Le Havre end Osterc's long wait

French strugglers Le Havre AC have signed Slovenian international Milan Osterc on a five-month contract.

Without a club
The 27-year-old forward has been without a club since last season, when he represented Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Osterc played all three games for his country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals but his lack of football since then meant he was not selected by Slovenia for their UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifiers last autumn.

Relegation fight
Osterc will be a welcome boost to Le Havre, who are 14th in Ligue 1 but only two points ahead of 18th-placed CS Sedan-Ardennes, the highest-placed team in the relegation zone. The player himself was firmly committed to keeping the club in the top flight. "I am very happy to have come to Havre and to be able to help the club stay in Ligue 1," he said.

Ready to play
His new coach was delighted with the acquisition. "Milan has accepted the sports challenges that we proposed to him," said Jean-François Domergue. "He is completely familiar with the situation at our club and is determined to do his best. He has the temper of a conqueror and that is what we need. We have a real problem in attack and Milan is in good form."

International experience
Osterc has won 43 caps for his country, scoring eight goals. As well as appearing in Korea/Japan last year, he also represented his country at EURO 2000™. He started his career at NK Beltinci and NK Gorica in his native Slovenia before earning a move to Spain to join Hércules CF in time for the 1998/99 season. However, he returned to Slovenia shortly afterwards to play for NK Olimpija Ljubljana before heading abroad again in 2000 to join Hapoel.