Arnold Bruggink still harks back to his only season under Sir Bobby Robson at perennial Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and smiles in disbelief.
The then awestruck teenager, who would go on to establish himself as one of the club's most successful exports, says he learned more during that year than many professionals glean in a lifetime.
And, as returning legend Robson plots his route from hero to villain under the lights of the Philips Stadion tonight, Bruggink refuses to bet against his former club falling prey to Newcastle's wily manager.
Holed up in a secluded bar on the outskirts of Palma, Mallorca, the Dutch international will watch a potentially thrilling Uefa Cup quarter-final clash unravel with a fascination and envy.
Denied an emotional return to the club he quit last summer by a rampant United side, Bruggink will be roaring on the red and whites. Yet a player who has witnessed the Magpies' European march at first hand this season fears PSV could perish in the face of Newcastle's passion. "In many ways this tie is too close to call and Eindhoven will probably fancy their chances against English opposition," explained a member of the PSV squad which completed the double over Kenny Dalglish's Champions League virgins.
"But I love United as an attacking force and they are quite formidable going forward. You cannot simply concentrate on Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy - although they complement each other perfectly - because there is Laurent Robert to worry about too.
"I don't think I have seen a player with a fiercer left foot this season. His shots and crosses were incredible in the two matches against Mallorca and we didn't know how to stop him."
Bruggink missed Mallorca's 4-1 drubbing at St James's Park but returned to the Real side last month only to see Newcastle complete a crushing 7-1 aggregate victory. That wet Balearic night proved a chastening experience for a player who sought pastures new after six years with 2003 Dutch champions PSV, but the powerful forward has not been alone in his suffering this season.
"My old club might be second in the league but the chance to win the title was lost some time ago," added Bruggink.
"Ajax are clear leaders this season and although it won't be a disaster if PSV are runners-up it is not what their supporters expect.
"Qualification for the Champions League is the main aim but the fans see the Dutch title as their right. Normally PSV are in the hunt until the final day of the season but that won't happen this year."
If Newcastle are to be spared Chelsea-bound Robben from the start - the winger is expected to be named as a substitute tonight - then United need look no further than Hiddink's high-profile strikeforce for evidence of the enormity of their task on Dutch soil.
Mateja Kezman and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink fuse goal-poaching prowess with obstinate power and both scored in front of the Magpies' scouts who made the trip to Waalwijk last weekend.
The duo's undoubted prowess in front of goal is just one of the reasons why the popular Bruggink waved goodbye to the Philips Stadion and he added: "Both players can cause Newcastle problems.
"Kezman scores the majority of his goals in the six-yard area. He is one of those players who is in the right place at the right time and he rarely misses. Vennegoor of Hesselink is different altogether. He is the battering ram."
PSV have crashed out at the quarter-final stage of the Uefa Cup in each of the previous two seasons and Hiddink is under pressure to remedy that situation.
Bruggink believes the Dutch national team boss could wreck Newcastle's European dream but he added: "A lot will depend on the form and fitness of PSV's key quartet.
"Goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus, centre- half Wilfred Bouma, midfielder Marc van Bommel and Kezman are the spine of the team and when they play then PSV play. United will have to be at their best to make the semi-finals."
