ISTANBUL - Romania's well-known soccer player Gheorghe Hagi arrived in Istanbul on Monday.
Hagi is expected to sign a contract with Turkish Super League club Galatasaray.
Gheorghe Hagi is known as ''the Maradona of the Carpathians''. In his hometown of Constanta, the stadium was re-named in his honor. He began playing for his local team, Farul Constanta in 1982. He later joined Sportul Studentesc. While at Sportul, he was the leading scorer in the Divizia A in the 1985-86 season. He was immediately signed by Steaua Bucharest, where he went on to win the European supercup. With Steaua, Hagi led the team to three league and cup doubles. After the 1990 World Cup, he went to Real Madrid, and in 1992 joined Brescia in the Serie A. In 1994 he played for Barcelona with Gica Popescu, and he left Barcelona for Galatasaray in 1996.
(UK-AÖ) 22.03.2004