He of the deceitfully Brazilian name (but Spanish nationality) is widely considered one of Newcastle's all-time worst acquisitions. The man who'd formed a formidable defensive partnership with Ivan Campo at RCD Mallorca was supposed to ease some of Newcastle's seemingly eternal defensive frailties. He'd even popped up with 17 goals while with the Balearic outfit, and was something of an exciting recruitment for a centre-half. It turns out the man who cost The Magpies around £6,000,000 in 1999 was in fact made of paper. Many scans on his 'injuries' proved inconclusive, the worst of which was a snapped tendon in a finger. So, after only 20 (woeful) performances in four years, Marcelino was cast to the reserves, further down the pecking order than grafters such as Stephen Glass.
