Stoica bagged by Brugge

UEFA Champions League hopefuls Club Brugge KV have signed Romania midfield player Alin Stoica.

Three-year deal
Brugge, who earned a 1-1 draw away against FC Shakhtar Donetsk in their third qualifying round first leg last week, have given the 22-year-old a three-year contract. Stoica has been without a club since leaving Brugge's Belgian rivals RSC Anderlecht at the end of last season.

Teenage talent
Stoica spent six seasons with Anderlecht after joining the club as a 16-year-old from FC Steaua Bucuresti in Romania. The player, who now has dual citizenship, won the young player of the year award in Belgium in 2001. He first attracted Europe-wide attention when scoring four goals in eleven games in the 2001/02 edition of the Champions League.

'Serious towards me'
"I was interested in playing in Italy or Spain, but Club Brugge was the only club which made me a serious offer and which was serious towards me," said Stoica. "But I have time to play in those countries. Six months before ending my contract with Anderlecht, I told them I had offers from abroad and from then on I was put in the reserves. But that's history now."

Summer in Bucharest
Stoica spent much of the summer training with FC National Bucuresti, along with fellow internationals Gheorghe Popescu, Daniel Chirita and Adrian Ilie. Popescu and Chirita have now joined FC Dinamo Bucuresti and FC Zenit St. Petersburg respectively, while Ilie remains a free agent. The transfer is good news for Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu, who has been concerned by his players' inability to find clubs.