Some info on Bruges.. This season they have won all their games and are 5 points clear at the top of the Belgian tables.. Belgian Week 5 Preview: Club Bruges Take 100% Record To Ailing Standard Editor's Spotlight 09/12/2002. Moribund Standard have no choice but fight back and look to sink Club Bruges on Friday night. The Rouches are still without a win in four games and went down to a humiliating derby defeat against Mons before the two-week break. Club Bruges, arguably the best team in Belgium, are the only remaining club with full marks after four matchdays. This trip to Liège is their most serious test to date. All eyes are will be on Alin Stoica again. The diminutive Romanian midfielder broke his duck two weeks ago against troubled Mechelen, but he is still to win the supporters' respect as he has an Anderlecht label still slapped on his shoulders. Club and Anderlecht are still fighting over the player with the Brussels gianst requesting a €400 000 compensation fro training the player. They took their case to the FIFA for arbitration. Player Info http://www.soccerage.com/en/40/23478.html
Saw tyhis on Uefa.com, didnt see it elsewhere... Barça suffer Dani blow Friday 13 September 2002 FC Barcelona striker Dani García will be unavailable for next week's UEFA Champions League match against Club Brugge KV due to injury. Dani faces a fortnight on the sidelines after he tore a muscle in his left leg in training on Thursday. The 27-year-old is ruled out of the Group H opener at Camp Nou as well as Saturday's league trip to Club Athletic Bilbao. The former RCD Mallorca player had just returned to fitness after sitting out much of last season with a knee injury. He could also miss the Matchday 2 visit to Galatasaray SK. Not that he figured in their plans to a huge extent
Champions League Preview: Barcelona-Club Bruges Champions League Prediction: Barcelona-Club Bruges Barça 2-0 FC Brugge Match predictions anyone?
3-1 FCB Saviola, Romo and Luis Enrique net one each, and then our porous defense lets one slip by in the 87th minute
Line-ups Line-ups Barca 26 Valdés 3 Frank de Boer 5 Puyol 6 Xavi Hernández 7 Saviola 8 Cocu 9 Kluivert 17 Mendieta 21 Luis Enrique 31 Motta 35 Navarro Bruges Verlinden 1 de ************ 2 Simons 3 Van der Heyden 5 Verheyen 7 Englebert 8 Martens 11 Serebrennikov 16 Mendoza 18 Maertens 26 Spilár 30
Yeah I had to go back and see why it did that.. De C-O-C-K BARCA SCORES!!!!! 5th minute Enrique scores with the left form the far post...poor clearance by Bruges defense 1-0
Barcelona 26 Valdés 3 Frank de Boer 5 Puyol 6 Xavi Hernández 7 Saviola 8 Cocu 9 Kluivert 17 Mendieta 21 Luis Enrique 31 Motta 35 Navarro Bench 1 Bonano 2 Reiziger 10 Riquelme 14 Gerard López 15 Rochemback 18 Gabri García 22 Geovanni Club Brugge 1 Verlinden 2 de ************ 3 Simons 5 Van der Heyden 7 Verheyen 8 Englebert 11 Martens 16 Serebrennikov 18 Mendoza 26 Maertens 30 Spilár Bench 23 Stijnen 4 Lesnjak 6 Clement 10 Ristic 14 Ceh 19 Lange 32 Stoica Coach Louis VAN GAAL Coach Trond SOLLIED Referee FLEISCHER Helmut (GER) Assistant Referee WERTHMANN Rainer (GER) SATHER Harald (GER) Fourth Referee KIRCHER Knut (GER) 1-1 22' Simons(Club Brugge) 21' Gaëtan Englebert surges into the box form the left hand side, and Valdés hauls him down as he closes on goal. A clear penalty. 20' Kluivert lays off the ball to Saviola, whose quick feet buys time and space for Fernando Navarro, but the defender's cross is blocked twice by Olivier de ************. 19' With Xavi pulling the strings, Barcelona retain the ball, probing for gaps in the Brugge defence. 17' Brugge struggle to retain possession as Barcelona hustle and harry to great effect. 16' Barcelona show patience in their build-up, and Saviola tees up Mendieta, but the Spanish international midfield player sends his shot high and wide of Dany Verlinden's goal. 14' Peter Van der Heyden takes a long throw from the left flank which eventually falls to Mendoza. However the Peruvian striker cannot get his cross back in. 12' Saviola comes surging in from the right-hand side again, finds Kluivert, who in turn gets the ball to Luis Enrique. The Barcelona captain scoops the ball back to Saviola, who mishits his volley when eight metres out. 11' Gert Verheyen picks up the ball in the right-hand corner, cuts back and delivers a curling left-footed cross that is just too long for Martens, who glances wide. 10' Javier Saviola beats his man and surges into the box. His cross is deflected back to his own goalkeeper by Birger Maertens. 