Dimitar Berbatov has always been a player that has divided opinion amongst United fans.
The mercurial talent has been accused of being lazy and not giving 100% to the cause and last season in Wayne Rooney’s injury enforced absence it came to a head as many United fans felt he hadn’t done all he could in terms of goal scoring to help our League and European campaigns and I must admit that as a man that likes to give the benefit of the doubt, even my patience was tested.
At his best Berbatov is brilliant, he showed enough at White Hart Lane to confirm this and although it was lofty praise, I personally could see how people drew comparisons with Eric Cantona when he came to Old Trafford. Yet the clause ‘at his best’ was always a daunting one and very rarely have we seen a consistent run of Berbatov at his best rather just glimpses and at £30m this made him a target for ridicule.
Names like ‘Berbaflop’ were banded around as people laughed at Sir Alex’s ‘expensive mistake’ but this summer it appeared the Bulgarian had finally found himself. During the summer tour of the USA, he looked ‘different’ not only due to a new haircut but also the way he carried himself and expressed himself on the field. There was a renewed confidence in his play and many of us noticed this.
Cantona, like all great sporting stars, carried himself with a certain arrogance, what young people call swagger these days. If Ali didn’t constantly tell us he was the greatest would we have thought so? And there was something about Cantona that was of a similar mold, he too knew how great he was and it appears Berbatov is now finally realising this in a United kit.
This season he has been immense scoring against Chelsea in the Community Shield as well as Newcastle, West Ham and Everton all he was missing was his big moment. Every player has one and yesterday Berbatov had his, grabbing a hat trick including a late winner against the old enemy, Liverpool.
Berbatov’s continued good form and goals are papering over the fact that Rooney has been out of sorts and before the game Man United Youth said this could be the game that he finally becomes accepted as a United player and if there was any doubt about how much of a United player Berbatov is, I hope that hat trick has erased it as his goals handed us victory when it seemed that we would again surrender a lead and drop points.
It’s still early in the season, Berbatov has many more games ahead of him (barring injury) but it appears that he is finally about to pull the sword from the stone and assume the role of king that was initially designated to him.
Take a look at a preview of Rio Ferdinand’s new favourite game ‘Halo:Reach’
His overhead kick for the second goal against liverpool will be goal of the season for sure 😀
I’ve always maintained that the truth about Berbatov (coming into the season) was somewhere in the middle. Perhaps for some, because of his fee, nothing short of perfection would negate the “flop” tag.
The reality is that his goal and assist ratio per game was not that bad, and there was some truth in that he wasn’t afforded a great chance to develop consistency. On the other side, some of his staunchest supporters were a bit unrealistic in laying all the blame on Fergie. Additionally, his “languid” style was sometimes just lazy.
What was always evident was his potential and the fact that there is no other player who even remotely resembles him. With his confidence brimming, it has clearly brought all his potential into reality, and it’s also evident he’s doing a lot more running. (I’d be curious if there are official numbers to prove it)
It was a pleasure to see his play in person in Toronto this summer (in which he won man of the match) and even then it provided me with a sense of optimism for the season. Our best transfer move last summer was probably the a “non-move” in keeping him with us.
I did a blog on his class when alot were doubting him – I never lost faith!