Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov (Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров, born 5 July 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Petrov joined Celtic from CSKA Sofia in 1999, and won ten trophies in his time at Celtic Park, including four Scottish Premier League titles. In 2006, he moved to Aston Villa in the Premier League, along with his former manager Martin O'Neill. Petrov became club captain at Villa Park, and was an inductee to the Aston Villa Hall of Fame in 2013 having made 219 competitive appearances for the club.
In addition, Petrov is Bulgaria's all-time most-capped player with 105 appearances for the national team.
In March 2012, Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia, suspending his football career to undergo treatment which was ultimately successful. He officially announced his retirement from the game in May 2013. Following spells as both a youth team and first team coach at Aston Villa in 2013 and 2015, Petrov returned to training in 2016, initially with the under-21 side, and later the seniors. He played during pre-season matches but was not offered a playing contract by manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Born in Montana, Petrov started to play football in the local team FC Montana. At the age of 18 he was spotted by scout and coach Dimitar Penev and signed with CSKA Sofia for fee of €30,000. With his new club, he won the Bulgarian Championship in 1997 and the national cup in 1997 and 1999.
Petrov was signed in the summer of 1999 by John Barnes for a fee of £2.8 million. The teenager featured prominently in a season where he won the League Cup with Celtic, his second major honour and the first of many with Celtic. Despite the happy end to the season Petrov had a very hard time starting with the club. He was homesick and lonely at the start, and could not speak English. This was made worse by the manager playing him out of position at right back. Eventually, he improved his English by working in a friend's burger van. This hard work and determination to fit in showed in his performances for the club.
After a good first season with Celtic he enjoyed a brilliant second season under Martin O'Neill's treble winning side, becoming a regular scorer netting 7 league goals in 28 appearances, one of which was in Celtic's 6–2 victory over Rangers. He also became the first foreign player to win the SPFA Young Player of the Year award. However he missed the end of the season after breaking his leg in a league game against St Johnstone and missed both the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup finals as a result.
The following season, 2001–02, Petrov made his return from injury against Dunfermline Athletic in September, and then really came into form for Celtic, being described as a dynamic, hardworking box-to-box midfielder, and winning his second SPL medal. He was shortlisted SPFA Player of the Year in 2002.
In his fourth season with Celtic, Petrov continued his good form and was being linked to some of the top clubs in Europe but after protracted contract talks he eventually agreed a new deal with Celtic. This was his highest ever goalscoring season, netting 14 in 50 appearances. He also got to the only European final of his career, getting a runner's up medal in the UEFA Cup.
In his next two seasons for Celtic he continued to be an essential player making 105 appearances and scoring 19 goals. He won the Scottish Cup twice in this time (scoring in the 2004 final) along with his third SPL medal. The 2004–05 season was Martin O'Neill's last at Celtic, although Stiliyan Petrov would later join him at Aston Villa. The season also saw Petrov becoming the third player to win the Celtic Player of The Year award.
The 2005–06 season was a time of great change for Celtic. Martin O'Neill, the club's most successful manager in 20 years, left and new manager Gordon Strachan came in. Things started badly for Celtic as they lost 5–0 to Slovak minnows Artmedia Bratislava in Strachan's first match. Celtic then managed to throw away a 3–1 lead over Motherwell to draw Strachan's first league match 4–4, although Petrov later helped Celtic exact revenge over the Fir Park side by scoring his first hat-trick in a 5–0 demolition in October that year. Celtic overcame their bad start to the campaign to win the SPL and League Cup double.
The 2005–06 season proved to be his last at Celtic as he re-united with former manager Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa for a fee of £6.5 million (rising to £8 million after clauses). He only made three appearances for Celtic before leaving in the summer transfer window.
In all, Petrov made 312 appearances for Celtic over seven years, scoring 55 goals. He won the SPL four times and also won both the Scottish and Scottish League Cup 3 times each. He was the tenth most prolific goalscorer in the SPL (55 goals) when he left Celtic. Petrov was also shortlisted for the SPFA Players' Player of the Year three times as a Celtic player.
In April 2006, Celtic rejected a written transfer request submitted by Petrov. He was subsequently linked with a transfer to move to Aston Villa who were managed by former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill. On 30 August 2006, 27-year-old Petrov completed his move to Villa Park on a four-year deal worth £6.5 million, becoming O'Neill's first signing for Villa. His debut was against West Ham United on 10 September. The game finished 1–1. In 2007, Petrov changed his shirt number from 11 to 19. Petrov scored his first Villa goal in a 2–2 draw against Sheffield United on 11 December 2006, but suffered patchy form throughout his first two seasons at the club.
He scored a volley from near the halfway line against already relegated Derby County on 12 April 2008. This was his first goal of the season and Villa won 6–0. This goal was marked as a possible candidate for "goal of the season". It was also confirmed to be the furthest out recorded goal by an Aston Villa player since the club was formed.
The 2008–09 season saw Petrov's form improve considerably as he became a first team regular, starting Villa's six Premier League games in a row. He was named captain for the first time in the UEFA Cup game against the Bulgarian Litex Lovech on 2 October 2008 and also scored one of the goals in the game.
In May 2009, Petrov was named both Aston Villa's supporters' "Player of the Year" and "Players' Player of the Year" for the 2008–09 season, after his notable consistency in midfield throughout the season. On 20 May 2009 he signed a new four-year deal that is set to keep him at the club until 2013.
Following the retirement of captain Martin Laursen, Petrov stated that leading a "great club with a long tradition and history" would be "a great honour". Petrov became Villa captain in the summer of 2009 and led the team to sixth place in the Premier league, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup in his first season holding the armband.
Petrov continued to retain the Villa captaincy after the appointment of Gérard Houllier as manager of the club. On 23 October 2010, he sustained a knee injury in the 1–0 away loss against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. On 26 December 2010, Petrov returned to first team action, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jonathan Hogg in the 2–1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park. On 26 February 2011, Petrov made his 150th premier league appearance for Aston Villa at Villa Park, when he came on as a second-half substitute in the 76th minute for Robert Pires in the 4–1 win over Blackburn Rovers. On 10 September 2011, Petrov scored his first goal of the season away at Everton. On 29 October 2011, Petrov made his 200th appearance for Aston Villa in the Premier League clash with Sunderland, and scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw.