Petrov wins Bulgarian honour
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Article summary
Stilian Petrov has been named Bulgarian Player of the Year after a memorable 2003.
Article body
Celtic FC playmaker Stilian Petrov has been voted Bulgarian Player of the Year.
Memorable year
The Bulgaria captain gathered 245 points from the poll of 139 journalists, beating last year's winner Dimitar Berbatov of Bayer 04 Leverkusen into second place, while VfL Wolfsburg midfield player Martin Petrov finished third. The honour rewards Petrov for a memorable year in which he played a vital role in Bulgaria's qualification for UEFA EURO 2004™ and also helped Celtic FC reach the UEFA Cup final.
Looking forward
"I would like to thank all my Bulgarian colleagues and my team mates at Celtic," he said on accepting the award at a special ceremony. "Without their efforts and help, it would have been much harder for me to win the award. 2003 was a great year for me, but I hope that the 2004 will be even better. I am looking forward to playing at EURO 2004™ and another successful season with Celtic."
Other awards
Meanwhile, Bulgaria coach Plamen Markov was named coach of the year while PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv sensation Martin Kamburov was named most promising player of the year. Veteran striker Doncho Donev of Lokomotiv Sofia won the fair play award with Dimitar Ivankov voted best goalkeeper and Iliyan Stoyanov, Emil Gargorov and Kamburov picking up prizes for best defender, midfield player and striker respectively.
