11 Bizarre Transfer Stories Involving Newcastle United
9. Tino Was Half-Cut When He Made His Debut
The Claim After a whirl-wind transfer deal, Tino arrived in Newcaslte in a fur coat, expecting to watch his new side play Boro from the stand. As a result, he had some wine with dinner, only to be told that he was going to be on the bench. When he came on and tortured Boro's defence in an eye-catching cameo, he was half-cut. The Truth Well, he'd certainly had a drink, but not much. He hadn't expected to play at all, as Keegan had organised a private jet for him just to watch the game, so he had a glass of wine with lunch at the club hotel, as he had in Italy:
"I wasnt allowed to drink Coke in Italy theyd fine me! So I drank wine, but I never liked it so I mixed it with water. Then Keegan said 'get changed just in case', then 'warm up', then 'youre on!' I wasnt nervous but I wasnt even prepared! Luckily it all went very well. But it was just a one-off I never drank before games. Well, only coke."
