Back then some of the superstars of Europe graced the hallowed turf at St James' with Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu, Hristo Stoichkov, Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps and Lilian Thuram all on show. Keegan purred over Hagi's contributions during the game but the standout performer for the then Toon boss was Marcel Desailly. Instead, he ended up signing the tournament's top scorer in St James' for £15million. Why were the attendances lower than capacity at St James' Park during Euro 96? At one stage commentator Helm pointed out a Toon fan trying to gee up France and Romania fans in the Milburn Stand.

Source: Metro May 15, 2020 05:03 UTC