Dimitar Berbatov.

Which two strikers did Berbatov mimic?

Saturday 14 May 2022 15:30

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has revealed he used to copy the goal celebration of two of the game's greatest-ever centre-forwards.

The Bulgarian will be one of the star attractions in the Legends of the North game with Liverpool at Old Trafford next weekend as the likes of Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Jaap Stam, Antonio Valencia and Paul Scholes are also set to line up for Bryan Robson's team.

Always displaying a cool persona, the two-time Premier League winner often marked his strikes with minimum fanfare and never let his emotions run away from him, even when enjoying such elation, as when he hit a memorable hat-trick against the Merseysiders in 2010.

Confirmed: United squad for Legends clash

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See which Old Trafford legends will take on their Liverpool counterparts next Saturday, 21 May.

When we asked the legendary striker if he could have celebrated more wildly, he replied: "Er, to be honest, no. This was me. This was me, this was who I was.

"I didn’t celebrate much, like some persons are doing now. I always tried to show my respect, first and foremost, to the guy who gave me the assist. Going first to them, to say 'thank you' as we played in the same team.

"And then raising my hand because my idol was Marco van Basten and Alan Shearer. When I score a goal, I was raising my hands to try to pay respect in the way I was doing that, when scoring goals.”

Van Basten was an unbelievable striking talent with Ajax and AC Milan, with his far-post volley against USSR in the 1988 European Championship final, from ex-Red Arnold Muhren's cross, one of the all-time classic international goals.

Shearer, of course, also needs little introduction after his exploits for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. He is currently still the Premier League's all-time leading marksman.

Book your seat for the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday 21 May to see Berba's return in the Legends of the North fixture against Liverpool.

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