‘That one hurts the most’: Darren Ambrose on Newcastle European heartbreak

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Ex-Newcastle United midfielder Darren Ambrose has spoken to TalkSPORT on the defeat to Marseille back in 2004. The fixture saw the Magpies lose 2-0 thanks to a Didier Drogba brace in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup.

The first leg at St James’ Park was 0-0 with all to play for. The competition was the equivalent of what the Europa League is now.

Then manager Sir Bobby Robson had a very strong side including Alan Shearer, Gary Speed and Laurent Robert. The Toon had a lot of belief that they could win the competition at the time.

The pain still sticks with Ambrose as ‘Drogba broke our hearts’

Speaking on talkSPORT, Ambrose stated: “You know what, I got to three semi-finals in my career, four actually, counting the U20 tournament for England, and lost them all, but that one hurts the most. 

“Newcastle supporters will tell you, the squad we had then we should have won that tournament, and Didier Drogba broke our hearts, I’m telling you.”

The Toon would have a few more runs in European competitions. They’d compete in the UEFA Cup in the 2004/05 campaign, getting knocked out by Sporting CP.

A couple of seasons later they would return to the competition, but were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

Their most recent time in Europe was in the 2012/13 season under Alan Pardew. The Toon would reach the quarter-final, losing to finalists Benfica.

It’s now approaching 10 years since the last time Newcastle played in a European competition. Some fans, including myself, certainly miss those mid-week European clashes.

With a PIF ownership being just a few months in, you can tell the end goal is to bring European nights back to Tyneside. However, this time around they’ll hope they can bring back some silverware.

Survival needs to be the focus for now, but should they do so, exciting times could be ahead. The attraction of the club’s big project and Premier League football could see some top players arrive in the future.

The arrival of the likes of Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes have shown that Newcastle already has the potential to attract high-quality players. Imagine who would want to come when survival is secured.