The last Newcastle United XI to face Benfica and where they are now
It is just under a decade since Newcastle met their next pre-season opponents in competitive action.
Newcastle United will take a step up in class during their preparations for the new Premier League season when they face Portuguese giants Benfica on Tuesday night.
Regulars in the Champions League and one of the most well-known names in European football, the Eagles will provide a considerable challenge for Eddie Howe and his Magpies squad.
But there was a time, not so long ago, when a meeting of the two sides was not a pre-season friendly, but in the quarter-final of the Europa League.
Following on from their unexpected fifth place finish under the management of Alan Pardew, the Magpies had seen off the likes of Bordeaux, Club Brugge and Anzhi Makhachkala, United were now just two steps from only the second European final in their history.
They faced a sizable threat against a strong Benfica side as over 3,800 Magpies supporters made their way to the Estadio da Luz to see Pardew’s men fall to a 3-1 defeat, despite taking an early lead through Papiss Cisse.
Tyneside crackled with expectation for the second leg a week later and United looked to overturn that first leg deficit.
NewcastleWorld takes a look at the men that wore black and white on an eventful night in April 2013...
1. Tim Krul
Having left United after 11 years in 2017, Krul enjoyed a short stint at Brighton & Hove Albion before joining Norwich City, where he has spent the last five years flirting between the Championship and Premier League.
2. Danny Simpson
Simpson is well remembered for his shock Premier League title success with Leicester City but recently saw his contract at Bristol City cancelled by mutual consent in March. Since then, he’s appeared as a pundit on BT Sport, mostly covering the Foxes’ UEFA Conference League game.
3. Steven Taylor
The Geordie defender announced his retirement in September last year having enjoyed two spells at New Zealand side Wellington Phoenix and a year in India with Odisha. Taylor is now in charge of UAE club Gulf United, a club Newcastle played in their recent trip to Dubai.
4. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
Yanga-Mbwia has been without a club since 2020 after terminating his contract with French giants Lyon. The 32-year-old, however, has confirmed his intention to resume his playing days, likely to be in the Middle East.