Newcastle United's journey to the Champions League in the early Noughties is still talked about fondly on Tyneside but had it not been for Sir Bobby Robson and his in-depth knowledge of Europe back in winter 1999 it may not have happened at all. With the Magpies in need of some defensive steel, Sir Bobby tapped into his contact book and looked up Helder Cristovao before signing him on loan from Deportivo la Coruna. During 12 crucial games in league and cup, Helder suffered defeat only once on that loan stint.
And while his time was only fleeting, as he recovered from a long-term injury, he helped Newcastle finish 11th and into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Helder told Chronicle Live: "I have special memories of my year at Newcastle and still speak about it quite a lot. "I'm still in touch with a lot of the boys from that time, I speak with Nobby Solano a lot, a few weeks ago I spoke with Alan Shearer and people like Rob Lee and Shay Given now and again.
