O’Neill hails strength of brave Petrov
MARTIN O’NEILL last night paid tribute to ‘revered’ Stiliyan Petrov after the Bulgarian’s charity match sold out Celtic Park. The Northern Irishman oversaw Petrov’s development in Glasgow before paying £6.5million for his services at Aston Villa in 2006. O’Neill didn’t hesitate for a second when the leukaemiastricken star asked him to return to Glasgow to take the Celtic XI side yesterday. And after watching players past and present mix with showbiz personalities to ensure the occasion was a resounding success, the former Celtic manager spoke of the strength he believes his former charge will have
taken from the day. ‘I’d seen Stiliyan a number of times and he wasn’t in great shape,’ O’Neill said. ‘He was fighting strongly, and of course I knew the professor who was working with him at the time, so I knew he was in good hands — but you still need to battle through it. ‘He asked me a number of weeks ago about the game he was helping organise with Celtic. I thought it was a fantastic idea and I’m just astonished at the reception — I really shouldn’t be — but it was absolutely fantastic and he deserved it. ‘John Barnes and Kenny (Dalglish) brought him to the football club and he was excellent for me. I took him to Aston Villa after a while and he had a magnificent debut against West Ham, but he had a difficult time for a while and it looked like it might not work out. ‘He fought through it as he has done in his career and come out the other side. He’s revered down at Villa too. I’ve got enormous respect for him, and his generosity in every aspect of life is phenomenal. ‘I was telling a story at his dinner on Saturday night about the number of tickets he bought at Villa. Players would ask for extra tickets over and above their allocation and Stiliyan took it upon himself to buy a load of tickets and he was out a fortune every week for both home and away matches. ‘The players at Villa had great time for him. You’re not expecting someone as fit as he was in a sport he’s involved in to be struck down in the manner in which he was — it came rather suddenly. He’s got a great family behind him and the medical staff were terrific too. ‘He’s had lots of support and I think that was very important to him. I think he said that himself and today it just manifested itself. Really, it’s phenomenal.’ O’Neill’s sentiments were echoed by Kenny Dalglish — the man who helped bring Petrov to Glasgow in 1999. Dalglish took charge of the Stiliyan XI yesterday and believes the Bulgarian’s braveness in the face of serious illness has been inspirational. ‘I think everyone enjoyed that,’ said the Celtic and Scotland legend. ‘The support he’s had, first and foremost, from his family, but also the football family, Aston Villa and since he came back up to Celtic has been unbelievable. ‘It was a fitting tribute to a very strong man who has been an example to anyone else who gets a bit of bad news — showing that the harder you stand up for yourself, the stronger you are, the better chance you have of succeeding. ‘Hardly anyone left the ground. Everyone stayed to applaud him and those sentiments are echoed by everyone. ‘He’s inspirational for what he’s gone through. He’s never moaned or complained. ‘He’s tried his best to get on with it. He’s a man of tremendous courage and determination. I just hope it pays off for him. He’s touched lives inside and outside of football. Footballers are muchmaligned, but I don’t think you could be anything but complimentary about Stiliyan.’