‌The former Newcastle star was in the dressing room when Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson discovered they were dropped in 1999 by Ruud Gullit. In a game that was played in monsoon conditions, Sunderland triumphed 2-1 as Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips broke Geordie hearts at St James' Park. Solano said: "If I didn't know much about the rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland before, I did after that night. "Shearer discovered Ferguson had got their first and pretty much taken the hinges off the closed door. "It made me understand exactly what this game meant.

Source: Daily Mirror March 21, 2026 19:49 UTC