Newcastle United will return to the Champions League after an absence of over three decades when they make the trip to AC Milan later this month.
Eddie Howe’s side will become the first United side to feature in European football’s elite club competition since a difficult night at St James Park in March 2003 when the likes of Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert were unable to prevent Barcelona from claiming a 2-0 win on Tyneside.
That defeat brought down the curtain on the memorable run in the competition as Sir Bobby Robson’s Magpies became the first side to recover from three group stage defeats to progress into the second round of the competition. Some lifelong memories were created, with nights in the San Siro, Camp Nou and Feyenoord’s De Kuip Stadium going down in Tyneside folklore.
But where are the players that represented United in their last Champions League group stage fixture now?
9. Nolberto Solano
The Peruvian returned to Newcastle in 2005 after a stint at Aston Villa and also featured for West Ham United, Larissa, Universatario, Leicester City, Hull City and Hartlepool United before moving into coaching in 2012. After holding roles at a number of clubs and within the Peru national setup, Solano is now manager of Swedish second tier club AFC Eskilstuna. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
10. Laurent Robert
Robert fell foul of Robson’s successor Graeme Souness and left United to join Portsmouth on loan in 2005 before making a permanent departure to Benfica. Spells with Levante, Derby County, Toronto and Larissa brought down the curtain on his career. Robert has moved into coaching as was a forwards coach within the academy of former club Montpellier. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
11. Craig Bellamy
Another player to fall foul of Souness, Bellamy joined Celtic on loan in 2005 before a permanent departure to Blackburn Rovers. There were moves to Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham United before Bellamy’s career ended with boyhood club Cardiff City. Bellamy worked alongside former Man City team-mate Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and followed the Belgian to Burnley, where he is currently assistant manager. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
12. Alan Shearer
Shearer wrote his name into the record books when he became United’s all-time record goalscorer in 2006 before retiring at the end of the season. Returning to St James Park as interim manager in the latter stages of the 2008/09 season, Shearer was unable to keep the Magpies in the Premier League. Now working as a respected pundit for BBC Sport, Shearer also does sterling work for charity as a patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and also has his own charity, the Alan Shearer Foundation. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images