Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov
Fulham info
Full name	Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov
Date of birth	30 Jan 1981
Place of birth	Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Height	6ft 2in (1.89m)
Playing position	Striker
Current player?
Number(s) worn	9 (2012-2014)
Debut	West Ham (a) (1 Sept 2012)
Last Appearance	Swansea (a) (28 Jan 2014)
First goal	West Brom (h) (15 Sept 2012)
Last goal	West Ham (h) (1 Jan 2014)
Joined from	Man Utd, £4 million - 30 Aug 2012
Left for	Monaco, free - 31 Jan 2014
League apps (gls)	51 (19)
All apps (gls)	54 (20)
Other clubs	Pirin Blagoevgrad (youth) CSKA Sofia (1998-2001) Bayer Leverkusen (2001-2006) Tottenham (2006-2008) Man Utd (2008-2012) Monaco (2014-2015) PAOK (2015-2016) Kerala Blasters (2017-2018)
International	Bulgaria (1999-2010)
Apps (gls)	78 (48)

Dimitar Berbatov played for Fulham as a striker from 2012 until 2014. He was signed for £4 million from Manchester United in what was described by Martin Jol at the time as "the biggest transfer in the club's history". A retired Bulgaria international, Berbatov is a well-known and established striker in England, having scored over 100 goals in all competitions for both Tottenham and Man Utd.

Career

Fulham (2012-2014)

Dimitar's signing was confirmed on 30 August 2012, and was at the time one of the biggest transfers in the club's history. It was a shock for most people in the footballing world to see him join the Cottagers, but he had chosen to re-unite with his former manager at Tottenham, Martin Jol in a reported £4 million fee.

His debut came just the following day, against West Ham in a disappointing 3-0 defeat as he came on in the second half and showed glimpses of his quality. Dimitar enjoyed a successful first season at the club, finishing top scorer and scoring many important and great goals. A brace away against Arsenal helped Fulham to a thrilling 3-3 draw in November 2012, a world class strike in a 1-0 victory over Stoke and a winning goal against his former club Tottenham (earning the club their first win at White Hart Lane in nearly a decade) earnt Berbatov Fulham's Player of the Year award.

In 2013-14, his second season at the club, Dimitar did not show his quality and goalscoring prowess enough, and as Fulham's performances went downhill, so did his. Although he still showed glimpses of class to remind the Fulham faithful what he is capable of, they were too few and far between. Many fans began to criticise his play, saying at times he was far too lazy and complacent. As the club began struggling at the foot of the table, many of his performances did nothing to improve the situation and had become noticeable since the departure of the man who brought him in, Martin Jol.

Rene Meulensteen had become manager in November 2013 but Dimitar's performances were not improving, and on deadline day in January 2014 he was transferred to Monaco after they chose to buy out the remainder of his contract at Fulham until the summer.

Fulham Statistics

Appearances

Season	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2012-13	33	15	2	0	0	0	35	15
2013-14	18	4	0	0	1	1	19	5
Total	51	19	2	0	1	1	54	20

