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Dimitar Berbatov is back in England to face Arsenal, but how should he be remembered?

Dimitar Berbatov - Monaco

Arsenal's Champions League tie with Monaco brings Dimitar Berbatov back to England. Adam Bate examines the Bulgarian's legacy and challenges the popular view of the former Tottenham, Manchester United and Fulham striker…

Arsenal go into their Champions League knockout tie with Monaco as firm favourites. And yet, there will be a distinct air of trepidation whenever the ball rolls in the vicinity of Dimitar Berbatov. Now 34, the former Tottenham hero scored on his last Premier League visit as a Spurs player as well as netting a brace for Fulham in 2012.

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While he was an unused substitute when Monaco beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Emirates Cup in August courtesy of Radamel Falcao’s goal, Berbatov is now the main man once again and his return to English soil is certain to stir memories. The luxury player with the economy of movement. The player who, like a waiter sashaying through a crowded kitchen with a tray of drinks, is capable of finding the space he needs with the merest hint of a dropped shoulder.

Perhaps this is how Berbatov will forever be remembered at Manchester United. Others at Old Trafford are admired for a 42-goal season or have a year celebrated in their honour – the Class of ’92 or the Team of ’99. For Berbatov it is an outrageous flick past James Collins to set up Cristiano Ronaldo in a routine home win over West Ham. Moments rather than months. Days not dynasties.

Unlike his former club, however, Berbatov remains active in the Champions League and has helped take Monaco into the knockout stages for the first time in a decade. That will be a source of amusement and delight to his fan club, who appear to see the Bulgarian as a one-man debunking of the 10,000 hours of practice theory.

Gael Clichy of Arsenal pulls the shirt of Dimitar Berbatov of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match in December 2007
Image: In Premier League action against Arsenal with Tottenham in December 2007

Veteran journalist Michael Calvin once described him as “perhaps the only footballer who could get away with playing in white tie and tails” and choosing Fulham over Juventus appeared to confirm the caricature – content to deliver fortnightly party tricks for the day-trippers at the Cottage rather than test himself amid the fervour that comes with playing for Italy’s most popular club.

Monaco striker Dimitar Berbatov celebrates
Image: In action for Monaco

Having turned up fashionably late at Monaco just as the gravy train was leaving town, it’s the sparse crowds of the Stade Louis II getting treated these days. Just 7,161 were there to witness the draw with Lyon earlier this month. And yet, fans always felt like an unnecessary addition to the Berbatov spectacle – the quickening of the heartbeat that comes with a nervous crowd counter-productive for someone who plays with the calmness of the training ground.

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These are the traits that once transfixed Sir Alex Ferguson enough to spirit him away from the clutches of Manchester City for a price of £30million only to later deem him such a luxury he was left out of a Champions League final squad in the season he’d finished Premier League top scorer. Nobody puts Berba in the corner, least of all for the ghost of Michael Owen.

Unique approach

Even Ferguson, it seemed, had grown weary of his unique approach. An antagonising habit of being “inclined to walk when the attack broke down” ultimately proving too much for the United boss. But another line in Ferguson’s autobiography suggests appearances can be deceptive. “Berbatov was surprisingly lacking in self-assurance,” he claimed.

Dimitar Berbatov of Monaco speaks to the media during the AS Monaco press conference ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash v Arsenal
Image: Facing the media this week

It highlights the danger in equating a style of player with a broader insouciance of character. As his old Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Lucio once pointed out, there has always been more to the story. “Berbatov told us that he was so poor as a kid in Bulgaria that he grew up playing football with a basketball he found in a skip,” said the Brazilian World Cup winner. “But you would never guess it when you see how good his first touch is.

“Every summer he goes home and sleeps on his mother’s couch back in Bulgaria. He is not interested in holidaying in Miami or Monaco – he just wants to go home to his mother. He was always so excited when he scored a goal because he knew his mother would text him and he couldn’t wait to rush back into the dressing room and see it.” Lucio added: “The most important thing to him – even more important than football – is the work he does with orphans back in Bulgaria.”

Dimitar Berbatov and Aaron Ramsey in action in the Premier League match between Fulham and Arsenal at Craven Cottage on April 20, 2013
Image: Up against Aaron Ramsey during Berbatov's time at Fulham in April 2013

That Berbatov has since signed for Monaco only emphasises the contradiction that he’s become. Even that languid gait betrays considerable pace – as shown in the summer when he was seen outrunning Falcao in a series of sprint drills. A fairly unremarkable feat that nevertheless caused a social media storm.

The stroller who can sprint. The peacock who lacks confidence. The boy from Bulgarian poverty now making his home in Monaco. Berbatov’s tale is more nuanced than it might seem and as his career reaches its latter stages it should be acknowledged that everyone shows determination in their own way. The 34-year-old’s presence in the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening when the Champions League music blares out is evidence enough of his dedication.

So while Mario Balotelli endures the limelight that comes with being English football’s greatest frustration, the man who once carried that burden will be in Champions League action against old rivals Arsenal. Proof that there is life after the groans and that there is joy still to be had. Even if it’s just in a fleeting glimpse of magic.

Watch Arsenal v Monaco live on Sky Sports 5 HD from 7pm on Wednesday

A version of this article originally appeared on Sky Sports in November

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