Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov ( Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров, born 5 July 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Petrov joined

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

from

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

in 1999, and won ten trophies in his time at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

, including four

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

titles. In 2006, he moved to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, along with his former manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

. Petrov became club captain at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

, 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 Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

'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 Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. A midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau early in his career. After winning the Swiss league title with Aarau i ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, Petrov started to play football in the local team

FC Montana FC Montana () is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Montana, which currently plays in the Second League, the second level of the Bulgarian football league system. Montana plays its home matches at the Ogosta Stadium, which has a ...

. At the age of 18 he was spotted by scout and coach

Dimitar Penev Dimitar Dushkov Penev (, born 12 July 1945) is a Bulgarian football coach and former player and central defender of CSKA Sofia. He played 90 games for Bulgaria national team and scored two goals. He is regarded as one of his country's best ever ...

and signed with

for fee of €30,000. With his new club, he won the Bulgarian Championship in 1997 and the

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

in 1997 and 1999.

Celtic

Petrov was signed in the summer of 1999 by

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

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

'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 The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Football in Scotland, Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland ...

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 The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. 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 The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...

came in. Things started badly for Celtic as they lost 5–0 to Slovakian minnows Artmedia Bratislava in Strachan's first match. Celtic then managed to throw away a 3–1 lead over

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

to draw Strachan's first league match 4–4, although Petrov later helped Celtic exact revenge over the

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

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 3 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 The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish footb ...

three times as a Celtic player.

Aston Villa

In April 2006, Celtic rejected a written transfer request submitted by Petrov. He was subsequently linked with a transfer to move to

who were managed by former Celtic boss

. On 30 August 2006, 27-year-old Petrov completed his move to

on a four-year deal worth £6.5 million, becoming O'Neill's first signing for Villa. His debut was against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

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 Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

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

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 FC Lovech (; formerly Litex Lovech) is a Bulgarian professional association football, football club based in Lovech, that competes in the Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria), Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Spor ...

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 Martin Laursen (; born 26 July 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the centre-back position. He played three seasons for Italian club A.C. Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A cham ...

, 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 Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

as manager of the club. On 23 October 2010, he sustained a knee injury in the 1–0 away loss against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

. 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 Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. 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 Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

in the 4–1 win over

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. 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

, and scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw.

Career break due to leukaemia

Petrov announced his retirement from football on 9 May 2013, due to his leukaemia. On 26 May 2013, footballers who had represented the Bulgaria national side (including

Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov (; born 8 February 1966) is a Bulgarian former professional Association football, footballer and current football commentator for TUDN. A prolific Forward (association football), forward, he is widely regarded as the g ...

Dimitar Berbatov Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov (; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Known for his technique and ball control, Berbatov is regarded as one of the greatest Bulgarian players of all time. He cap ...

and

Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...

) won 4–2 against a selection that featured Aston Villa veterans like

Mark Kinsella Mark Anthony Kinsella (born 12 August 1972) is an Irish football manager and former player, currently a coach at Drogheda United after previously being both the manager and assistant manager. He played as a central midfielder for most of his c ...

and Bryan Small in an exhibition game that took place at the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium (), named after Bulgarian Folk hero, national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,230 seats and is located in the centre of Sofia, on the te ...

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

and had been organised to honour Petrov's achievements. In October 2014, Petrov began playing again for his local Sunday League Over-35s side Wychall Wanderers who were managed by former Coventry City player David Busst. In March 2015, he rejoined Aston Villa in a coaching role. In April 2016 Petrov revealed he was training with Villa's Under-21 side with a view to returning to the professional game. In June it was announced that he would be training with the first team during their pre-season tour of Austria, on a non-contractual basis. On 9 July 2016, Petrov played his first game with the Aston Villa first team since his illness, taking part in an 8–0 friendly victory over local Austrian team GAK.

International career

Stilyan Petrov made his debut as a 52nd minute substitute for Bulgaria on 24 December 1998 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. The match was played in Agadir, Morocco and finished with a 4–1 win for the North Africans. He scored his first goal (80th minute) for the national side in another friendly match against Belarus (4–1) on 29 March 2000. In 2003, he won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award, when he was playing for

and he captained the national team at

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

where he was sent off during a match against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. On 12 October 2006 Petrov, then captain of Bulgaria, announced his decision to retire from international football at the age of 27 as long as

manages the Bulgaria national team. However, on 20 March 2007 he made amends with

and made himself available for selection again. However, he did not recover his position as national captain because it was decided that

would retain the captain's armband. On 14 January 2010, it was announced that Petrov had come second in Bulgaria's Player of the Year. Petrov was renamed captain of the Bulgarian side again following the retirement of Berbatov from international football in 2010. On 26 March 2011, Petrov earned his 100th cap for Bulgaria in the 0–0 home draw with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in a

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

qualifier. He received a flower bouquet from

Borislav Mihaylov Borislav Biserov Mihaylov (; born 12 February 1963) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper, and Former President of the Bulgarian Football Union (2005 – 2019; 2021 – 2023). He is the longest-serving presid ...

and was applauded by the spectators prior to the start of the match. During his career Petrov was chosen as Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 2003. He placed second in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2011, and third in 2002 and 2006.

