Cast your minds back to September 17th 1997 – the day Newcastle United welcomed European giants Barcelona to St James’ Park for a Champions League group stage match.
With Louis van Gaal’s Barça boasting the likes of Figo and Rivaldo among their ranks, even the most diehard Newcastle fans did not predict what would happen next.
Just 49 minutes had been played when Tino Asprilla headed Keith Gillespie’s perfectly weighted cross past Ruud Hesp to complete a 22-minute hat-trick.
Barça did rally a late comeback, with Luis Enrique and Figo both netting, but it was too little too late and Newcastle were triumphant.
Despite beating Barcelona, Newcastle still failed to qualify for the next round – though they did finish two points ahead of Barcelona in the group.
As Tino celebrates his 47th birthday today, we thought what better time to reflect on this memorable occasion by attempting to recall every Newcastle player who appeared that night – including Kenny Dalglish’s two second-half substitutes.
