Stiliyan Petrov

Stiliyan Petrov

Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov (sometimes transliterated 'Stilian'; Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров; born 5 July 1979) is a professional footballer who plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Bulgaria national team. He won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 2003 when he was playing for Celtic. Petrov has become known for his solid performances in midfield for both Celtic and Aston Villa and also for Bulgaria. He captained the national team at Euro 2004 where he was sent off during a match against Denmark. He has appeared over a hundred times for his country.

In 2003, Stiliyan Petrov was chosen as Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. He placed second in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2011, and third in 2002 and 2006.

In 2005, Petrov wrote his autobiography with the assistance of Sunday Mail sports journalist Mark Guidi entitled You Can Call Me Stan, in reference to his nickname "Stan", a shortened form of his given name. In the book, he describes how "Stiliyan" is the correct spelling, rather than "Stilian", as it is sometimes spelled in the press.

In March 2012, Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia, suspending his football career to have treatment.