Former Newcastle United forward Albert Luque
Former Newcastle forward Albert Luque
He may have scored for Newcastle United against Sunderland in a 4-1 derby day win at the Stadium of Light, but Spanish transfer flop Albert Luque has admitted he was never happy in his ill-fated spell on Tyneside.
The Magpies paid £9m to bring the then 27-year-old to St James' Park in 2005 under Graeme Souness, but the Spain international found the adjustment to life in the Premier League a tough one.
Injuries plagued his time with Newcastle, and he only managed three goals in 34 appearances over a two-year spell in England. Only one of those goals came in the Premier League, although it was a memorable one.
With United leading 3-1 against arch-rivals Sunderland at the Stadium Light, Luque faced on to a long ball clearance after some awful Black Cats defending to lift the ball over Kelvin Davis for the Magpies' fourth.
It proved to be the high point of a miserable spell at the club, and he was sold to Ajax for £8m in 2007, before heading back to Spain with Malaga.
Reflecting on his time with the Magpies, Luque admits that he made the switch to Tyneside without any knowledge of the club, and that injuries made it hard for him to show his abilities.
He told Spanish outlet AS: "There was a rift between Lendoiro and me, which is why I decided to go to Newcastle. I will always be very grateful to Depor, the entire city, and all the Deportivo fans, but playing for Barça was a dream, and when that dream didn’t come true, Newcastle came and I went there, without even knowing where the city or the players of that team were.
“I suffered the most serious injury of my career. A difficult team; a great squad, with Alan Shearer and Michael Owen.
“But their football was very direct, very physical, very different from Spanish football. It was hard for me to adapt. I was never happy there, and I don’t really remember that time, in terms of sports, with any particular fondness.”
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