When CKSA Sofia’s assistant coach spoke out about Liam Cooper last month, Konstantin Mirchev highlighted the pros and the cons with which the Leeds United faithful became increasingly familiar during the defender’s final few seasons at Elland Road.
Both on and off the pitch, Liam Cooper is an ‘exceptional professional’ and a natural-born ‘leader’.
Cooper had only been at Leeds United a few months before Neil Redfearn saw fit to hand him the captain’s armband midway through that debut campaign in 2014/15.
An armband he would retain throughout the Marcelo Bielsa era, promotion to the Premier League, and his eventual, emotional departure after ten rollercoaster years in West Yorkshire.
There was a funny sense of symmetry, then, when Cooper would again find himself inheriting the role of captain only a few weeks into his CSKA Sofia career. Gustavo Busatto started the current campaign as CSKA’s skipper. Cooper took over the role at the start of October, however, and his since led the Bulgarian outfit onto the pitch in each of the last seven league games.
That run will come to an end when Bulgarian football returns after the winter break this weekend, however.
It has been confirmed that Saturday’s derby clash with Slavia Sofia will come too soon for Cooper. And while Mirchev was keen to point out that the injury he picked up during festive pause is far from ‘serious’, this is a reoccurence of a problem Leeds United know all too well.
Cooper, when he is fully fit and available, is still a fine central defender. Not only that but, to quote Mirchev again, a truly ‘exceptional’ captain. But, his involvement limited by foot and hamstring issues during his autumn days at Elland Road, getting Cooper onto the pitch for a sustained period of time has tended to be the downfall.
“Most likely due to the icy terrain, Liam Cooper started having pain in his calf,” Mirchev said last month. “He has already had initial tests but more tests are coming up so that our medical team can determine how severe the injury is. I hope it is not too serious.
“The initial predictions are that he will recover in two to four weeks, maximum.”
Ruled out for the trip to neighbours Slavia, much to CSKA’s frustration, Cooper’s recovery time is proving to be on the thicker end of the wedge.
Not that CSKA – having been without Cooper only once prior to this weekend’s derby clash – have any regrets about the 33-year-old’s unexpected arrival in Bulgarian football. The Reds are unbeaten in the last ten league and cup matches in which Cooper has both started and captained the side.
If only he’d arrived at the Vasil Levski National Stadium a few weeks earlier. CSKA started the season with five defeats out of six, after all. While Cooper may have rocked up too late to spark a title fight, his presence, experience and his willingness to lead by example in all departments has emphatically dispelled any fears of a relegation battle.
“Over the years, he has proven to be an exceptional professional and leader,” Mirchev added, Cooper’s previous spell on the sidelines keeping him out for just one match.
“His responsible attitude ensured that he returned to the pitch sooner than expected. I think it will be the same this time.”
Given that CSKA’s win rate with Liam Cooper stands at 46 per cent – compared to 30 per cent without him – one of the pillars of the glorious Marcelo Bielsa era at Leeds United really cannot return to action soon enough.
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