Happy 31st Birthday Dimitar Berbatov! A Timeline of his United Career So Far
September 1st 2008 – Berbatov signs for Manchester United
Tottenham reach an agreement for the sale of Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, on a 4 year contract, in a deal reportedly worth £30.75m
Upon his arrival, Dimitar had this to say:
“Joining United is a dream come true. I look forward to playing my part in helping this club win more honours.”
Sir Alex added:
“This is a key signing. Dimitar is one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football. His style and ability will give the team a different dimension and I’m sure he will be a popular player with the fans.”
September 13th 2008 – Berbatov makes his Premier League debut for Manchester United
Berbatov started for Manchester United in a 2-1 loss at Anfield to Liverpool. Dimitar provided the assist for Carlos Tevez, to score the opening goal, but faded as the match wore on and Liverpool eventually overturned the deficit to win the game, courtesy of a Ryan Babel strike.
September 21st 2008 – Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United
Berbatov was paired upfront with Wayne Rooney for United against Chelsea, as Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez started the game on the bench. Dimitar had a hand in the opening goal as Petr Cech fumbled his shot with Park pouncing to score.
Berbatov played the full 90 but couldn’t prevent United from conceding an equaliser as Chelsea scored late on in the 80th minute to gain a point at Stamford Bridge.
September 30th 2008 – Berbatov scores on his Champions League bow for Man United
Dimitar Berbatov got his goals campaign off the mark for Manchester United as he netted a brace on his UCL debut in a comfortable 3-0 victory away to AaB Aalborg.
October 18th 2008 – Berbatov scores his 1st PL goal for Man United
Dimitar Berbatov scored his 1st Premier League goal for Manchester United as they ran out comfortable 4-0 winners at home to West Brom in the league.
October 21st 2008 – Berbatov nets another brace in the Champions League
Dimitar Berbatov started for United against Celtic in the group stages of the Champions League. United won the game 3-0 with Berbatov having a massive influence on the outcome, after scoring the opening 2 goals.
Sir Alex had this to say on Berbatov’s form :
“He showed tonight some fantastic pieces of football. I think the players are beginning to understand the type of player he is.
You always feel when he gets turned on back fours, he’ll produce a pass that means something. The weight of his pass, there were 3 or 4 occasions tonight where it was absolutely superb. He’s got 5 goals for us already now, and i think that’s a terrific contribution.”
December 29th 2008 – Man United 1-0 Middlesbrough
Dimitar Berbatov scored the winning goal in a tight game which United won 1-0. After the game Sir Alex had this to say:
“We missed a lot of chances and that is the big concern. If we can’t take those chances we will suffer from it. But I think you have to see how well Middlesbrough played tonight. For a team in their position it belies their ability.
Berbatov is a marvellous player and I thought he was absolutely superb for us. He took his goal well.”
January 4th 2009 – Berbatov makes FA Cup debut for Manchester United.
Dimitar Berbatov started in the FA Cup for Manchester United as they overcame Southampton 3-0. Berbatov didn’t get on the scoresheet but produced a fine display to see United through to the next round.
January 24th 2009 – Berbatov scores against his ex-club Tottenham Hotspur
Dimitar Berbatov knocked Spurs out of the 4th round of the FA Cup as he scored what proved to be the winning goal after latching on to Michael Carrick’s pass to make it 2-1 to United.
March 4th 2009 – Newcastle 1-2 Manchester United
Dimitar Berbatov scored another important winner in the league as Manchester United edged out Newcastle 2-1 to tighten their grip on the Premier league title race.
May 16th 2009 – Berbatov wins the Premier Leauge title with Manchester United.
Berbatov was an unused substitute for Manchester United as they drew 0-0 to Arsenal on the last day of the season to get the required point needed to seal the title. This was Manchester United’s 18th league title and Berbatov’s 1st for his new club.
May 27th 2009 – Berbatov starts on the bench in Champions League Final
Dimitar Berbatov came off the bench in the 2nd half but couldn’t prevent Manchester United from losing 2-0 in the Champions League Final to Barcelona.
August 9th 2009 – Chelsea defeat United 4-1 on penalties in the FA Community shield.
Dimitar Berbatov started for Manchester United against Chelsea but came off in the 2nd half for Michael Owen in a tactical substitution. United took the game to Extra time, courtesy of a very late Wayne Rooney equaliser but fell at the last hurdle as Chelsea won the Community shield on penalties.
August 22nd 2009 – Berbatov opens his Premier League account for the 2009/10 season
Dimitar Berbatov scored for Manchester United as they thrashed Wigan 5-0 at the JJB Stadium. Wayne Rooney, Nani and Michael Owen were the amongst the other goal scorers that day.
