It’s been 20 long years since Newcastle United, the Tyneside club of North-East England, last qualified for the Champions League. It was the 2001/02 season under the legendary manager, Sir Bobby Robson, in which the team achieved a third-place finish in the Premier League and thus secured their ticket to the prestigious European tournament the following campaign.
After experiencing the lows of relegation from the Premier League in the late 1990s, Newcastle fans could surely have not been more ecstatic than when the Magpies punched their ticket to the Champions League.
That year, The Magpies were spearheaded by the iconic Alan Shearer. The captain picked up 27 goals in all competitions and formed a devastating strike partnership with Craig Bellamy, who himself netted 14 times in all competitions. That pairing was supported by legendary winger Laurent Robert, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer for £9.5m and would be crucial to the Toon’s success.
The new Premier League season gets back underway on Boxing Day, and Newcastle currently sit in third place in the table. They’re currently four points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United. For this reason, Bovada’s soccer betting odds have given the North East club a great chance of qualifying for European football’s premier competition for the first time in two decades.
But how did they fair the last time they sat at the top table of European football?
2002/03 – A season that will never be forgotten
The 2001/02 Newcastle United season was met with unbridled joy at St. James’ Park and the rest of the North East. The club had just secured a much-needed return to the European stage. Newcastle was determined and ready to take on the best clubs in Europe. But firstly, they had to handle a tricky qualifying tie against Bosnian champions Željezničar Sarajevo.
Second-leg goals from Kieron Dyer, Lomano Tresor LuaLua, Hugo Viana, and Alan Shearer secured a 4-0 second-leg and 5-0 aggregate victory. As such, the Toon could gear up for a first season in the UEFA Champions League in five years.
Their reward for qualifying? Perhaps the toughest group of any that season. Newcastle was drawn alongside Dynamo Kyiv, Feyenoord, and Juventus.
And their campaign couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. Bobby Robson’s side lost their opening three games, away in Ukraine and Turin, as well as at home to the Rotterdam-based side. It looked as though their campaign had ended before it had even begun.
But you can never write off Newcastle United’s famous fighting spirit. Fullback Andy Griffin finally got some points on the board for his side, scoring a second-half winner at home to Juventus. Then, two second-half goals in ten minutes from the late Gary Speed and captain Shearer secured a come-from-behind victory against Dynamo.
That set up a tie with Feyenoord in Rotterdam with the winner knowing they will progress to the second round. United raced into a two-goal lead, courtesy of goals from Craig Bellamy and Hugo Viana either side of halftime. Back came the hosts though.
Mariano Bombarda and Anthony Lurling would level things up and it looked as though the Dutch side would progress. They hadn’t counted on Bellamy though. The Welshman popped up with a last-minute winner which sent the away fans into delirium and secured safe passage to the second round.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be in the second group stage, however, as the Magpies found themselves in the same group as juggernauts Inter Milan, Barcelona, and the previous season’s finalists, Bayer Leverkusen. The competition was clearly a step too far for Newcastle, as the English side went on to suffer a handful of heavy defeats against the European giants.
Consecutive heavy defeats at home to Inter (4-1) and in the Nou Camp (3-1) left the Toon in a precarious position. They would defeat the Germans home and away, giving them a fighting chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.
United would twice surrender a lead in Milan, eventually having to settle for a 2-2 draw. In their final game, they were well beaten at home by Barcelona, meaning that they would bow out with their heads held high and after a journey that the home faithful could scarcely believe.
The years since
The Magpies would go on to finish in the top four once again that season however, in the following year’s Champions League campaign, they were beaten by Partizan Belgrade in qualifying. As such, they would have to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup in 2003/04, and they would go on to reach the semifinals, before being beaten by Marseille.
The club hasn’t qualified for the Champions League since. They did come close in 2011/12, finishing in fifth, just four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. They would go on to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League the following season.
But this season, the club have picked up some brilliant results. Under Eddie Howe, the Toon could finally be set to return to the promised land. Will over two decades of hurt come to an end in May?