Bulgaria's Stilian Petrov announced he was returning to the national team and would play in the UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier against Albania on 28 March, national television reported Saturday.

The Aston Villa midfielder and former Bulgaria captain walked out on the squad last October following a lacklustre 1-0 win over Luxembourg in a UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier and disagreements with head coach Hristo Stoichkov.

"It was a difficult decision... But we agreed that the national team is more important than Stilian Petrov or Hristo Stoichkov," Petrov said. "We both made big compromises."

The 27-year-old player, who has scored seven goals in 66 appearances for his country, said he would be travelling to Bulgaria on Monday and play in the qualifier against Albania.