October 25th 2009 – Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United
Berbatov started for Manchester United in a 2-0 defeat by Liverpool, which saw Berbatov come off in the 2nd half with a yellow card to his name. Torres and N’gog were the goal scorers for Liverpool in a game which also saw Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic sent off along with Javier Mascherano of Liverpool.
December 27th 2009 – Hull 1-3 Man United
Dimitar Berbatov capped off the scoring as Manchester United recorded a 3-1 away victory to Hull to move within 2 points of leaders Chelsea in the race for the title.
January 3rd 2010 – United lose to Leeds in the FA Cup 3rd round
The ex-Bulgarian international was once again paired with Wayne Rooney upfront in a slightly weakened cup team to take on Leeds.
Berbatov played the full 90 minutes but couldn’t help United grab an equaliser, after Jermaine Beckford’s goal in the 19th minute put Leeds in front, and eventually sent them through to the next round.
February 28th 2010 – Dimitar Berbatov wins his 1st Carling Cup medal
Dimitar Berbatov wins his first League cup with Manchester United as they beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Wembley showdown.
March 27th 2010 – Berbatov’s Bolton brace
Dimitar Berbatov scored 2 goals in the 2nd half as Manchester United beat Bolton 4-0 to restore their lead to 1 point over Chelsea at the top of the Premier league.
April 7th 2010 – Manchester United sent crashing out of the Champions League on away goals
A miserable night for Dimitar Berbatov and Manchester United, as a late Robben strike sees Manchester United knocked out of the Champions League, and in doing so end their hopes of reaching a 3rd successive Champions league final. Ferguson insisted that the sending off changed the course of the game, saying:
“There is no doubt about it. They were never getting through that tie, with 11 men we had no problem.”
May 9th 2010 – Man Utd 4-0 Stoke
Dimitar Berbatov started for Manchester United as they defeated Stoke on the final day of the season. Berbatov was unable to get on the scoresheet, and was substituted after the 60 minute mark. However, the result counts for nothing in the end as Chelsea are crowned Champions, breaking United’s stranglehold on the Premier league.
August 8th 2010 – Manchester United defeat Chelsea 3-1 in the FA Community shield
Dimitar Berbatov plays the 2nd half after coming on as a substitute, as Manchester United run out 3-1 winners against Chelsea in the Community shield. Berbatov put the final nail in the coffin as he scored the last goal to seal Man United’s community shield win. Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez were the other Manchester United goal scorers respectively.
August 16th 2010 – Manchester United win their 1st game of the season
Berbatov scored as Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 victory at home to Newcastle in their 1st game of the 2010/11 PL campaign.
September 19th 2010 – Berbatov nets 5 in Blackburn romp
Dimitar Berbatov scored an amazing 5 goals as Manchester United thrashed Blackburn 7-1 in the league. Berbatov opened the scoring, before Park ji Sung added a 2nd. Berbatov then scored the next 2 goals for Manchester United as they raced to a 3-0 lead at the Interval, with Berbatov having already completed a hat-trick.
In the 2nd half, Manchester United and Berbatov continued from where they left off. Berbatov scored the 1st goal of the 2nd half, and his 4th before Nani added another to make it 5-0 before 60 minutes. It was just damage limitation at this point, and Dimitar Berbatov piled more misery on Blackburn by scoring another 2 goals to cap off a wonderful solo performance for the Bulgarian forward. Speaking after the game, Berbatov said this:
” Yeah, it was really great and i still couldn’t believe i scored 5 goals but it happened. I think overall our performance was brilliant today, we deserved to win. I don’t think anybody was guessing the score before the game.
Personally i’m very pleased for myself. To do it in the Premier league when only 4 other plays have done it, and stand next to Shearer and Andy Cole, it’s a great honour.”
December 26th 2010 – Manchester United 2-0 Sunderland
Dimitar Berbatov scored the only 2 goals of the game as Manchester United defeated Sunderland in the league to stay 2 points clear at the summit of the Premier league table.
January 22nd 2011 – Berbatov scores a hat- trick of hat- tricks in the Premier League
Dimitar Berbatov scored his 3rd hattrick in the 2010/11 PL campaign as Manchester United crushed Birmingham 5-0 at Old Trafford.
January 25th 2011 – Manchester United stage stunning comeback away to Blackpool
In this Tuesday night kick off, Manchester United found themselves 2-0 down away to newly promoted Blackpool, via goals from ex United player Craig Cathcart, and forward DJ Campbell. Berbatov started the game as United ended the 1st half 2 goals behind.
