Tyne-Wear derby: Where heroes are made in a moment

When matchday arrives, it’s no longer just about sporting adversariality: It’s about the North East holding its breath as pride, history, and identity collide for 90 fierce minutes of football.

NICE TOUCH: Sunderland hero Niall Quinn dances around Nikos Dabizas and Clarence Acuna of Newcastle in an FA Cup clash at the Stadium of Light. Pic: Stu Forster/Allsport

“What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes. It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.”

Bobby Robson in his autobiography, My Kind of Toon.