Dimitar Berbatov will be in Bilbao for the Europa League final but he has not decided how best to react if a goal goes in. “Do I applaud or stay neutral? I am thinking what to do,” he tells Sky Sports. “We will see. For me, it is going to be tough to watch.”
Crueller observers might speculate that ‘tough to watch’ is a fitting preview of the forthcoming final between two of Berbatov’s former clubs, Manchester United and Tottenham. Both have endured particularly miserable Premier League seasons.
Incredibly, since the two teams met in London in mid-February, neither has managed to beat an opponent that will be competing in next season’s Premier League – their only victories coming against the relegated trio. In Bilbao, it will be 16th against 17th.
“Some will say maybe it is not fair when one of them wins and goes to the Champions because they did not earn it or qualify in the proper way. But it is what it is and it is going to be an interesting game now because their backs are against the wall,” says Berbatov.
“Finals are about concentration, about not making silly mistakes, because you could be punished and there is no rematch. Maybe we will be surprised and it will be an open game but I expect caution, nobody wanting to take risks. Their seasons are on the line.
“The only thing that can justify either season now is lifting that trophy. Who needs it more? That is the question. United have been going backwards while others gone forwards. Spurs have not won a trophy in 17 years. So in a way, both managers need it.
“Ange Postecoglou, he can say, ‘I told you, I always win something in my second season. Now shut up.’ Or Ruben Amorim can say, ‘Trust me, this is the system that we are going to play and now we can build for United’s next season with that trophy’.”
It was Berbatov himself who scored the goal when Tottenham won the 2008 League Cup final – their last piece of silverware. They came from behind that day at Wembley to beat a strong Chelsea side. “We were the underdogs, we had nothing to lose,” he remembers.
Dimitar Berbatov celebrates after scoring for Tottenham against Chelsea in 2008
“That was the Chelsea of Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech, some great players. But we knew that we would have our chances to score because we scored a lot of goals, that team, especially up front with me and Keano (Robbie Keane).
“Everybody expected Chelsea to win. Drogba scored a great free-kick but we kept going.” Berbatov equalised from the penalty spot and Jonathan Woodgate won the cup in extra-time. “Sometimes that is all you need, a penalty or a corner kick or whatever.”
Berbatov has had his own frustrations in finals, of course. In the 2002 Champions League final, his Bayer Leverkusen team were edged out by Real Madrid’s superstars in an even game at Hampden Park. A moment of magic from Zinedine Zidane decided it.
Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane scores in the 2002 Champions League final
Dimitar Berbatov leaves the pitch disappointed following Bayer Leverkusen’s defeat
“It was probably the greatest ever goal in a Champions League final. There was nothing you could do. The ball just landed at the feet of the one player you do not want the ball to land to. In football, sometimes even your best is not good enough. It is a cruel game.”
It was cruel in 2011 too. Despite being the joint-top scorer in the Premier League that season, sharing the Golden Boot with Carlos Tevez, Berbatov was surprisingly omitted not just from the United team for the Champions League final but the entire squad.
Sir Alex Ferguson has since apologised for the move – he started Javier Hernandez, with Michael Owen preferred on the bench. Does Berbatov understand the call yet? “Not personally but Sir Alex obviously admitted that he probably made a mistake,” he says.
“My confidence was sky high. You are king of the world or that is how I felt. In every game, you think you are going to score. But even if I did play, I do not know if it would have made any difference because at that time Barcelona had prime Lionel Messi!”
Berbatov left United for Fulham at the end of the following season, with Ferguson calling time on his long reign at Old Trafford just one year after that. The Scottish legend bowed out with yet another Premier League title but United have been in decline ever since.
“United remain massive around the world, but it is a long time since that last Premier League and that way of thinking, that mentality of going to win every game, it has faded away,” says Berbatov, speaking in his role as a LiveScore European brand ambassador.
Dimitar Berbatov is speaking in his role as a LiveScore European brand ambassador
“United have been struggling for years and that is painful, of course. Everybody knows that – the fans, the management, the coaches and the players as well. That is why this game is so important, so they can say, ‘Look, we are struggling but we still won a trophy’.
“In the past few years, it has always been about how next season is going to be ours – and the next season. Again, we are in that position where next season, let us hope that the new manager can do it. As cliched as it sounds, you always have to keep the faith.
“Keep that faith and hope Ruben, with a pre-season behind him, will not start over, but maybe bring in the players he wants because he is not going to change, he loves that system. So you need players specifically to fit that system and hope the results come.”
Is there a suspicion that United just seem to find a way? Berbatov talks of them having “a DNA that they need to win trophies” while Spurs’ wait goes on. But he is conflicted. “I do not think it is that Spurs do not have belief. It is a tough question to answer,” he says.
“On the one hand, there is the DNA of the club, the history, everything you have won before, and you know that the expectation from everybody is that you will win in the end. On the other hand, maybe if you are not expected to win then there is nothing to lose.
“Sometimes football can be a cruel game and there is just no explanation for it. You just go out there with your best intentions, you are fully concentrated, you are all ready to go, all your first-team players are ready and they play and then it just does not happen.”
Either way, Berbatov will be watching. Just do not ask him who he wants to win. “I will sympathise with the loser because I have been there, winning finals and losing finals. Football will remind me again that there is so much joy but so much pain as well.”
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