Hannover to be Popescu's 'last club'

Free agent
Popescu, who has been without a club since leaving FC Dinamo Bucuresti in November, has joined the struggling 1. Bundesliga side on a free transfer, signing a performance-related contract until June 2004.

'My last club'
Although Hannover coach Ralf Rangnick said the well-travelled Popescu was "in excellent physical shape" after passing a medical at the Niedersachsenstadion club, Popescu insisted this would be the final stop in his long career. "This will be my last club," he said. "At the end of the contract, I'll quit football."

International prospects
Capped 114 times by Romania, Popescu will hope that playing regular Bundesliga football can help him regain his place in the national set-up after he was omitted from Anghel Iordanescu's squad for the forthcoming international tournament in Cyprus. The Romania coach has said he will not select players without a club.

EURO goal
Popescu, who has played for Romania in three FIFA World Cups, is eleven caps shy of the Romanian record set his old team-mate Gheorghe Hagi, who is also his brother-in-law. He has not given up hope of beating that record by playing on until the UEFA EURO 2004™ finals.

Relegation fight
Hannover are 16th in the Bundesliga and facing a relegation fight but club president Martin Kind is hoping for an instant impact from Popescu, who has been training with his former club Galatasaray SK, where he won the 2000 UEFA Cup. "In this difficult situation for us, we need only players who can help us out immediately and Popescu is an ideal solution," he said.

Seventh port of call
The player himself added: "The Germans thought there would be some problems at my age, but I had great results in my medical tests. They were stunned, but only I know how much I worked during the winter. I had some offers, but this was the best league." Germany becomes the seventh country Popescu has played in, following spells in the Netherlands, England, Spain, Turkey and Italy, as well as his native Romania.