The French defender who’s now a salesman, a trumpet-playing Peruvian winger and the goalkeeping stalwart STILL at the club… as Newcastle prepare to play their first cup final in 24 years, here’s where the stars of the 1999 team are TODAY
- Newcastle are set to play Man United in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday
- It will be Newcastle’s first cup final since they made the FA Cup final in 1999
- Sportsmail looks back at the 1999 side and where the players are now
Newcastle fans are counting down the hours until they get to watch their side compete in a major final for the first time this century.
On Sunday afternoon, the Magpies will be back at Wembley for the first time since the 1999 FA Cup final to take on Manchester United with the Carabao Cup on the line.
It’s been 24 long years. And who stood in their way last time they played at England’s national stadium? That’s right – the Red Devils.
In the last FA Cup final of the 20th century it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s men that emerged victorious, picking up a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes.
Newcastle will be hoping for a different result this time around as they aim to end their 54-year wait for a major trophy.
Newcastle fell short the last time they were at Wembley as they were beaten 2-0 by Man United
Eddie Howe will hope for better luck on Sunday when his side face the Red Devils at Wembley
But what has happened to their last set of players to take to the pitch at Wembley?
Sportsmail takes a look at that 1999 squad, and what they have been up to since that final almost a quarter of a century ago.
Goalkeeper: Steve Harper
Harper arrived at Newcastle in 1993, and after several loan spells he finally got into the team in time for the cup final.
Following the showpiece event, he went on to remain at St James’ Park for another 14 years, largely as a back-up goalkeeper, firstly to Shay Given and then Tim Krul.
He eventually left the club in 2013 to join Hull City, before making the controversial decision to sign for Newcastle’s fierce rivals Sunderland in January 2016.
Harper did not make a single appearance for the Black Cats, though, and retired that summer.
Steve Harper started in goal for Newcastle in their FA Cup final against Manchester United
Harper is now the academy director at Newcastle, having started in that role in 2021
After hanging up his boots, Harper returned to Newcastle to take up a position as academy goalkeeping coach in August 2016, a role that he continued until early 2019 when he left to join up with the Northern Ireland national team.
But Harper was not done with Newcastle, and went back once more later that year as a first-team coach while continuing to work with Northern Ireland. He is now the academy director at Newcastle, having started in that role in 2021.
Right-back: Andy Griffin
Griffin spent six years at Newcastle between 1998 and 2004, making over 100 appearances for the club.
The full-back managed just three goals during this time, but certainly picked his moments as he got on the scoresheet in a 4-2 win over Arsenal in 2000, and netted the winner against Juventus past the great Gianluigi Buffon, who is remarkably still playing, in the Champions League in October 2002.
After leaving Newcastle he went on to play for another decade before finishing his career at Chester in 2014.
Andy Griffin (right) challenges Teddy Sheringham for the ball in an aerial duel in the final
Since retiring, the 43-year-old has set up the Andy Griffin Football Academy (AGFA)
Since retiring, the 43-year-old has set up the Andy Griffin Football Academy (AGFA), which has two campuses in Newcastle and Stafford.
The academy provides a two-year full-time programme for young male and female footballers who want to play or work in the football industry at a high level.
Griffin has also spoken in the past about his ambitions of going into management, but he is yet to land a top-level job in the dugout.
Centre-back: Nikos Dabizas
Dabizas’ five-year spell at Newcastle is largely remembered for one moment. He was the player left bamboozled for that Dennis Bergkamp goal, as the Dutchman produced an outrageous touch past the Greek defender before slotting the ball into the net during a 2-0 win for Arsenal over Newcastle in 2002.
That goal still divides opinion today as to whether Bergkamp actually meant the initial touch, but Dabizas has graciously labelled it ‘a piece of art’.
Dabizas left Newcastle in 2003, and went on to win Euro 2004 with Greece in one of international football’s biggest shocks ever, although he did not play a minute in the tournament.
Dabizas’ (left) five-year spell at Newcastle is largely remembered for one moment – he was the player left bamboozled for that Dennis Bergkamp goal
He starred at centre back in the FA Cup final as he is pictured he defending Andy Cole (left)
Dabizas has remained in football since retiring and spoke exclusively with Sportsmail in 2018
He ended his playing days back in Greece in 2011, but has remained in football behind the scenes.
Dabizas has had two separate spells as Panathinaikos’s director of football, the first between May 2013 and November 2014, before returning in May 2018 and leaving again in October 2019.
