Soccer-Petrov to return to Villa in coaching role

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Former Bulgaria international Stiliyan Petrov is returning to Premier League club Aston Villa as part of the coaching set-up, two years after retiring following treatment for leukaemia. Villa, who he played for more than 200 times after arriving from Scottish club Celtic, said on their Twitter feed that Petrov would return to help new coach Tim Sherwood. Petrov, who earned more than 100 caps for Bulgaria, was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in 2012. Villa fans supported him during his treatment by breaking into applause after 19 minutes of every game -- signifying the midfielder's shirt number. The 35-year-old former Villa captain was at Villa Park on Tuesday when Villa beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 to ease their relegation fears and give Sherwood a first win since taking over at the Midlands club. "I had a little chat with Tim about two days ago. He wanted me to come work with the lads, but we haven't had any agreement yet," he said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Toby Davis)