As anticipation builds for this Saturday’s Legends match between Celtic and Manchester United at Old Trafford, we caught up with fan favourite Stiliyan Petrov, who is set to don the Hoops once again. Petrov, holder of more than 100 Bulgarian caps and a survivor of leukemia, has participated in numerous charity matches over the years. His most recent outing was against Borussia Dortmund Legends at Celtic Park, a match which helped raise in excess of £200,000 for Celtic FC Foundation, and saw a Celtic Legends side triumph 4-2 over the German visitors. And with just a matter of days until the next Legends fixture and around 3,000 Celtic fans expected to make the journey, Petrov is determined to inspire the Hoops to yet another unforgettable victory, all in support of a worthy cause. So first of all, how excited are you for the Legends Match at Old Trafford? Really, really excited. I mean, it’s a great venue, great stadium. It’s for a great cause and it always exciting when you involve two big teams with great support. So I’m really looking forward to it. How did you find the previous match against Borussia Dortmund? For me it was incredible. I’ve had a few games recently, I had one in Bulgaria too for my own Foundation. There’s a lot of work that goes into it, but the satisfaction afterwards is worth it. So for me, you know, that game was very emotional at Celtic Park. Every game is emotional. Football was taken away from me because of my illness and now I know how important football is. And every time I touch the ball, every time I can still run, I enjoy myself. And of course there’s a lot of work that goes into these matches behind the scenes, to make it happen? Yeah so much work, you know, dealing with former players is not easy. It’s not easy. I can tell you that! But everybody is happy to take part in these games and be part of these great occasions. Because ultimately everybody’s united. Everybody’s united for good causes and everybody’s happy to be part of that, and it’s a great honour to be asked back. You’ll be looking forward to seeing some old faces again? Yeah I look forward to playing in these games and to see all those players again. Not many of us see each other because everybody lives in different parts of the world, different places. So it’s a great pleasure to meet up again, share old stories, have a good laugh and enjoy a beer. We know you’ve played with several players involved in this Legends game, most notably Dimitar Berbatov. What’s he like on and off the pitch? He’s a genius. I mean, his movement. His touch. His understanding of the game. He always talks about that. You don’t have to run, but you can still succeed. He was the biggest star, the biggest talent, the biggest player in Bulgaria. When we were both playing for the national team, we counted on his goals and his brilliance and his ability to change games from nothing. He’s also very smart, a perfectionist. Not many people know him, but he’s got a great sense of humour. If you earn his trust, he’s a great, great person, a great soul. So for me, to have had him as a friend and as a teammate is a great honour. You played against Manchester United a lot during your Villa days, what do you remember about this time? I think Martin O’Neill built a team with characters. A team with physicality, speed and we were a threat to pretty much every team in the Premier League and we really enjoyed playing together. We had some incredible players like Ashley Young who’s went on to play for United for many years. Also guys like James Milner and Stuart Downing – players who excite you when they get the ball. So when you have those kind of players you always have a chance to win games. And was Old Trafford always a stage you enjoyed performing on? I loved playing at Old Trafford. Anyone that says differently is lying. It’s a great venue and has an incredible atmosphere and everybody looked forward to playing there. The Celtic support are travelling down in big numbers, so it should be a special occasion? I think both sets of fans will be expecting to win. Obviously Celtic now have a team that is a bit younger which is good. And you seen that with the Dortmund game, it was very competitive, so I expect the same against Manchester United. Celtic FC Legends take on their Manchester United counterparts at Old Trafford on Saturday, September 7, with kick-off scheduled at 2pm. There’s still to support the Bhoys and supporters wishing to buy away end tickets can add code CELTICLEGENDS-VISITORS-2024 on the seat selection page HERE Proceeds from the match will go towards supporting youngsters across Greater Manchester and beyond, helping Manchester United Foundation to continue its community work and improving the lives of thousands of young people. Support will also be provided to Celtic FC Foundation, to help in its mission to alleviate poverty in Glasgow and further afield.
Celtic FC Foundation · Sep 3