These roles came either side of him taking up the position of director of football at Cypriot club Omonia Nicosia in 2016.
He spoke exclusively to Sportsmail in 2018 about being the victim of that Bergkamp goal, surviving being thrown from a car and his role at Panathinaikos.
Centre-back: Laurent Charvet
Charvet joined Newcastle in 1998 after a brief loan spell at Chelsea, and within a year he was playing in a cup final at Wembley.
He moved on from St James’ Park two years later after scoring his only goal for the club in a Tyne-Tees derby against Middlesbrough.
After two years at Manchester City, he headed back to France to play for Sochaux.
Laurent Charvet played in defence at Wembley, but is now enjoying a modest career in France
Charvet recently started work as a salesman in the construction industry in the south of France
He made just a handful of appearances for the club and retired, only to unretire five years later to join amateur side RC Grasse.
Charvet has moved away from football since calling time on his career for a second time, and appears to enjoy a quiet life away from the cameras nowadays.
He did sit down for an interview with L’Equipe last year, though, and revealed that he recently started work as a salesman in the construction industry in the south of France.
Left-back: Didier Domi
Domi was picked up by Newcastle from PSG at the start of 1999, and made 70 appearances for the club before moving back to the French capital.
He also spent a season at Leeds, and tried his luck in Spain and Greece prior to finishing his career in the US with New England Revolution in 2011.
Having had two separate spells at PSG as a player, Domi has since returned to the club to become the technical advisor for the PSG Academy in Qatar.
PSG are owned by Qatar Sports Investments, and have entrusted Domi with finding young talent to bring in to their academy in the Middle East.
Domi has also tried his hand at football punditry, and regularly appears on the Qatari-owned channel beIN Sports.
Didier Domi (left) looks on as Paul Scholes celebrates scoring Man United’s second goal
Domi made 70 appearances for Newcastle before moving back to the French capital with PSG
Domi (right) has become a technical advisor for the PSG Academy in Qatar
Right midfield: Rob Lee
Lee spent a decade at Newcastle between 1992 and 2002, and was part of ‘The Entertainers’ under Kevin Keegan, with the Magpies lighting up the Premier League in the mid 1990s but ultimately falling just short of winning the title.
The midfielder was capped 21 times by his country, and was in the squad for the 1998 World Cup in France.
He retired from football in 2006 and was almost immediately interviewed for the manager’s job at Bournemouth, but was beaten to the post by Kevin Bond.
Lee never did go into management in the end, but has remained within football, appearing as a pundit on Singapore’s Football Channel, while also previously working as a co-commentator for the Pakistan sports channel TEN Sports.
Lee (centre) started in right midfield for the Magpies at Wembley Stadium in the Cup final
Lee, pictured in Bedford on Wednesday, was inducted in Newcastle’s Hall of Fame in 2019
He was back on English TV in 2019 and 2020 as part of ITV show Harry’s Heroes, where Harry Redknapp put together a team of ex-England internationals to play against their German counterparts.
Lee was inducted in Newcastle’s Hall of Fame in 2019 after playing over 380 games for the club in all competitions.
Central midfield: Dietmar Hamann
Hamann is more likely to be remembered for his time at Liverpool, but he did have a season at Newcastle prior to his switch to Anfield.
He would also go on to play for Bolton and Manchester City in the Premier League.
In 2010, he joined MK Dons as a player-coach, but left the following year to take up a coaching role at Leicester.
His spell in the east Midlands did not last long as he was appointed Stockport County manager in July 2011, but he lasted just four months at the club before resigning.
Dietmar Hamann (right) watches on as Sheringham (centre) looks to dribble past Dabizas (left)
Hamann has moved into punditry and has been called upon by RTE Sport back in Germany
Having decided that management was not for him, Hamann has moved into punditry and has regularly been called upon by RTE Sport back in Germany to cover major international tournaments.
Hamann has also appeared on LFC TV to talk about his former club, and is not afraid to voice his opinion. He was involved in a war of words with Jurgen Klopp earlier this season after criticising Liverpool’s form and claiming that the German manager’s time on Merseyside could soon be up.
Central midfield: Gary Speed
Speed won the first division title with Leeds in 1992 in the final season before the inception of the Premier League.
Six years later, he arrived at Newcastle and would go on to become a fans’ favourite, known for his rocket of a left foot and his impressive heading ability, despite standing at just 5 ft 10 in tall.
