Newcastle United skipper, Fabricio Coloccini was over the moon to lead his side to a Europa League spot next season, during his first term as the club’s captain.
The Argentinean International was given the captain’s armband before the start of the 2011/12 campaign, after former skipper Kevin Nolan’s transfer to West Ham United last summer.
The 30-year old has since stepped up to the responsibility, guiding his side to the fifth spot in the final league standings. Newcastle compiled 65 points out of the season, their best tally in eight years. Even though the Toon failed to secure a Champions
League berth next season, falling five points short of third ranked http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429, their impressive show in the league was nevertheless enough to earn them a Europa League spot.
Coloccini, who represented Newcastle in all but 3 league games during the previous season, remained the nucleus of the Magpies rearguard throughout the term. His remarkable performance did not go unnoticed as he was subsequently voted as a member of the
Professional Footballers’ Association top flight Team of the Year by his peers.
Nevertheless, the defender expressed his elation over his side’s remarkable show in the league.
He told the reporters, “I enjoyed it, especially because we got qualification for the Europa League. For me that was very important.”
Newcastle secured 19 wins in league matches in total during their 2011/12 campaign, and particularly remained a difficult team to beat at home, where they suffered only three defeats in the entire season.
And the Cordoba native was all praise for his side for showing consistency and making life difficult for the visiting teams at the Sports Direct Arena.
He continued, “Overall, it was a consistent season. I think a lot of teams found it tough to beat us and that was important. Next season, we'll try and do the same.”
Newcastle got off to a sensational start, compiling an eleven match unbeaten streak at the start of the season. Their first league defeat came against the Champions elect Manchester City in November at the Etihad Stadium. Even though they underwent a patchy
period midway through the season, their remarkable run-in allowed them finish ahead of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 in the league table.
Newcastle beat the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal during the last term, but the Magpies skipper felt that his side’s 3-0 triumph over the Red Devils was the club’s highlight of the season.
He added, “I think Man United at home was my favourite game. We played with our fans behind us and gave to them a 3-0 win and three points, so I think that was the highlight.”
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