The Columbus Crew announced today that it has signed Peruvian forward Andres Mendoza. Per club and league policy, no further terms of the deal were disclosed. Mendoza will join the team in Washington and be available for selection Saturday at D.C. United.
The 6-foot, 174-pound frontrunner, who has scored seven goals in 44 appearances for the Peruvian national team, joins the Crew from Diyarbakirspor of the Turkish First Division. He has scored 116 goals in his 14-year club career.
“We are excited to add a player of Andres’s experience and quality,” said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha. “He is a proven goal scorer who has represented his country at the international level, and we are looking forward to integrating him into our team.”
A native of Chinchu Alta, Peru, the 32-year-old Mendoza began his career with Sporting Cristal of the Peruvian First Division in 1996, which he helped win the league championship in his first season.
He went on to play in the tops leagues of Belgium, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, France, Mexico and Turkey. Immediately after Cristal, he enjoyed a four-year stint at Club Brugge in Belgium, during which it won a league title, two Belgian Cups and three Belgian Super Cups. Another highlight was scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win over AC Milan in a 2003-04 UEFA Champions League match.
Following four more stops in Europe, he joined Monarcas Morelia of Mexico, where he was the second leading scorer in the 2008 Apertura with 10 goals in 16 games.
At the international level, Mendoza made his debut for Peru in 1999 and became a regular fixture in the years that followed, representing his country at the 2004 and 2007 Copa America tournaments and in the last three World Cup Qualifying cycles.
No. 10 – Andres Mendoza Azevedo
Position: Forward
Height: 6-0
Weight: 174 pounds
Born: April 26, 1978 (Chincha Alta, Peru)
Hometown: Cincha Alta, Peru
Citizenship: Peru
Last Team: Diyarbakirspor (Turkish First Division)
How Acquired: Signed on Aug. 10, 2010
Professional Experience: Diyarbakirspor, Turkish First Division (2009-10); Monarcas Morelia, Mexican Primera Division (2008-09); Steaua Bucuresti, Romanian First Division (2008); Dynamo Moscow, Russian First Division (2006-loan); Olympique Marseille (2005-loan); Metalurh Donetsk, Ukranian Premier League (2004-07); Club Brugge, Belgian First Division (2000-04); Sporting Cristal, Peruvian First Division (1996-99)
TRANSACTION:
Columbus Crew (MLS) – Signed F Andres Mendoza.
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