Former Leeds United defender Dominic Matteo believes the relationship his Whites side had with the United fans 'will never be seen again in football'.
The Scotland international was a part of the Leeds team which blazed through into the Champions League semi-finals the 2000-01 campaign, playing some of the most exciting football in Europe before they their over-spending caught up with them, sending them on a decline that the club is still to recover from.
Matteo signed for Leeds from Liverpool in 2000 and despite an eight-year stint at Anfield, plus spells at Blackburn and Stoke, says nothing compares to the connection he felt with fans at Elland Road.
Recounting his famous goal against AC Milan at the San Siro which took place 18 years ago today and secured Leeds' passage out of the first group stage in the Champions League, Matteo told the Undr the Cosh podcast about a post-match singalong he and his team-mates had with the travelling fans who stayed back in the stadium.
"The Leeds fans on that night... I've seen a lot of things in football but I've never seen a relationship between players and fans.
"We were on the pitch for an hour after the game having a sing song. They'd sing a song, select a player, we'd sing a song or whatever and it was just back and forth. Mainly it was Gary Kelly singing songs with the fans.
"I don't think you'll ever see that again in football.
"It was a crazy night. We were drinking beer on the pitch. Imagine that now, Champions League, we've got cans of lager on the pitch having a bit of a sing song. It was nice to do that.
"An iconic night for the club."
Matteo also admitted that playing at the San Siro was not quite the experience that the young Leeds side were expecting.
"When you play in those stadiums when you get in the dressing room, it's not what you think," he continued. "It's proper old school. It's not plush. It's not really that nice. It's just vast
"We trained on it the night before, the pitch was rubbish."
Matteo's goal at the San Siro is still sung about at Elland Road to this day and was the high point of the Dumfries-born player, who remained at Elland Road until the club were relegated in 2004, wearing the captain's armband during his last two seasons at the club.