Disciplinary

Season
2012-13	2	0
2013-14	3	0
Total	5	0

Fulham Matches

#	Season	Date	Comp	Opposition	Venue	Result	Score	Additional Information
1	2012-13	1 Sept 2012	PREM	West Ham	Away	Lost	0-3	46'
2	2012-13	15 Sept 2012	PREM	West Brom	Home	Won	3-0	32',  45+1' (pen)
3	2012-13	22 Sept 2012	PREM	Wigan	Away	Won	2-1
4	2012-13	20 Oct 2012	PREM	Aston Villa	Home	Won	1-0
5	2012-13	27 Oct 2012	PREM	Reading	Away	Drew	3-3	88'
6	2012-13	3 Nov 2012	PREM	Everton	Home	Drew	2-2
7	2012-13	10 Nov 2012	PREM	Arsenal	Away	Drew	3-3	29',  67' (pen)
8	2012-13	18 Nov 2012	PREM	Sunderland	Home	Lost	1-3
9	2012-13	24 Nov 2012	PREM	Stoke	Away	Lost	0-1
10	2012-13	28 Nov 2012	PREM	Chelsea	Away	Drew	0-0
11	2012-13	1 Dec 2012	PREM	Tottenham	Home	Lost	0-3
12	2012-13	10 Dec 2012	PREM	Newcastle	Home	Won	2-1
13	2012-13	15 Dec 2012	PREM	QPR	Away	Lost	1-2
14	2012-13	22 Dec 2012	PREM	Liverpool	Away	Lost	0-4
15	2012-13	26 Dec 2012	PREM	Southampton	Home	Drew	1-1	8', 9'
16	2012-13	29 Dec 2012	PREM	Swansea	Home	Lost	1-2
17	2012-13	1 Jan 2013	PREM	West Brom	Away	Won	2-1	39', 90+4'
18	2012-13	5 Jan 2013	FAC	Blackpool	Home	Drew	1-1
19	2012-13	12 Jan 2013	PREM	Wigan	Home	Drew	1-1
20	2012-13	19 Jan 2013	PREM	Man City	Away	Lost	0-2
21	2012-13	26 Jan 2013	FAC	Man Utd	Away	Lost	1-4
22	2012-13	30 Jan 2013	PREM	West Ham	Home	Won	3-1	10', 76'
23	2012-13	9 Feb 2013	PREM	Norwich	Away	Drew	0-0
24	2012-13	23 Feb 2013	PREM	Stoke	Home	Won	1-0	45+2', 90+1'
25	2012-13	2 Mar 2013	PREM	Sunderland	Away	Drew	2-2	16' (pen)
26	2012-13	17 Mar 2013	PREM	Tottenham	Away	Won	1-0	52'
27	2012-13	1 Apr 2013	PREM	QPR	Home	Won	3-2	8' (pen),  22'
28	2012-13	7 Apr 2013	PREM	Newcastle	Away	Lost	0-1
29	2012-13	13 Apr 2013	PREM	Aston Villa	Away	Drew	1-1
30	2012-13	17 Apr 2013	PREM	Chelsea	Home	Lost	0-3
31	2012-13	20 Apr 2013	PREM	Arsenal	Home	Lost	0-1
32	2012-13	27 Apr 2013	PREM	Everton	Away	Lost	0-1	30'
33	2012-13	4 May 2013	PREM	Reading	Home	Lost	2-4
34	2012-13	12 May 2013	PREM	Liverpool	Home	Lost	1-3	33'
35	2012-13	19 May 2013	PREM	Swansea	Away	Won	3-0	77', 87'
36	2013-14	17 Aug 2013	PREM	Sunderland	Away	Won	1-0	85'
37	2013-14	24 Aug 2013	PREM	Arsenal	Home	Lost	1-3
38	2013-14	31 Aug 2013	PREM	Newcastle	Away	Lost	0-1
39	2013-14	14 Sept 2013	PREM	West Brom	Home	Drew	1-1	77'
40	2013-14	24 Sept 2013	LC	Everton	Home	Won	2-1	54'
41	2013-14	28 Sept 2013	PREM	Cardiff	Home	Lost	1-2	64'
42	2013-14	5 Oct 2013	PREM	Stoke	Home	Won	1-0	66'
43	2013-14	21 Oct 2013	PREM	Crystal Palace	Away	Won	4-1	50', 90'
44	2013-14	26 Oct 2013	PREM	Southampton	Away	Lost	0-2
45	2013-14	2 Nov 2013	PREM	Man Utd	Home	Lost	1-3
46	2013-14	9 Nov 2013	PREM	Liverpool	Away	Lost	0-4	83'
47	2013-14	23 Nov 2013	PREM	Swansea	Home	Lost	1-2
48	2013-14	4 Dec 2013	PREM	Tottenham	Home	Lost	1-2
49	2013-14	8 Dec 2013	PREM	Aston Villa	Home	Won	2-0	30' (pen)
50	2013-14	14 Dec 2013	PREM	Everton	Away	Lost	1-4	67' (pen)
51	2013-14	1 Jan 2014	PREM	West Ham	Home	Won	2-1	66', 70'
52	2013-14	11 Jan 2014	PREM	Sunderland	Home	Lost	1-4
53	2013-14	18 Jan 2014	PREM	Arsenal	Away	Lost	0-2
54	2013-14	28 Jan 2014	PREM	Swansea	Away	Lost	0-2	83'

External links and references