 | FACTFILE Born: 15/01/79 Club: Wolfsburg Position: Midfielder Debut: 09/06/99 v England |
A pacy left winger with an aggressive approach and fierce shot, Martin Petrov was inevitably hailed as 'the new Hristo Stoitchkov' when he burst onto the scene with CSKA Sofia. Stoitchkov himself even recommended Petrov to Barcelona in 2001 but the Catalan club were unconvinced and he moved to Swiss side Servette instead.
After scoring 22 goals in 75 matches for the Geneva outfit, Petrov made the step up to the Bundesliga with a �3m move to Wolfsburg.
Some impressive performances at the VFL Stadion saw Petrov voted his country's third-best player of 2003 behind Stilian Petrov (no relation) and Dimitar Berbatov.
Petrov's debut for Bulgaria literally ended in tears, the winger sobbing on the sidelines after being sent off against England in a European Championship qualifier in 1999.
Despite his temperamental nature, Petrov has become a key figure under coach Plamen Markov and his raw speed is an important weaponry in Bulgaria's attacking arsenal.
Did you know? Petrov could cause commentators a few headaches this summer - don't get him confused with team-mates Stilian Petrov, Mileno Petkov and Ivalio Petkov.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
