Stiliyan Petrov

An experienced midfielder who joined Aston Villa in August 2006, linking up for a second time with his former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill.

Originally an attacking midfielder who provided a good supply of goals, Stiliyan now plays in a deeper role in central midfield, where his positional awareness and passing ability have become great assets to the team. He took some time to settle in at Villa Park, but his superb goal from the halfway line against Derby County in April 2008 helped to make him a firm favourite of the club’s fans.

The following season he won the Player of the Year award and at the beginning of 2009-10 he was appointed as captain. Stiliyan made his 200th appearance for Villa against Sunderland in October 2011 and was in excellent form until suffering the shock of being diagnosed as suffering from leukaemia at the end of March.

Fortunately a further announcement in August provided the news that he was now in remission.

After beginning his career with CSKA Sofia, Stiliyan spent seven seasons with Celtic where he won a host of domestic trophies. He has been a regular for the Bulgaria national team for many seasons and won his 100th cap against Switzerland in March 2011.