Berbatov - Underrated?

Often labelled as lazy, Bulgarian international Dimitar Berbatov seems to have a bad reputation in English football. Maybe it's because he doesn't run around flying into tackles, or dribbling past 3 players every time he gets it, but not many people seem to rate him as highly as maybe he deserves. What Berbatov does add to the team is a grace and finesse not often seen in the English leagues. English football will never evolve into the technical-based game of the Spanish and German leagues if we don't accept and embrace players like him. But don't just take it from me - let's look at some stats.

In 544 career games, he has scored 250 goals, an average of 1 goal every 2.18 games. For comparison, Didier Drogba, often described as one of the best strikers in the modern era, has 1 in 3.06 games. He also has a better scoring record than Alessandro Del Piero, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez. In 279 games in English football, he has 115 goals. Do these stats make him world-class? Probably not, but it does make him very prolific.

I'm not the only one who rates Berbatov - let's look at what Sir Alex had to say. "Dimitar is a great player, you can see the quality. He is fantastic. There are very few players who can produce moments like he does in games. It can decide them." Shortly after, he went on to win the golden boot. 

The 'lazy' tag is ironic in that labeling him lazy is in itself lazy. Just take a look at this first goal: 

Berbatov lays the ball off on the half way line, before running 40 yards to get on the end of it.

Just because he doesn't run around constantly like Rooney or Tevez might do, doesn't mean he's lazy. He's intelligent, he knows when to sprint and when the ball is gone. He has guile and skill far beyond that of any English footballer and far beyond most footballers in the world. And his first touch? 

Is he world-class? Maybe not, but he should be regarded as one of the best players to play in the league in the last few years.

I'll leave you with this: 

Thanks for reading.