Liam Cooper’s departure from Leeds United was a sad one. The end of an era, the left-footed defender left Leeds on a free at the end of his contract and remained a free agent for a couple of months.
Cooper remains the captain of a side that ended Leeds‘ 16-year spell outside of the Premier League. The centre-back clocked up a huge 284 games for the Yorkshire side during his decade in the Leeds side.
The Scotland star was one of 14 signings made by Massimo Cellino way back in the Italian’s first summer as owner of the club, alongside the likes of Gaetano Berardi and Mirco Antenucci but is now in Bulgaria.
Indeed, Blackburn could not agree on a length of contract with Cooper while Watford also wanted to take Cooper to Vicarage Road. Instead, Cooper made the surprise move to join Bulgarian giants CSKA Sofia.
Liam Cooper shining in Bulgaria after a slow start with injury
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 33-year-old joined CSKA Sofia with a lack of match sharpness having gone a couple of months without a club. But he has since started his side’s last 11 games, coming off in one.
Cooper returned to Thorp Arch to see physios over a back issue after coming off in his second outing. But he has remained fit from that point on, helping CSKA Sofia go from second-bottom to sixth in the league.
He joined CSKA Sofia when they sat 15th in a 16-club league. But having captained CSKA Sofia in their last nine games, Cooper has helped his new club go unbeaten in eight games, keeping three clean sheets.
Does Liam Cooper have a chance of 2026 World Cup call-up?
By the time the footballing world focuses on the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, Cooper will be almost 35. He will be nearing the end of his two-year contract with CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria.
But a 19-time Scotland international, his form in Eastern Europe will have surely caught the eye of boss Steve Clarke. Cooper was a part of Scotland’s Euro 2024 side, which failed to get out of the group stage.
He is well within a shot of reaching the Scotland squad for that competition if he can remain fit and add to his brilliant start in Bulgaria. Whether Clarke deems it a level worthy of selection, remains to be seen.
But, his current Scotland centre-backs are dotted around the world. Jack Hendry is in Saudi Arabia with Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq, Scott McKenna is in La Liga with Las Palmas. Cooper surely has a chance.
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