The turning point of the match came in the 2nd half when Sir Alex introduced Ryan Giggs and Javier Hernandez to the fore. They proved to be the catalyst in the end, as they helped united score 3 late goals to overturn the deficit and edge to victory. Berbatov was the scorer of 2 of the 3 goals with some clinical finishing. Javier Hernandez scored the other.
February 5th 2011- Manchester United’s unbeaten run in the League ended
Dimitar Berbatov starts for Manchester United as their 29 match unbeaten run in the Premier league is ended by a 2-1 defeat to Wolves.
May 14th 2011 – Berbatov wins 2nd Premier League title with Manchester United
Dimitar Berbatov came on as a late substitute against Blackburn in the penultimate game of the season. A Wayne Rooney penalty near the end was enough to seal a draw and clinch Berbatov’s 2nd league title in England. It was a momentous occasion as it also marked Manchester United’s record breaking 19th league title, which had well and truly knocked Liverpool off their perch.
May 22nd 2011 – Manchester United defeat Blackpool 4-2 on the final day of the season
With the Premier league title wrapped up, the game against Blackpool was just a case of trying to ensure Dimitar Berbatov ended the campaign as the golden boot winner. Manchester United fielded an ever so slightly weakened signed as they had one eye on the CL final date with Barcelona.
Berbatov led the line for United against Blackpool but, mainly due to some wonderful goalkeeping, the Bulgarian failed to get on the score sheet.
May 26th 2011- Berbatov Wins Premier League Golden Boot
Having scored 20 goals, a personal best, during United’s domestic campaign, Berbatov picked up the golden boot, along side Carlos Tevez, who also scored 20 goals for Manchester City. To add to this, he also made the PFA’s Team of the Year, alongside the Argentinian.
May 28th 2011 – Berbatov left out of Manchester United squad in CL final against Barcelona
Dimitar Berbatov failed to make the bench as Manchester United lost the 3-1 to Barcelona in the 2011 Champions league final. This led to vast speculation about his future. There were rumours that Berbatov had stormed out of the stadium, but these were quashed by SAF who stated the decision to leave Berbatov out of the squad was “heartbreaking”.
Sir Alex went on to add:
“I found it easy to pick the starting team, but difficult with the subs. I overloaded the midfield positions on the bench as I thought that was most vital for how Barcelona play and the work we needed in there.
It came down to a choice between Michael Owen and Berbatov and my view is if you’re looking for someone to nick a goal, Owen has the experience, which is why he took the spot.”
August 7th 2011 – Berbatov and United win FA Community Shield
Manchester United came from 2-0 down in the 1st half to stage a dramatic comeback in the 2nd half, and win the game 3-2, against neighbours Man City. Berbatov came on as a late substitute in the 89th minute.
September 20th 2011 – Berbatov makes 1st start of the 2011/12 season
Berbatov started his 1st game of the new season, in the Carling cup tie against Leeds United. Although Dimitar didn’t get on the scoresheet, United won the game 3-0 to progress to the next round.
October 25th 2011 – Berbatov gets 2nd start in the Carling Cup
Dimitar Berbatov was handed a rare start, again in the League Cup. After beating Leeds in the last round, United were away to Aldershot this time. Man United won the game 3-0 with Berbatov getting his 1st goal of the season.
November 22nd 2011 – Berbatov scores in the Champions League
Dimitar Berbatov started for Manchester United as they drew 2-2 to Benfica at home in CL group stages. Berbatov also opened the scoring, and as a result ended his long goal drought in the competition, since scoring against Celtic previously in his United career.
December 21st 2011 – Dimitar Berbatov scores his 1st Premier League goal of the 2011/12 season
Dimitar Berbatov came on as a 2nd half substiute to score and put the icing on the cake in United’s 5-0 victory away to Fulham in the league. In getting on the scoresheet, Berbatov also scored his 50th goal for Manchester United in all competitions, and as a result becoming United’s 50th player to score 50 goals for the club.
December 26th 2011 – Man United 5- 0 Wigan
Dimitar Berbatov scored his 4th hattrick for Manchester United in the Premier league, as they romped to a 5-0 victory over Wigan in the league.
December 31st 2011 -Man United 2- 3 Blackburn
Dimitar Berbatov was handed a rare 2nd start in a row for United in the Premier League. Although Berbatov scored a brace in the game, he couldn’t prevent United from going behind and eventually losing at home for the 2nd time this season.
Written by Demil
CanTheyScore
Justin Bryant
Jamie Frank
Guest Writers
Kiran White
Steve Williams
joemaloney
Demi
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I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!!
happy birthday 2 berbatov, i wish him many more years in manchester united. I wan’t berbatov to be our front man in attack so that we can score goals.