During his time at the club, Stylian Petrov was regarded as a hero for his role in the midfield of Martin O’Neil’s famous side in the early 2000’s
He had some great times at the club during this spell, scoring some big goals against the likes of Rangers and in the Champions League against Juventus.
Many may remember though, it wasn’t all great for the Bulgarian at first, who joined the club under John Barnes.
His life as a Celtic player didn’t get off to the best of starts with him playing out of position a lot of the time, in a difficult time for the Celts. But he also still trying to adapt to life in Scotland.
As reported by the Glasgow Times, when speaking on the YouTube Channel, Tubes Golf Life, Petrov revealed a funny story of how he attempted to learn the English language whilst up here.
“Listen, it’s about finding a way (to learn English). There was a security guy at the club and he just wanted to help. He didn’t know how to help but he tried to find different ways.
“His wife was working at a burger van and I thought, ‘You know what? I’ll just go and listen to how people place their order, how they answer – sometimes politely, sometimes not very politely. It was a different experience for me but I had to find a way. A lot of people laugh about it and poke fun but I found a way.
“I used to go to the cinema. I used to watch three movies every day! I would listen to every phrase; the questions, the replies. The next day I would use it.
“I changed very quickly and the boys were like, ‘Fair play to you. We want you in here. We see you want to grow and you want to develop’. And you know what? I found out how important this club is – the meaning, the DNA of the club.
When joining a club like Celtic, from a young age like Petrov did it must be incredibly tough to go to a completely different country and settle in straight away.
It is interesting to hear stories like this and it just shows how keen the Bulgarian was to learn and play for the club with a stature like Celtic’s and his hard work clearly paid off.
He will certainly be a player that is remember for years, as one of the best midfielders we had during that era.
