Former Newcastle United defender Alain Goma has opened up on the passion he experienced from the Magpies' 'amazing' fans.
The French defender joined Newcastle in 1999 from PSG and enjoyed the best part of two seasons on Tyneside under Ruud Gullit and Sir Bobby Robson.
The French international helped the Magpies reach the FA Cup semi-finals in his first season at the club but his time at Newcastle ended sourly when he left to join Fulham following a dispute with the club.
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Nonetheless, the former Auxerre defender still has fond memories of his brief spell in the North East.
"The people were amazing when I moved to the North East," Goma told Fulham Focus.
"They are passionate about football, which is their main distraction.
"Moving to London was a revival. I discovered a fantastic city, vibrant, multicultural, and one that I fell in love with."
Goma joined Fulham for a club record fee in March 2001 and later became club captain as he helped establish the Cottagers as a Premier League outfit.
"It came at a time when I was not feeling well," Goma said of his Newcastle departure.
"I was not fully fit and the team was not doing great. I started questioning the training methods, which led to a fall out with the manager.
"The week after, I was given permission to discuss a move with Fulham as they had made some enquires about me. I had a long conversation with Jean Tigana and it didn’t take long for me to make my decision."
You can read the full interview with Fulham Focus, here.
