Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov quits national team

Bulgarian international and Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov said on May 13 2010 that he was quitting the national football team with immediate effect, confirming rampant speculation in Bulgarian-language media that he would do so.

"I feel tired at times and finished for the team. I know that there is a number of young players waiting to prove themselves as strikers and now they will have this chance," he said.

"I had decided that when I reach 30, I would review what I have achieved and if things were not going by plan, I would make room to younger players, said Berbatov, who is now 29.

He recalled all the unsuccessful attempts of the national side to qualify for a major football tournament. The last one and the only Berbatov appeared in was Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Berbatov said he had informed Bulgaria's national coach Stanimir Stoilov of his decision to quit the team. "I talked to him and wished him success and I am sure that the team has a good chance of succeeding with him in charge".

"I took this decision on my own, not under anyone else's influence. I started thinking about my future with the team a month ago," he said.

Answering a question whether he had informed Alex Ferguson, his manager at Manchester United, about quitting Bulgaria's team, Berbatov said that the news would reach Ferguson now.

"My goal is to remain with Manchester United, the best team in the world and to see out my contract with the club. I know I have the qualities to do so".

"I want to ask why every second question I get is about where I am going next year. I wonder why you (the media) are not wishing me luck for my next year with Manchester United but instead are asking me where I am going. By joining Manchester United, I have achieved everything I wanted," he said.

Pressure was also a factor that influenced his decision, Berbatov said, adding that now when he had a daughter, he did not want to "take the stress back home".

"Things have changed since I was 22. I know have a wife and a daughter and they are the most important thing to me.

"The national team will not end with me leaving because players have quit the team before and I don't see why my decision should be interpreted as abandoning the team and the country," he said.

"The reason to leave the team does not have to do with the criticisms I get for my play. I have a plan that I follow. A man should be able to say stop whenever he decides to do so," he said.
sofiaecho.com