🔙 THROWBACK THURSDAY: A Mendieta masterpiece against FC Barcelona

On February 18, 1999, Valencia CF visited the Camp Nou to play FC Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. On 81 minutes, with the score at 2-2, Gaizka Mendieta scored one of the club's all-time great goals.

Adrian Ilie sent a corner kick to the edge of the area, where Mendieta struck with a powerful volley into the top corner, handing Valencia CF a 2-3 win.

Some 22 years later, Mendieta talked about the goal with VCF MEDIA, saying that “Ilie and I had never practiced that move. We hadn't even talked about it. I realised that nobody was marking me and I tried to make eye contact with Ilie so that he realised that I was free -but without attracting the attention of any FC Barcelona player. Until the ball came out to me, I didn't know if Ilie had spotted me or not."

With the Romanian's attention attracted, it was down to the midfielder to provide the finish.

"In that moment I was only thinking about the technique to connect with the ball and trying to get it to go towards the goal and not the stands"

Valencia CF would go on to eliminate FC Barcelona in the quarterfinals and then Real Madrid in the semifinals, progressing to the Copa del Rey final and beating Atletico Madrid to lift the trophy.