9' Mendieta and Xavi Hernández combine neatly on the edge of the Brugge box, but Timmy Simons clears the danger. 7' Barcelona calm the tempo of the frantic opening with a spell of sustained possession. 5' Gaizka Mendieta's right-wing cross is pulled back by Patrick Kluivert, and finds Luis Enrigue with time and space to drive the ball into the net. 5' Luis Enrique(Barcelona) 4' Andrés Mendoza sets off on a teasing, twisting run on the right flank, but his cross is dealt with by the Barcelona defence. 3' Carlos Puyol is caught in possession and Brugge attack, but Sandy Martens' curling shot goes wide of Víctor Valdés' goal. 2' Philip Cocu launches a long throw into the area, but Patrick Kluivert's shot from the edge of the box is blocked. 1' Brugge kick off but the hosts will look to get their European campaign under way with a decisive victory against the visitors, who have failed to win in seven visits to Spain. However, they can take heart from being the only Belgian side to have avoided defeat at the Camp Nou. Barcelona are without midfield player Dani García who is suffering from a thigh muscle injury. He is joined in the treatment room by winger Marc Overmars, goalkeeper Robert Enke and long-term absentee Patrik Andersson. Brugge also have their share of injury problems, with Bengt Sæternes, Sebastian Hermans and Tjorven de Brul all ruled out. Good evening, and welcome to the Camp Nou for uefa.com's live, minute-by-minute coverage of the UEFA Champions League Group H game between FC Barcelona and Club Brugge KV.
3-2 FT Barca hangs on, after a defelcted shot gives bruges some life in the 85th minute. A win is a win, but again we get a lil sloppy in the back at the end.
Full match report from Soccernet.com http://www.soccernet.com/championsleague/2002/20020918/reports/62544_full.html Brugge boss Trond Sollied started with a defensive line up but Barcelona's three-man attacking formation of Enrique, Patrick Kluivert and Saviola found space from the start and picked holes at will. Van Gaal's Barca team dominated for the majority of the contest, but the back line again looked vulnerable, especially keeper Victor Baldes. The hosts opened the scoring through Luis Enrique with just five minutes gone. Thiago Motta had his first shot from the edge of the area charged down but the ball somewhat fortuitously rebounded to the feet of Enrique who fired home from 10 yards. Barca pushed on and a Kluivert nutmeg after 12 minutes almost created a second. The fantastic piece of skill from the Dutch striker caused chaos in the Brugge defence and the ball fell to Saviola but he scuffed his effort into the ground. But then unexpectedly Brugge pulled back level from a spot kick. Midfielder Gaetan Englebert was upended by Baldes and Simons sent the Barca keeper the wrong way with to level matters. But Barca soon restored their lead through a Gaizka Mendieta free kick after Argentine Yavier Saviola was fouled on the edge of the area. The former Valencia player placed the ball into the right corner leaving Brugge keeper Dany Verlinden rooted to the spot. In keeping with their balance of play Barcelona scored a third two minutes before half-time, this time thanks to a clever jinking run by Saviola. He swept past a host of defenders with ease before sliding the ball home. In the second half Barcelona continued to dominate proceedings, but without finding the finishing touch. Then with five minutes left Brugge midfielder Englebert saw his shot deflect off Carles Puyol past Valdes from 25 yards to set up a frantic finale. The Belgians threw everything at the home side in search of an equaliser, but the Catalan's held on to get their Champions League campaign off to a flyer.