10 Ultimate Cult Heroes Of Newcastle United In The Premier League Era

3. Faustino Asprilla

Played for NUFC: 1996 - 1998

Appearances: 54, Goals: 12

Falling in love with Asprilla came easy to Newcastle fans. From the first moment we saw the Colombian tentatively wend his way through a Tyneside blizzard huddled inside a flamboyant fur coat - a culture clash if there ever was one - we knew the Club had a genuine maverick on its hands.

Tino's debut proved just as mercurial as his arrival in England. Supping a few glasses of wine with his pre-match meal Asprilla was astonishingly named on the bench by Kevin Keegan for the game at Middlesbrough despite having just met his new team-mates. Keegan then pulled the biggest surprise of them all by throwing his new £7.5 million recruit into the fray with 22 minutes left and Newcastle trailing 1-0 to their Teesside neighbours.

His impact was immediate, setting up Steve Watson to nod home the equaliser as we came back to win the game 2-1 and remain top of the Premier League table that day.

Asprilla also displayed his volatile side in a black and white shirt in a clash with Keith Curle, head-butting and deliberately elbowing the Manchester City captain in a 3-3 draw at Maine Road, which later resulted in a £10,000 fine and a one-match suspension.

It is impossible, however, to cover the subject of Asprilla as a cult hero without alluding to that immortal night when he put the mighty Barcelona to the sword with a Champions League hat-trick that will echo through the ages of this football club.