‘It’s 19 years since I left the club but it still feels like I am playing
NIKOS Dabizas may have been wearing a trench coat but there was no chance of the cult hero slipping into St James’ Park undetected.
The former Newcastle United defender was back on Tyneside to pay a visit to the academy to catch up with friend and former team-mate Steve Harper before watching the Magpies’ first team take on Liverpool.
Let’s just say it took Dabizas a while to make his way into the stadium to take his seat alongside club legend Bob Moncur after supporters gave him quite a welcome.
He said: “This is what makes the Geordie fans special and unique because it’s been almost 19 years since I left the club and I feel that I’ve never left.
“I still feel like I’m playing for the club.
“The amount of people stopping me and asking for an autograph or a photograph or shaking my hand in the street is amazing.
“That period of time is even bigger now for me because back then, when I was a player for the club, I always gave them something to cheer because they saw me playing.
“They had a reason to show their joy as I was an active member of the team. Now, I’ve left and I have nothing to give them – only memories – but the memories are still there.
“The way they approach me is so unique, so authentic, because after all these years people don’t forget.”
That warm reception won’t necessarily have come as a surprise to Dabizas, who still refers to the North East as his ‘second home’.’
However, the atmosphere that afternoon was a world away from what the 48-year-old experienced on his previous visits to St James’ in the Mike Ashley era.
Dabizas already had half an idea of what to expect after taking note of the change of mood since the takeover while working as a pundit and co-commentator for Total Football, which is the Greek version of Match of the Day.
However, the deafening noise before kick-off took him right back. Is it any wonder the owners do not want to build a new stadium elsewhere?
St James’ has not rocked like this since the days of Sir Bobby Robson and it was rather fitting Eddie Howe became the first manager since the Newcastle legend to win six straight top-flight games at home last season.
Dabizas was part of that side under Sir Bobby who went on to play in the Champions League and even challenge for the title.
This current group of players have a long way to go to do just that but, as far as Dabizas is concerned, the ‘atmosphere being back is the most important thing’.
He added: “It’s completely trans
The way they approach me is so unique, so authentic, because after all these years, people don’t forget
Nicos Dabizas
formed. It’s what it used to be in the past, a rebirth. It’s back to the standard it used to be in our time.”
On the pitch, meanwhile, whether Dabizas has been in the stands or watching on from afar, the former centre-back’s eyes have naturally been drawn to the ‘technical’ Fabian Schar, who can ‘read the game well’, and the ‘strong character’ who is Jamaal Lascelles.
However, Dabizas has reserved special praise for Dan Burn, whom he felt was “underestimated” at Brighton, after the Geordie played a crucial role in the Magpies’ turnaround in the second half of last season.
Burn has proved an inspired signing, a colossus who knows what it means to play for the club, and continuing to bring in the right characters this summer is going to be crucial. Dabizas, a former sporting director with Panathinaikos and Omonia Lefkosia, is wellplaced to comment on the qualities new arrivals will need to be a success at St James’.
He said: “For every player, even in our era, the number one element in the judgement of the Newcastle fans is giving 100%.
“If you are committed, if you are honest, this is the passport to win their admiration, approval and joy.
“They really want this kind of characteristic in the players. This commitment is the most important value. This is the magic word.”
It also helps if you pop up with a memorable goal, of course, and they do not come much bigger than Dabizas’ winner in the WearTyne derby in 2002.
He may have played another 175 games for the club, and that header may have ‘only’ secured three points, but supporters understandably want to relive that moment whenever they spot him.
Dabizas does not mind. A huge framed photograph of those celebrations has hung proudly in Dabizas’ home in Athens for years, which captures the Greek, wildeyed and bare-chested, being mobbed by his team-mates as he clenches his fists in front of the away end.
It is not only an instant icebreaker with guests but, also, transports Dabizas back to some of the happiest years of his life.
He went on: “I’m facing the picture right now. It’s right opposite. It’s part of my life.
“Every person who walks in has a look because it’s pure passion, pure joy and quite big. You can’t miss it!
“This is the most important thing for the fans because they are the big rivals. When it’s in their territory it’s even bigger.
“This will stay with me forever.”