TOKYO - Turkey's World Cup attacker Ilhan Mansiz who moved from Superleague club Besiktas to J-League first division club Vissel Kobe has said he wanted to be the envoy of Turkey and Turkish culture in Japan and bring his new team highest success.
Mansiz held a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday together with Crimson Football Club President Hiroshi Mikiya and other club officials.
Crimson Football Club General Manager Yasutoshi Miura told reporters that Mansiz would the only Kobe player who had played in 2002 World Cup matches so his transfer to their team was very important.
Mansiz who wore a white suit said, ''I preferred this color because I wanted to come to Japan to open a white page in my career.''
''I am very pleased to be in Japan. With my experiences, I will contribute to my new team and bring Kobe highest success. I chose Japan because of the love and interest shown to me during World Cup two years ago and I saw that Japan football has been making progress. I want to be a part of this progress,'' he said.
Later, the 28-year-old striker wore Kobe's uniform bearing the number of 32.
Earlier, Ilhan told the A.A correspondent that he would formally sign a two-year contract on Thursday with Kobe.
(MS-AÖ) 10.02.2004