WHEN Newcastle United take on the might of Barcelona in the Champions League tonight, Sir Bobby Robson will be hoping his title-chasing players don't suffer from post-Barca syndrome.

That is exactly what happened to former Magpies star Faustino Asprilla following his heroic night at St. James' Park back in September 1997.

The controversial Colombian wooed the Geordie faithful with a superb hat-trick over the Catalan giants - goals which proved enough to claim an historic 3-2 victory for Kenny Dalglish's side.

But that triple blast was Asprilla's final goals in a black and white shirt. And ever since that famous night his career has gone in to freefall.

Later that season the South American star was sold for £6m to Parma, but was never able to reproduce the form he showed on that memorable occasion on Tyneside. In fact his career could not really have got any worse.

He is now in the process of kick-starting his final few years as a professional footballer at Universidad de Chile, where he looks likely to finish his playing days.

Last August he admitted he was contemplating bringing the curtain down on his high-profile career, but then had a sudden U-turn and looked all set to sign for Third Division Darlington.

But the much-travelled striker - he has also played for Palmeiras, Fluminese, Atlante and Atletico Nacional - went AWOL after he was understood to have agreed personal terms with Quakers chairman George Reynolds.

Asprilla then turned down the chance to link up with former World Player of the Year George Weah at United Arab Emirates side Al-Jazira and he returned to his homeland in search of employment. Instead, though, he signed for Chilean club Universidad and he is still hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Last weekend he was sent off in the 0-0 draw with Colo Colo; was the subject of racist chants from the crowd; and after the match accused the referee of being heavy-handed with him.

He said: "The players of Colo Colo were more concerned with fouling me than playing football and the referee threatened to send me off from the first minute."

But when he concentrates on his football, Asprilla believes he is playing alongside a player he regards of similar ilk to Newcastle's in-form Alan Shearer.

"I think Mauricio Pinilla is the kind of player that can play in any European team, especially in English football," said the 32-year-old.

"I would like to see him playing there, where I had Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand as teammates and they are very like Pinilla in the way they play."

One thing for sure is that Robson will be keeping his fingers crossed that Shearer's career does not follow the same path as Asprilla after this evening's crunch Champions League qualifier at home to Barcelona. Although it is fair to say the Newcastle boss would be quite happy to see his skipper repeat the Colombian's sensational hat-trick against the Spanish giants.