Newcastle fans are feeling alive again in Milan ahead of their Champions League return… and not even the rain can dampen their joy as Eddie Howe’s side are delayed due to travel disruption

At Milan’s Naviglio Grande, where the canal resembled the River Tyne, the bridges were decorated with black and white flags and 3,000 tenors sang about Sandro Tonali, you’ll find the “smallest bar in the world” hidden between the stone walls.

There are only four seats in Backdoor 43. The cobbled streets outside are now crowded with would-be guests. The juxtaposition illustrated the excitement surrounding Newcastle’s return to the Champions League after a 20-year absence – as the scramble for match tickets was as frantic as the fight for one of those barstools.

There are just as few taxis here. A rail strike combined with a thunderstorm and the hustle and bustle of Fashion Week meant that walking was often the only means of transport. However, the Toon Army will be happy to march the five miles from the city center to San Siro if travel chaos continues today.

It was here in 2003, the last time they played away in this competition. A crowd of 12,000 attended the 2-2 draw with Inter, in which Alan Shearer scored twice.

It was an iconic night in the club’s history and stories from back in the day were told in the canalside bars on Monday night. That is, they had once stopped sliding bare-bellied across flooded sidewalks.

Newcastle fans are in joyous mood as they celebrate in Milan ahead of their return to the Champions League

The Toon Army soaked up the atmosphere on the streets as they prepared for the game against AC Milan

“There was a ban on alcohol that day, so we all gathered in a square near the train station where some “local entrepreneurs” were throwing crates of beer off the back of a van,” recalls Chris Johnson, 38. “We were playing footballs.” around and it was great fun, no problems at all.

“It was different when we entered San Siro. I had a terrible view, so I went to some empty spaces behind the gate and wondered why they were vacant. We noticed it quickly. Within minutes everything was raining down on us: coins, bottles, flares, shit. The Milan fans were all over us, it was outrageous.

“We didn’t care when Shearer scored the goal to make it 2-1.” The whole place erupted. We thought we would get to the quarter-finals. Inter scored the equalizer and that killed us, we were eliminated in the next game. I never thought back then that it would take 20 years until there was an away game in the Champions League again. It felt like the beginning of something, not the end.”

But here is Newcastle, simply. The storms over northern Italy delayed their arrival in Milan by almost three hours. Their decision to train at home to avoid prying eyes at the San Siro backfired and disrupted preparations on the eve of such an important match. Eddie Howe was two hours late for his press conference and sources say the club is likely to face a UEFA warning before a ball has even been kicked.

Howe should have been talking about his first-ever participation in a Champions League game when he finally arrived at his media briefing at San Siro at 9pm last night.

“I think there was a weather problem,” he said. “We sat on the catwalk for quite a while. It can happen. It was a long day, an early start and a late finish. It’s a little later arrival time for the players than we would have liked, but it’s not a big deal.”

Milan’s build-up to the game was also not without problems. Manager Stefano Pioli felt the glare of the cameras as a power outage at the club’s training ground left him in the dark. Perhaps it was a welcome relief for him given the questions surrounding Milan’s 5-1 loss to Inter on Saturday.

The pink pages of La Gazzetta dello Sport spoke on Monday of “Milan in crisis”. “The derby could have a devastating psychological impact,” they noted. “Their speed and physicality were suddenly lost against Inter.”

Newcastle’s decision to train at home and avoid prying eyes at the San Siro backfired as they were delayed by almost three hours in Milan

Eddie Howe and his players were delayed due to a storm, which affected their preparations

Howe should have been speaking about his first ever Champions League game and the club could be penalized after he showed up two hours late to his press conference

But Newcastle was not spared either. “They are less scary than they were on draw day,” the editorial said. “They suffer too. They lost to Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton, proving that they are not worthy of the top pot.”

They were at least positive about the return of Tonali, who left Milan for £52m this summer. The newspaper described him as the threat to Newcastle.

In the cult Geordie series Goodbye Pet, the character Oz, played by Jimmy Nail, is upset when he learns that his estranged wife has a new Italian boyfriend from Milan.

“Who is this Sandro Gadgie?” he says in a clip that made the rounds on social media this week. Forty years later, it is now the men of Tyneside who are raving about Sandro from Milan, as her favorite canal song attests.

However, Tonali joined Howe at the San Siro press conference and revealed that the transition had not been easy.

Newcastle new signing Sandro Tonali has spoken about his difficulties adapting to life on Tyneside

“This summer was tough,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to find my place in Newcastle. “I was a little lost at first, but I got so much help from everyone.”

Not so helpful was his new team-mates’ advice to take his family to a Wetherspoons restaurant for tea, and this was a lighter moment here after he spoke about his early struggles.

“After the game against Aston Villa (5-1 win on the opening day), I asked about places to go with my family,” Tonali revealed. “I didn’t get the answer I expected.” “You don’t normally go to a pub with your family, but it was fun.”

As those on the canalside found out on Monday night, pubs sure are fun. But seeing their team perform in the Champions League after a two-decade absence is the real cause for cheer.

The group of death alongside PSG and Dortmund they may be, but for Newcastle supporters they suddenly feel alive again.