HE has won an Argentinian league title, an Olympic gold medal and made more than 30 senior appearances for his country, but when Fabricio Coloccini leads Newcastle United into his first home derby with Sunderland as the club's captain on Sunday, he will experience one of the highlights of his career.

The 30-year-old has already been involved in five Tyne-Wear skirmishes, winning two, drawing two and losing one, but August's 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light was his first derby day as skipper.

Unlike some of his predecessors, most notably a certain centre-forward now plying his trade for Manchester United reserves, Coloccini gets what it means to be captain of the Magpies.

He relishes the responsibility that comes with the role, supporting the club's younger players, attending functions on behalf of his employers and generally representing Newcastle in a positive light.

Ultimately, though, the club's supporters want two things from their captain. The first is the sight of them lifting silverware. For now, that will have to wait. The second is a victory over Sunderland. So far, so good, with Coloccini hoping to maintain the goodwill generated by August's win on Wearside courtesy of another success.

“When we won the first game, people were stopping me in the street to tell me how pleased they were,” said the South American centre-half. “I am sure the same thing will happen again if we win this weekend.

“People tell me that if you are a winning captain against Sunderland, what you have achieved is never forgotten. I have won one game against them as captain – now I want to make it two.

“Getting to be captain of Newcastle is one of the best things that has happened in my career. It is not just that you are the captain for the rest of the players in the dressing room, you are also the captain for the whole of the club and the whole of the city. I suppose it is matches like this that show you just how important a position that is.

“I am very proud to be captain here, and I would love to be a captain that has won two matches against Sunderland in the same season. I know that would make the fans happy and it would make me happy too.”

Unsurprisingly, Coloccini has fond memories of Newcastle's most recent derby game at St James' Park, last season's 5-1 annihilation in which Kevin Nolan's hat-trick helped secure United's biggest win over Sunderland for more than half a century.

There has surely not been a better day in the whole of Coloccini's Magpies career, and while every derby brings its own unique atmosphere, the Argentinian accepts that by the final whistle, the result is the only thing that matters.

“I can still remember my first derby game very strongly,” he said. “People had told me what to expect, but the noise from the Newcastle fans was still something very special.

“The game has an atmosphere all of its own – it is almost like playing back in South America because it is so noisy and passionate. That is probably the best comparison I can make.

“It is nice to be able to play in a game like this, but it is only nice at the end if you win. Like always, that is the most important thing.”

So what are the prospects of Newcastle notching another success this weekend? They start in a higher league position, have only suffered two home defeats all season and should be able to field pretty much their strongest side, barring long-term injury victim Steven Taylor.

On the flip side, Sunderland have found their form under Martin O'Neill, winning ten of their 16 matches under the Northern Irishman, but Coloccini feels Newcastle's performances so far this season make them justified favourites.

“I have seen Sunderland a few times and they are starting to do well now,” he said. “They seem to have improved under their new manager. But we have been doing well all season and there is no reason at all why we should be worried about this game.

“We have had a great season, but it is not finished yet. There are still some big things we can achieve, and one of the biggest would be beating Sunderland again. It would be a special three points.”