1997 UEFA Champions League, Newcastle 3-2 Barcelona - Where Are They Now?
11. Striker - Faustino Asprilla
In 2008 Asprilla was arrested for allegedly firing a machine-gun at security forces near his farm in Colombia. He was subsequently placed under house arrest on charges of weapons possession and criminal damage. This wouldn't stop the Barcelona hat trick hero from appearing on many Columbian reality shows, before he decided to attend a series of Newcastle games including The Magpies' visit to the Stadium of Light in January 2011 where he was spotted in the away end sporting a Newcastle scarf. This started rumours that he was about to return to the club in a coaching role, importing talented youngsters from Columbia to Newcastle's academy. Unfortunately, these rumours never came true. Asprilla played in former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper's testimonial match on 11 September 2013 against AC Milan Glorie. In September 2014 it was revealed that he was preparing to launch a range of flavoured condoms in Colombia and was quoted saying:
Ill recommend the guava flavour condom. "When I was growing up, we had a guava tree in our garden and thats a flavour and aroma thats very good for romancing.
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
