As Newcastle United continue their resurgence under Eddie Howe, two players who have established themselves as huge fan favourites on Tyneside are Brazilian midfield partners Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton.
They aren't the first hailing from the South American football hotbed to have turned out for United. Fans will remember Fumaça, Claudio Caçapa, and Kenedy who all caused rather less of stir at St James' Park. For the first samba star in black and white, you have to go back to August 1987.
Bought from Palmeiras for £590,000, Francisco da Silva - known to one and all as Mirandinha - was effectively the replacement for the departed Peter Beardsley at a time when foreign players were a rarity in the domestic English game. Not only was the international striker United's first Brazilian, he was the first from that nation to play in professional English football.
