""The doors opened and the first person I saw was Tino Asprilla," Gillespie said. "He was standing there waiting on me. It was quite surreal because he's somebody you don't expect to see in Bangor Golf Club. "It was a lovely surprise. I was just made up that someone would actually make that effort to fly in for an evening.""
""we had nothing to lose because Barcelona were the big favourites""
""thought they would only have to turn up and they would beat us""
""I had never witnessed an atmosphere like that before," Given said. "Unbelievable.""
Keith Gillespie received a surprise 50th birthday party at Bangor Golf Club that featured former Newcastle winger Faustino 'Tino' Asprilla flying in from Colombia. The visit underscored a lasting friendship formed during Newcastle's September 1997 Champions League match against Barcelona. Asprilla scored a hat-trick in that 3-2 victory at St James' Park. The stadium atmosphere for that game was described as unprecedented and electric. Barcelona entered the fixture as favourites, while Newcastle approached it with little to lose amid injuries, including a serious ankle problem sidelining Alan Shearer. Asprilla had arrived late from international duty before the match.
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