From Bielsa to Bulgaria: How former Leeds captain Liam Cooper swapped the Pennines for pyrotechnics and rondos with Berbatov in Sofia — Mail 1/3/25

Former Leeds star Liam Cooper is enjoying his new life at CSKA Sofia

Cooper has struck up a friendship with former Aston Villa star Stiliyan Petrov

By JOE BERNSTEIN

Liam Cooper’s unlikely journey from captaining Leeds to Bulgaria started in the heat of Dubai rather than the snow still visible in Sofia.

Going to the gym during a family holiday to appease his demanding manager, Marcelo Bielsa, he met the former Aston Villa and Celtic star Stiliyan “Stan” Petrov and struck up a lasting friendship.

When Cooper left Elland Road last summer and a move to hometown club Hull fell through, Petrov was instrumental in the 33-year-old beginning an unexpected new life with CSKA Sofia.

‘My agent said he might have an option in Bulgaria so I reached out to Stan because he’s a legend in his country. He’s close to the manager, Aleksandar Tomash, and he set up a video call with the board.

‘They really wanted me. Everything has been new: weather, culture, lifestyle, but everyone has helped me.

‘Stan even lent me a car, a grey BMW, so I could get around. It was the first time I’d driven on the “other” side of the road.

‘The first three months were enjoyable but also difficult because I was on my own. My wife and kids live here now as well.’

Cooper is a commanding centre-half best known for captaining Leeds and winning 19 caps for Scotland. Under Bielsa, Leeds won promotion and thrilled the Premier League with players such as Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha. ‘Probably the only time in history Leeds have been everybody’s second favourite team,’ says Cooper with a smile.

Now he is nearly 2,000 miles away trying to rouse another sleeping giant. CSKA have been Bulgarian champions 31 times but not since 2008 and currently they sit mid-table.

On Sunday, they face Levski Sofia in one of Europe’s most combustible derbies. CSKA are officially at home but their games are always played at the national stadium, because of its larger capacity — but also crowd trouble in the past.

Cooper admits being taken aback by the passion of Bulgarian fans. ‘Before my debut, I went to watch CSKA play Lokomotiv and sat with the sporting director.

‘The fireworks, the pyrotechnics, when they catch you off guard, they make you jump out of your skin. I don’t think you’d get them past the stewards back home!

‘Sometimes the game has to be stopped because the smoke gets that overwhelming, it starts affecting the VAR.

‘The Levski derby means so much to people — more important than winning the league probably.If a taxi driver supports Levski, they won’t talk to me. If it’s a CSKA fan, they want to know everything about you. It’s inspiring.’

CSKA’s squad boasts 15 different nationalities, from Colombia to Cyprus. Team talks are in Bulgarian but most players speak English.

Goalkeeper Dimitar Evtimov, once of Nottingham Forest and Accrington, was very welcoming for Cooper, arranging for the two families to have dinner together.

The American school for Cooper’s daughter and son (aged six and five) is next door to the CSKA training ground. ‘I’m proud of how my children have embraced it. They love going sledging in the snow,’ says Cooper. ‘The Bulgarian cuisine is a lot of meat: pork, veal, chicken. There are some lovely restaurants. The weather can be cold (down to minus 10C). It’s difficult to train when there is ice.

‘But I like the rough-and-tumble of it. It feels working-class and you have to adapt to different situations. I’ll never do gloves, though, no matter the temperature!’

Cooper rates the Bulgarian League, dominated by Ludogorets, who are heading towards their 14th straight title, as decent Championship or top of League One standard.

One perk of playing at CSKA is having the greatest Bulgarian player of his generation, Dimitar Berbatov, pop in for training. ‘He is friends with people at the club. I was a bit starstruck the first time I saw him,’ admits Cooper.

‘He takes the strikers for finishing sessions and joins in the boxes and rondos. His touch is as good as ever and he’s in great shape. He will talk to us as a group, about having belief. But me and him haven’t had that Leeds-Manchester United conversation yet!’

Cooper was 18 when he made his league debut for Hull at Anfield and Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 Liverpool win.

The experience would have sunk many youngsters but he learned to swim. ‘Being exposed to that benefited me later in my career. I have my old man to thank for my character. He instilled discipline and respect into me. You get more downs than ups in life. It is about dealing with them.’

Cooper played for Scotland; he was eligible for them through grandparents, and was in their Euros squad last year.

The game-changer was Bielsa, who stormed into Leeds in 2018 when Cooper was almost 27. ‘He galvanised the whole club and took us from being mediocre to top half of the Premier League. We became fearless,’ says Cooper.

‘Our Championship team that won promotion wasn’t the best squad but we’d take it to teams and fight to the end.

‘Before games, the manager would predict exactly how things would pan out. I’d never seen anything like it, before or since.

‘I played the best football of my career under Bielsa. I still wish him happy birthday every year and receive the occasional voice note, in English!’

Cooper is proud, too, of Raphinha tearing it up with Barcelona.

‘If they win the Champions League and Brazil do something, he’ll get the Ballon d’Or,’ predicts his former team-mate.

Cooper would be a natural fit for management. At Leeds, they remember him shielding Patrick Bamford from television cameras trying to capture the forward in tears after an injury against Wolves.

Yet he sees his career going in a different direction when he retires. ‘I’ve started a Masters degree and my ultimate dream is to be the sporting director at Leeds,’ he reveals.

First up is the Sofia derby. Cooper has a two-year contract and would love a crack at European football next season.

‘It’s going to be big. Very big,’ he promises. Let’s just hope smoke doesn’t stop play.’