Mendoza gives Brugge all

By Jim Wirth

Few outside of Belgium and Peru had heard about striker Andrés Mendoza before Wednesday night, but after scoring the goal that gave Club Brugge KV victory against AC Milan at the San Siro in the UEFA Champions League, his name was on everyone's lips.

Magnificent result
The result for Trond Sollied's side was a magnificent one, but Mendoza's goal was possibly even better. After 33 minutes, the striker collected a pass from Ivan Gvozdenovic, left Cafu for dead and struck a ferocious drive with the outside of his left boot that gave goalkeeper Dida no chance.

Winning goal
Thanks to a heroic defensive performance and a brilliant display from Brugge goalkeeper Dany Verlinden, it proved to be the winning goal. Mendoza was proud. "This might have been the best goal of my career because of where and when I scored it," said the 25-year-old Peruvian. "But I do that all the time in training."

Finest hour
The strike was certainly Mendoza's finest moment since he joined Brugge from Club Sporting Cristal in his homeland during the 1999/00 season. A regular goalscorer for the club, his previous high point had been a hat-trick against R. Excelsior Mouscron in the 2002 Belgian Cup final, a 3-1 victory.

Useful striker
A powerful forward with no little skill, Mendoza failed to register in four Champions League group-stage games last season, but his 12 goals in the Belgian First Division were a major factor in Sollied's side reclaiming the title they had last won in 1997/98.

Team performance
Breaking his group-stage duck at the San Siro was a personal triumph for Mendoza, yet it was the team performance that was the real achievement. Brugge's Norwegian coach set out to stifle Milan and, although the home side had plenty of shots on goal, Sollied's men did enough to win.

'David against Goliath'
"I said beforehand that I saw this as a rematch of David against Goliath and history repeated itself," said Sollied. "We proved that smaller teams can do well. Milan are a fantastic counterattacking side but we didn't allow them to play their way. I was hoping for a point but I am very satisfied with three."

Italian style
Certainly, the defensive style adopted by Brugge was more Italian than Belgian. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti had to praise Brugge for their 'catenaccio' tactics. "If you want to say that they beat us playing with an Italian method then I have to say they did it very well," he said.

'Proud page'
A bad day at the office for Milan, maybe, but an unforgettable night for Brugge. "We have added a new, proud page to the history of our club," said substitute Gert Verheyen as his team-mates began to come to terms with the win which has lifted them to second in Group H behind AFC Ajax.

Confidence high
So there will be no stars in eyes when Milan travel to the Jan Breydelstadion to play Brugge again on Matchday 4. The victory in Milan - a night after fellow Belgians RSC Anderlecht beat Celtic FC 1-0 - has only increased confidence levels among Sollied and company.

Another win
"None of us will forget that we had the luck tonight and they had many chances," said Mendoza. "However, I believe we can beat Milan again if we play at the same level in Belgium." If he can score another terrific goal to match his effort on Wednesday, the Peruvian might just be right.