After departing Newcastle in 2004, he moved to Bolton and finished his career at Sheffield United in 2010.
It wasn’t long before he was back at Bramall Lane as he was named Sheffield United manager in August 2010.
Gary Speed (right), battling for the ball with David Beckham in the final, was a fan favourite
In November 2011, Speed sadly passed away at the age of 42 after committing suicide
But just four months later, Wales came calling and Speed was named the national team manager, replacing John Toshack.
Speed won five of his 10 games in charge, including the final three, but in November 2011 it was confirmed that he had passed away at the age of 42 after committing suicide.
The immensely popular Welshman is widely credited with setting the national team on the path to success, which saw them go on to make the semi-finals of Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman.
Left midfield: Nolberto Solano
It did not take long for Newcastle fans to take Solano to their heart, with the Geordie faithful affectionately giving him the nickname ‘Nobby’.
Solano had two spells at Newcastle either side of a brief stint at Aston Villa. He also played for Leicester, Hull and Hartlepool, but it is his eight seasons at Newcastle that he is most remembered for on these shores.
He moved into coaching in 2012, first becoming an assistant manager at non-league side Newcastle Benfield, before returning to Peru later that year.
Back in his homeland he managed Universitario and Jose Galvez, prior to trying his luck in Canada with Internacional de Toronto. His time in North America did not last long, though, as the club had its license terminated due to issues over player salaries.
Nolberto Solano (left) is now back in Peru, but still visits Newcastle when he comes to England
Solano (right) has always been associated with his love for music and playing the trumpet
‘Nobby’ shares a picture with Newcastle legend Alan Shearer (right) earlier this month
Having moved back to Peru, he was named his national team’s assistant manager in 2015, a position that he still holds, while he also works with the country’s Under 23s.
With Solano alongside Ricardo Gareca on the touchline, Peru made their first World Cup in 36 years in 2018, but they failed to get out of their group.
While he was an accomplished player on the pitch, he is an accomplished musician off of it, and is known for playing the trumpet in his own salsa band.
Solano was taken to a Peruvian police station after breaking lockdown rules to attend a party in 2020, and he subsequently penned a grovelling apology for his actions.
Solano still speaks proudly of his time at Newcastle, and has said that he goes back to Tyneside whenever he is in England as he still has a lot of friends in the area.
Striker: Temuri Ketsbaia
Do you remember Temuri Ketsbaia? That’s right, he was the player that ripped his shirt off and started booting the advertising hoardings at the Gallowgate End after scoring the winning goal against Bolton in 1998.
He later claimed he was letting out his frustration after being consistently left out of the team’s starting XI. Ruud Gullit opted to start him at Wembley, but the Georgian forward was unable to lead his side to victory.
Ketsbaia played for Newcastle for three years between 1997 and 2000, and then had brief spells at Wolves and Dundee before leaving the UK.
Temuri Ketsbaia takes a shot, and the charismatic Georgian is now the Cyprus manager
The 54-year-old has had eight different managerial jobs, including his stint at AEK Athens
He is another player that has gone into coaching, first starting off as player-manager at Cypriot outfit Anorthosis Famagusta.
The 54-year-old has had eight different managerial jobs, including taking charge of the Georgian national team from 2009 to 2014. He is the current Cyprus manager, having taken the position last June.
Ketsbaia has expressed his interest in becoming Newcastle manager on multiple occasions in the past, highlighting that he still has plenty of affection for the club over two decades after he left St James’ Park.
Striker: Alan Shearer
Newcastle’s favourite son.
Shearer returned to Tyneside for a then-world record fee of £15m in 1996, and was worth every penny as he netted 206 goals in 405 matches over the next decade.
Having retired as the club’s all-time top goalscorer, Shearer went back to Newcastle to try and rescue them from relegation in 2009.
However, he only managed to win one of his eight games at the helm as the Magpies went down on the final day of the season.
Alan Shearer was kept at bay as Man United completed the second part of their historic treble
Shearer went on to become the Premier League all-time top scorer with 260 goals
The legendary striker has now moved into punditry with the BBC and Amazon Prime
Shearer wanted to continue in the role, but Newcastle turned to Chris Hughton instead to get them out of the Championship.
Shearer has not managed another club since leaving Newcastle, and has moved into punditry with the BBC.
He can regularly be seen analysing matches on Match of the Day, and has been an ever-present on the channel’s coverage of international major tournaments in recent years.
