Former Aston Villa player Stiliyan Petrov has revealed he’s planning to manage the club one day. In an interview with the Brazilian outlet Lance!, the 37-year-old was commenting on life post-retirement and spoke about his plans for the future.
Petrov found out he had Leukaemia in March 2012, when he had to take a break in his playing career. He had a good recovery, until the time that his physical condition wasn’t the only reason why he spent so much time away from the pitches.
“Even after I got rid of the disease, I didn’t want to get involved with football. I found out I had time to be a father, to be a husband. To be well with myself.”
The Bulgarian then returned to have a few coaching roles at Aston Villa, where he even made a few pre-seasons appearances this year, but failed to show he deserved a player contract with the club.
“It’s all right. I wasn’t very upset. Sure, it’s a matter of pride. I wanted to hear that I was still good enough to do what I had always done in my life. But it’s obvious that no one goes through a health problem as I had and continues as before.”
But he says he’s ready to look for a new job, he just needs to prepare himself first: “I want to go back, but I know football is not a sentimental sport. No one will worry about my past if the results are not good. I want to manage Villa. I have to give back what I received.”
But not so soon: “I have to be honest with myself. I don’t want to make a commitment for which I am not ready. I don’t want to fool anyone”, he said. “The desire to be a manager was born. At first it was an idea. Today it’s a goal. I want to study before accepting any invitation.”
After Petrov has had a few years to learn more about coaching then hopefully they’ll be some kind of role for the player at Aston Villa, and maybe even one day the opportunity to manage the team.