Personal life

In 2005, Petrov wrote his autobiography with the assistance of '' Sunday Mail'' sports journalist Mark Guidi entitled ''You Can Call Me Stan'', in reference to his nickname "Stan", a shortened form of his

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. In the book, he describes how "Stiliyan" is the correct spelling, rather than "Stilian", as it is sometimes spelled in the press. He and his wife Paulina have two sons, Kristiyan and Stiliyan Jr. The latter announced in April 2025 that he was standing as a candidate for

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

. In response, the elder Petrov said he had no interest in politics and that his son was "his own man".

Leukaemia

On 30 March 2012, Petrov was diagnosed with

acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, easy bleeding or bruis ...

. The condition was diagnosed following tests after Petrov developed a fever following Aston Villa's 3–0 defeat to Arsenal. Because of this, Petrov told Bulgarian press that he planned to retire from club and international football; his agent later denied any reports of retirement: "It is not true that Stiliyan has said he is retiring from football. What he did say was that he was fighting for his life and that he will fight to recover." He visited

for the match against Chelsea and in the 19th minute, the number of his shirt, the crowd gave him an ovation. The tribute caught the imagination of fans, and home and away fans repeated the ovation at every Villa game that season. On 10 June 2012, Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert announced that Petrov would remain Aston Villa's club captain for the 2012–13 season. In his absence the team captaincy was taken over by Dutch defender Ron Vlaar. On his 33rd birthday, Petrov visited his teammates on the first day of their pre season training, and was presented with a cake by the players, who sang happy birthday to him and gave him a round of applause. On 2 August 2012, it was announced that Petrov's leukaemia was in remission. Petrov announced his retirement from football on 9 May 2013, and led his family out on the Villa Park pitch for a lap of honour, to applaud the Villa fans who supported him during his illness, on the final day of the 2012–13 season.

Coaching

On 22 May 2013, shortly after announcing his retirement from playing, Aston Villa announced that Petrov would take on a new role at the club as assistant of the Youth Development squad, working alongside

Gordon Cowans Gordon Sidney Cowans (born 27 October 1958) is an English retired football player and coach. Cowans started his career at Aston Villa as an apprentice in 1974, and signed as a professional in 1976. During his time at Aston Villa, he won the L ...

. Talking about his new role Petrov said ″I'm very excited by this new challenge and I wish to thank the Club and the manager, Paul Lambert, for giving me the opportunity to continue my association with Villa, which I have always regarded as a privilege. I will study for my coaching badges over the coming months and I am looking forward very much to working with Gordon Cowans, someone I know and respect, a true Villa legend.″ As of August 2013, Petrov was no longer part of the Villa coaching team. The Club announced his resignation and explained that he had requested time off as he felt he had to be fully devoted to his family. Petrov expressed gratitude to the club for the opportunity. On 5 March 2015, Aston Villa Manager Tim Sherwood announced that Petrov would return to the Aston Villa backroom team and will help coach the First Team. Petrov has completed his

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

pro coaching licence, as well as a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Sports Management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiza ...

through UEFA, as of 2020. He is currently the director of a business venture, ''Player 4 Player'', to support players to transition into retirement, alongside other former players including

Gareth Farrelly Gareth Farrelly (born 28 August 1975) is an Irish football manager and former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Everton. He also played in the Football League ...

Emile Heskey Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978) is an English former professional footballer who currently serves as head of football development of Leicester City Women. Playing as a striker, he made more than 500 appearances in the Foo ...

and

Gaizka Mendieta Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (, ; born 27 March 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A versatile player, with good technique, offensive capabilities and tackling skills, who was capable of creating goals both ...

Television

On 11 December 2014, Petrov appeared as a special guest on the eighth episode of the ninth series of ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' is a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...

''. He often works as a pundit for games on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

and

TNT Sports TNT Sports is the brand name for sports television channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world that are owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The name originates from the American cable television ...

when Celtic are playing.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Petrov goal.''

Honours

CSKA Sofia *

Bulgarian Championship The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

: 1996–97 *

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...

: 1996–97, 1998–99 Celtic *

: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05 *

: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2005–06 *

runner-up: 2002–03 Aston Villa *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 2009–10 Wychall Wanderers *Central Warwickshire Over-35s Premier Division One Cup Individual * Bulgarian Footballer of the Year: 2002–03 *

: 2000–01 * Celtic Player of The Year: 2004–05 *Aston Villa Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09, 2011–12 *Aston Villa Supporters' Player of the Year: 2008–09 *Inductee in

Aston Villa Hall of Fame Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have pl ...

: 2013 * BFU Award (100 caps) *

Centurions Award (100 caps) * FIFPRO Merit Award: 2013

References

External links

*
Aston Villa Official Website ProfileFootballDatabase provides Stilian Petrov's profile and stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov, Stiliyan 1979 births Living people People from Montana, Bulgaria Footballers from Montana Province Men's association football midfielders Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England FC Montana players PFC CSKA Sofia players Celtic F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Scottish Premier League players Premier League players English Sunday league players UEFA Euro 2004 players FIFA Men's Century Club Association football coaches Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland