THE term ‘perfection’ suggests a state of being complete and correct in every way.
It is a phrase that, in the 21st century, is perhaps thrown around too liberally, but, for Pedro Mendes, it defines a particular occasion in his career.
Indeed, the eve of this season’s opening Old Firm encounter of the league campaign marks 16 years to the day since Mendes and co. sent Rangers supporters inside Parkhead, and further afield, into a state of delirium.
It was a statement of intent from Walter Smith’s side at an early juncture in the campaign, laying down an early marker in a season which would yield a first league title in four years.
“It was a performance close to perfection,” Mendes told the official Rangers website. “You can’t deny that Old Firm week is always a special atmosphere around the club and training ground.
“There is excitement among the fans and those on the street; you breathe a different air around the place that week.”
And yet the feeling among the Rangers supporters heading across the city on that glorious Sunday afternoon wasn’t entirely buoyant.
August had brought the disappointment of Kaunas in which Rangers, three months removed from the UEFA Cup final, had been sent tumbling from Champions League qualification with a 2-1 second leg defeat in Lithuania.
With no European football to excite the Gers support after the memorable run to Manchester in the previous campaign, Smith set about strengthening his squad in the summer transfer market.
In doing so, the Light Blues secured the services of a certain Portuguese midfielder by the name of Pedro Mendes, who signed on the dotted line from FA Cup holders Portsmouth ten days after that fateful evening in northeastern Europe.
A week later, further reinforcements arrived when a 23-year-old Steven Davis, so crucial in Rangers’ run to the UEFA Cup final in a six-month loan spell earlier in the year, made his move to Ibrox permanent from Fulham.
Having made his debut in a 2-0 win over Hearts – scooping the Man of the Match award in the process – Mendes recalls the mood inside the Rangers dressing room heading into his first Old Firm experience as being quietly confident, in spite of Champions League heartbreak and dropped points in the week prior away to Aberdeen.
“One thing that I remember is that we were really confident about the game,” Mendes said. “We had a strong team and strong characters within the dressing room.
“We felt that throughout the 90 minutes and that was evident if you watched the game; you could see a team confident in all aspects of the game.”
Smith had certainly sprung a surprise in his team selection, selecting Daniel Cousin in attack alongside Kenny Miller despite the former’s abundant disciplinary issues.
In midfield, meanwhile, silk was favoured over steel when Mendes lined up alongside Davis, Kevin Thomson and Charlie Adam.
Whereas Smith was renowned for his pragmatism in big away matches, here was a lineup designed at getting after the hosts on their own patch.
“You could always see the experience of Walter in those Old Firm matches,” the Portuguese recalls. “The picking of Daniel Cousin upfront was probably a surprise to some, but he proved how important he was in the game.
“He was strong, fast, and he could really tear a defence apart on his day.
“We had technical players across the midfield. Charlie was very good at shooting from long distance which was required.
“Our back four and goalkeeper were always tremendous during the season; it was a clever starting XI from Walter.”
Smith’s decision to give Cousin, who was the subject of intense transfer speculation, the nod at the point of attack paid dividends eight minutes before the half-time interval.
It was a hopeful pass from Mendes played into the right channel which proved the cue for the French forward to breeze beyond Celtic full-back Mark Wilson and, from an acute angle with Artur Boruc still to beat, improbably tuck the ball inside the front post.
The lead, however, lasted less than two minutes when an awkward clearance from Sasa Papac inside his own penalty box presented the home side with a gift that Georgios Samaras tucked beyond Allan McGregor.
Still, Celtic had shown their defensive vulnerabilities and, despite the concession of an equaliser, Rangers certainly smelled an opportunity in the second period.
“We were drawing at half-time, but the performance was okay,” Mendes remembers. “I can’t remember specifics, but the team talk was along the lines of ‘keep going and play our game’ because everyone knew what to do.
“Of course, we stepped up and performed fantastically in the second half.”
And so they did.
Only seven minutes had elapsed in the second half when Kenny Miller met Thomson’s deep delivery in space at the far post, producing a sumptuous volley which bounced off the Parkhead turf and beyond Boruc at full stretch.