First substitute: Duncan Ferguson
Hamann got booked early on in the final, and Gullit turned to Ferguson at half time to replace him with his side a goal down.
Ferguson had two years at Newcastle, but is widely known for his time at Everton either side of his spell on Tyneside.
After retiring in 2006, the Scot spent five years in Mallorca before returning to Merseyside where he started working under Alan Irvine with Everton’s academy players.
Having worked with the Under 18s for the best part of three years, Ferguson was promoted to the senior team’s backroom staff in 2014.
Duncan Ferguson came on at half time but was unable to turn the match in Newcastle’s favour
Ferguson was appointed Forest Green’s new boss last month after coaching stints at Everton
He then got the chance to manage the side on an interim basis in December 2019 following Marco Silva’s sacking. Ferguson won his first game 3-1 against Chelsea, and famously celebrated enthusiastically by picking up a ball boy, but Everton failed to win their next three matches with him in the dugout.
He continued working behind the scenes at Goodison Park, and stepped in for one game when Rafael Benitez was sent packing, losing 1-0 at home to Aston Villa.
After seeing out the 2021-22 season on Frank Lampard’s coaching staff, Ferguson finally left Everton to search for a permanent manager’s position.
He got his wish last month when he was appointed Forest Green’s new boss. On his first day in the job, he was involved in an awkward TV interview where he was presented with a vegetarian burger and quizzed on his new club’s meat-free policy.
Second substitute: Silvio Maric
Maric created a little piece of history when he became the first Croatian player to play in an FA Cup final as he was introduced from the bench in the second half.
He didn’t last long in the North-East, though, making just 31 appearances before joining Porto a year later.
The attacking midfielder stopped playing in 2006, finishing his career where it started at Dinamo Zagreb.
He founded a football academy in Croatia, but financial issues meant that this project didn’t last long.
But he has stayed in football, and in March 2022 he was named sporting director at Croatian second division side Rudeš.
Third substitute: Stephen Glass
Glass was Newcastle’s final substitute at Wembley, coming on for Ketsbaia with just over 10 minutes to go.
The midfielder spent most of his playing days in Scotland and England, but ended his career in the US with Carolina RailHawks in 2011.
He moved into coaching a year later with Irish side Shamrock Rovers, working as an assistant manager from 2012 to 2014.
After a break from the touchline, he returned to the States, initially working with Atlanta United’s academy before being placed in charge of Atlanta United 2.
Glass went back to Scotland in March 2021 to manage Aberdeen, but lasted just under a year in the role.
The US came calling again in November, and he is currently managing USL Championship outfit Memphis 901.
Unused substitute: Shay Given
Across 12 years on Tyneside, Given made 463 appearances and established himself as one of the finest shot-stoppers in the top-flight. Yet he was overlooked for the 1999 final as he missed out to Harper.
Given is widely viewed as Newcastle’s best goalkeeper of the Premier League era, and he earned himself a move to Manchester City in 2009 as they began to rise up the table.
He left City in 2011 and had four years at Aston Villa, where he was briefly handed the role of assistant manager as well as playing for the team under Paul Lambert.
Given, who is the Republic of Ireland’s second-highest capped men’s player, bowed out of professional football in 2017 at Stoke, and was appointed Derby’s goalkeeping coach in 2018.
Shay Given was on punditry duties for Newcastle’s semi-final win against Southampton
He remained at the club for three years, and was part of an interim team that included Wayne Rooney, Liam Rosenior and Justin Walker who were placed in charge of the team when Phillip Cocu was sacked in 2020. Rooney then landed the role permanently.
The 46-year-old has now moved into punditry, featuring more regularly on Sky Sports’ coverage in recent months, and was at St James’ Park when Newcastle booked their place in the Carabao Cup final with a semi-final win over Southampton.
Unused substitute: Warren Barton
Barton did not play a single minute at Wembley but did feature in over 200 matches for the Magpies during his seven-year spell at the club.
He retired in 2005 at non-league side Dagenham & Redbridge, and took up a coaching role with the team while also carrying out part-time consultancy work for Brighton.
The former full-back then got his first taste for the US as he started coaching LA Galaxy’s under-18s in 2008.
He landed another role in the States afterwards when he was appointed technical advisor at San Diego Flash, and he soon became the club’s president and manager.
Barton took over as general manager and technical director at Los Angeles Blues in 2012, and he is still in the US to this day.
He is now working with Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks, a San Diego youth team, as a director and coach.
Barton has also done punditry work for Fox Sports over the years.
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