BRUGES, Belgium, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Belgian Club Brugge continued their shock Champions League run on Tuesday, riding on fumes of self-confidence as they won for the third time to put themselves on the brink of the knockout phase.
Coach Carl Hoefkens hailed his players’ focus and determination after adding Atletico Madrid to their list of Group B titles after beating Bayer Leverkusen and FC Porto.
“There’s an incredibly big belief in this team that we can do extreme things,” he said after Kamal Sowah and Ferran Jutgla scored in the 2-0 home win against the Spanish club.
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“We will do everything to impose ourselves. Everything,” added the rookie coach, who took over at the start of the season.
“I said from the first game, before Leverkusen, that I didn’t want to be the manager who walks into the dressing room after the game and says, ‘There was more to it today’. I almost hate it. It’s about giving it your all. You might not play a top game, but you’ll get that result from the fire,” he told reporters.
“Against Atletico it was also sometimes about fighting and working for each other. But always with the intention of moving forward and playing football.
“Atletico did their job well. They knew exactly how we were going to play. If you have an answer to that as a team, then it’s a huge achievement for everyone,” Hoefkens added.
Brugge, who have a six-point lead over the other three sides in the group, will then travel to Madrid for a comeback clash next week.
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Written by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Mark Potter
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