunday league side Wychall Wanderers over-35’s. He won the cup with his team only days after being cleared of leukaemia.
In June 2016, Petrov was back at Aston Villa for a month on a non-contract basis whilst attempting to make a professional comeback four years after recovering from cancer. Unfortunately the move didn’t go as planned and the club decided against offering him a contract for the new season forcing him into retirement once more.
Petrov has now completed his UEFA coaching badges and has graduated from the UEFA Master for International Player’s Programme. He has also co-founded an organisation called Player4Player which protects former player’s interests once they retire from the game.
He has also dipped his toe in broadcasting and has had stints as as a pundit and analyst for BT Sport and Stadium Astro.
Follow on Twitter @StanPetrov19
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#One2Eleven
Stiliyan Petrov was a guest on Sky Sports programme The Fantasy Football Club in 2014 where he picked the eleven best players he had ever played with in their #One2Eleven section of the show.
GK – Brad Friedel – when you look at a goalkeeper you want consistency and Brad is your man for this.
RB – Kyle Walker – I played with him when he came to Villa on loan and you could see his potential. A modern type of full back who had strength, speed and ability at an early age.
CB – Bobo Balde – when you want a proper defender Balde is your man.
CB – Richard Dunne – a pleasure to play with. He was the one who controlled everything at the back and knew when to tackle, when to drop and when to push.
LB – Alan Thompson – big character with a big personality in the dressing room. Had a great left foot.
LM – Gareth Barry – a player who I didn’t think got enough credit. A great player who has a great football brain and keeps it simple.
CM – Roy Keane – every team needs a leader and you can’t get much better than Keane. A top bloke too.
RM – Lubo Moravcik – two-footed player who could walk into any team at any time. A great trainer who also scored some great goals
Striker – Dimitar Berbatov – although people used to moan about him being lazy he was a class player. Everywhere he went he scored goals and created chances.
Striker – Henrik Larsson – he was a complete player. Come short, one-touch, head it. Always on the move and no-one could get near him sometimes.
Striker – Chris Sutton – linked very well with Larsson and a good friend of mine. With Sutton and Larsson in the team they would be a handful for any defence.
Stiliyan Petrov: Premier League Statistics
| Nationality | Bulgarian |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Appearances | 185 |
| Goals | 9 |
| Yellow Cards | 37 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
| Premier League Teams Played for | Aston Villa |
Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com
Last Updated on 6 July 2021 by Admin