It's almost 10 years since the lights went out on Newcastle United's last foray into Europe when they were beaten 4-2 over two legs by Benfica.
After losing the tie 3-1 in Lisbon, a Papiss Cisse goal gave the Geordie crowd hope after a strike on 71 minutes but late heartbreak from Eduardo Salvio brought the curtain down on Newcastle's run in the Europa League at the quarter-final stage. Since then Newcastle have never even been close to qualifying for Europe.
Until now of course. Even their current fifth-place spot would send them into the Europa League again and have Toon fans dusting down their passports once more. But what became of Alan Pardew's brave Benfica battlers? We look back at the team sheet from a decade ago.
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Tim Krul
The Dutchman was just 24 then and had been installed as No 1 by Pardew the previous season. He would go on to be the main goalkeeper for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons under Pardew and then John Carver.
But disaster struck in autumn 2015 when suffered a knee injury playing for Holland against Kazakhstan. By the time he returned to fitness Steve McClaren had been sacked and replaced by Rafa Benitez.
Despite loans at Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, Benitez made it clear he had other ideas in goal and Krul was moved on to Brighton. He made the switch from the South Coast to Norwich where he has stayed since.
Krul is still under contract until 2024 with the Canaries but remains a big favourite with Newcastle fans. He made 177 domestic appearances and seven in Europe for the Magpies.
Danny Simpson
The popular Salford lad gave his all in a Newcastle shirt after a move from Man United in 2009. He helped the club up from the Championship in 2010 and was a big part of the run to Europe in 2012.
Simpson made over 100 appearances for Newcastle but the 2012/13 season not only resulted in the end of the European run, it also resulted in the right-back leaving. He had long been embroiled in a contract dispute at Newcastle and after buying Mathieu Debuchy that January, the Magpies cashed in and sold him for £750,000 to QPR.
The defender went on to win the Premier League with Leicester City before stints at Huddersfield and Bristol City last year. Simpson, now 36, has not officially hung his boots up yet.
But he has started to move into TV punditry and launched a Premier League mental health initiative after his own personal experiences. Simpson will always be welcome at St James' Park and was a real fan favourite and arguably should never have been sold given what he went to achieve with the Foxes.
Mike Williamson
The centre-back is still playing as player-boss at Gateshead doing great things at the International Stadium. Williamson was an honest defender who served Newcastle well until 2016 when Steve McClaren decided to sell him to Wolves.
He would spend over a year at Wolves before making a switch to Oxford. A keen lover of the North East, Williamson could not resist a move back to the area in 2018.
He started as a player-coach with the Heed before being appointed player-boss. Williamson, against all the odds and severe financial restrictions, led the Tynesiders to promotion to the fifth tier in 2022 and this season has guided them to the FA Trophy semi-finals. At 39 he still pulls his boots on but his no-nonsense style will always be remembered by the Newcastle faithful.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
There was excitement on Tyneside when Newcastle paid £6.7million for the classy French defender from Montpellier. He showed glimpses of his potential in Ligue 1 at St James' Park but never hit the heights fans hoped.
After two seasons he was sold to Roma before a stint back in France with Lyon. However, at 33 he is currently taking a time out of the game and has not featured competitively in four years.
Massadio Haidara
The young left-back was handed the chance to run at the Benfica defence out wide 10 years ago. Although his career never got going at United and after 23 league starts he was sold to Lens.
Still just 30, Haidara has continued to ply his trade in Ligue 1. It was Rafa Benitez who sanctioned his £2million exit from St James' Park five years after that night against Benfica.
Yohan Cabaye
The French midfielder was arguably the star of Pardew's team and he knew it. Cabaye was an excellent player but like so many during the Mike Ashley era wanted the club to match his ambition.
It was no surprise when he tried to leave in 2013 after a bid from Arsenal. But Pardew could not prevent him from leaving when PSG bid £19million for his services.
With Joe Kinnear above him as director of football, the ex-Wimbledon boss sanctioned the sale. Stints at Crystal Palace, Al-nassr and St Etienne followed before he hung his boots up in 2020. He has made a few media appearances since retirement.
Moussa Sissoko
Now 33, Sissoko is still playing with Nantes in France. Having been sold by Newcastle after relegation in 2016 he was always going to be unpopular on Tyneside. He spent five years with Spurs after his £30million sale before a stint at Watford. This season he helped Nantes to the knockout stages of the Europa League but his team are sitting in 14th in the table in France.
Vurnon Anita
The Dutchman was the club's sole signing in summer 2012 from Ajax and always battled hard for the Magpies. But his stint on Tyneside was ended in 2017 as he left for Leeds.
Anita returned to Holland to play for Willem II and is now playing for RKC Waalwijk. At 33 he is still a regular and has played 25 times in the Dutch top-flight.
Jonas Gutierrez
The former Argentina star left Newcastle after scoring the goal that kept United up on 2015 against West Ham. Jonas was released that summer and starred for Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain. He returned to his native Argentina and played for Defensa y Justicia then Banfield. But he retired in 2021 after a stint at Club Almagro.
Gael Bigirimana
The midfielder was actually one of the stars of the 2012/13 season as he made his breakthrough following a move from Coventry. Then just 19 he scored in the Premier League against Wigan.
An undisclosed medical condition then saw him barely feature the following season before he was loaned to Rangers a year later. The Burundi international was sold to Coventry in 2016 and then had stints at Motherwell and Hibernian. His last British club was Glentoran but he last signed a contract with Young Africans in Tanzania.
Papiss Cisse
Cisse grabbed the goal that night and went to play for Newcastle until 2016 when the club was relegated. He played in China for Shandong Luneng then went on to star for Alanyaspor and Fenerbahçe in Turkey. At 37 his last club registered was Amiens in the summer.