For Miller, it was the moment he craved since returning to Ibrox, the first step in a long journey to endearing himself once again to the Rangers supporters after his past dalliance in a Celtic jersey.
Indeed, it was only a few years removed since the Scotland international thumped the badge after scoring for Celtic in an Old Firm victory.
“He couldn’t run from it [having previously played for Celtic], and the only way he could win over the fans was through his performances,” Mendes said of his former teammate.
“And Kenny proved his passion for the club with his performance. There was perhaps a feeling towards him at the beginning of the season among fans, but that completely went away when he showed his commitment for Rangers moments after the season started.”
Advantage restored for Rangers, then, and the icing on the cake duly arrived ten minutes later.
As Celtic set up to defend what they expected to be a Steven Davis inswinging corner, the Northern Irish international caught out just about everyone inside Parkhead by pulling the ball back to Mendes in acres of space 25 yards from goal.
In the blink of an eye, the ball was nestled in Boruc’s bottom corner.
But why didn’t he take a touch?
“I’m quite a fan of shooting first-time, even if it looks impossible,” Mendes laughs. “I used to try it all the time. Steven passed the ball perfectly, close to me, just to have a go first-time. I don’t think I could have done it any better than I did!
“It was something that was practiced on the training ground during the week.
“You can see Steven raising his two arms, and I think it was Daniel Cousin at the front post who runs towards the ball and takes the defenders out of that area.
“Steven then passed the ball behind him into the empty space.
“The thing that I remember is just the massive number of Rangers fans behind the goal. It was in the perfect spot in that sense and I just wanted to run and celebrate with them.
“The stand was half full with Rangers fans and there was more towards the corner. I could see the joy on the faces of the fans, and everyone was going mad.
“It was crazy, and I remember running towards the fans at the side and the players who were warming up.”
The red mist descended on Parkhead shortly after when referee Dougie McDonald brandished a red card apiece.
Cousin’s afternoon, and Rangers career as it would prove, was over when he was shown a second yellow card for catching Celtic defender Stephen McManus with a stray elbow as the pair contested an aerial duel.
It threatened to provide the hosts with the impetus they required to stage a late fightback, yet that was put to rest when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink lashed out at Kirk Broadfoot only minutes after being introduced as a substitute.
With tempers flaring, calm heads tend to prevail. And that was exactly what Miller showed 11 minutes from time to add his second goal of the afternoon and rub salt into Celtic wounds.
A Broadfoot delivery from the right-hand side appeared routine for Boruc to collect at his near post, but he contrived to allow the ball to slip out from his grasp and present Miller with an open goal from six yards out.
There was no way back for the home side – despite a stoppage time free-kick from Shunsuke Nakamura - and the Rangers players on the pitch would surely have been forgiven for soaking in the moment.
After all, very few Gers sides find themselves riding the crest of such an emphatic scoreline at the home of their rivals.
Mendes, however, says the mentality inside the dressing room, fostered by Smith, his coaching staff, and the Scottish-based players, demanded focus on the task ahead for the remainder of the campaign.
“It was a good feeling, but at the end of the day it was just three points for us,” he recalls. “We celebrated that night, but at the next training session we were already thinking about the next opponent.
“It was the mentality about doing your job properly and celebrating only at the end of the season.
“Of course, you can’t deny it’s a special feeling to win an Old Firm, but the mentality at the time was that it was just one step and we still had a long way to go.”
Celtic would exact revenge for the defeat at Ibrox before the year was out as Scott McDonald netted the only goal of the game to open up a gap of seven points at the summit of the table.
That reverse, however, would prove the catalyst for a second half of the campaign in which Smith’s side tasted defeat just once more and delivered a first of three league titles uninterrupted.
“It was an important season for Rangers to win the league title,” Mendes remembers. “We had some trouble at the beginning of the season and there was noise around the club; Celtic had been champions for some years before.
“I think everyone at the club knew the importance of that title at the time, and it was a fantastic group of players which made it possible.”