ISTANBUL - Belgian journeyman Eric Gerets on Friday signed a two-year contract with an option for a third with Turkish giants Galatasaray who were left coach-less by former Romanian great Gheorghe Hagi last week.
"I have played against Galatasaray both as a player and a trainer. I am now happy to be at the helm of this team," the 51-year-old former Belgian international told a press conference here.
"I am aware of how high the expectations of Galatasaray are. I will do everything I can to make sure of success at this great club," he said, flanked by members of the Galatasaray board.
The value of the contract was not diclosed, but reports here suggest the Istanbul club had agreed to pay Gerets an annual salary of 1.1 million dollars (about 870,000 euros).
The Belgian, who last week resigned as coach of German first division side VfL Wolfsburg, has also had stints at Liege, Lierse and Club Brugge KV in Belgium, as well as PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and Kaiserslautern in Germany.
"The primary reason we chose Gerets is that he is an ambitious trainer who always chases after success and, secondly, he has coached in several western European countries in the past 10 years since he retired from football," Galatasaray spokesman Bulent Tulun said.
Gerets will replace former Romanian international Hagi, who announced his resignation last week after the last game of the 2004-2005 season in which his side beat Denizlispor 4-0 to clinch third place with 76 points and win a berth in the UEFA Cup.
His resignation followed newspaper reports that Galatasaray had decided to terminate his contract for his aggressive behaviour towards fans and disagreements with the management.
06/03/2005 13:25 GMT