11:47AM, Fri Nov 2, 2012

'To Manage Newcastle Would Be My Dream' - Faustino Asprilla

By Hugh Macknight Location: Colombia

Tino spoke exclusively to Sky Tyne and Wear from Colombia

Fans' favourite Faustino Asprilla wants to manage Newcastle United.

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Football maverick Tino, who was signed by Kevin Keegan for £6.7m in February 1996, plans to become an academy coach and said it was his dream to one day to be club manager.

As to whether the united hierachy would welcome the wayward former player is open to question.

The 42-year-old, who is studying for his coaching badges, captured Geordie hearts with a Champions League hattrick against Barcelona in 1997.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Tyne and Wear from Colombia, he praised Newcastle boss Alan Pardew and said the club and fans had become "like his family".

Tino said: "Alan Pardew has an amazing eye to spot talent and yet he hasn’t spent a great deal of money, so I think he is a top quality manager and one of the best in the Premier League.

"His best signing by far has been Demba Ba, because he was a free player and also what a player he is! Alan Pardew is a great manager because he thinks about the club, not just the team.

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Picture gallery

Tino is pictured with Colombian model Claudia Perlwitz during his farewell match at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellin, Colombia, in July 2009

"When I decided to come to Newcastle it was after I met Kevin Keegan, the way he spoke about the fans and the love he had for the club made me realize Newcastle United was like a big family and I wanted to be part of that.

"To manage Newcastle one day would be my dream, I am hoping to have conversations soon with Newcastle United because I would like to start coaching for them in the academy."

Tino was voted the sixth-best player in the world in 1996. The same year he was thrown off the Colombia World Cup squad for criticising his coach's tactics.

He quit international football in 2000 and played for minor clubs in Italy, Brazil, and Mexico, and won widespread publicity for his appearance in a reality TV series and a nude photo-shoot for a Brazilian magazine.

He almost did a deal to play for League 2 team Darlington as a favour to that club's chairman George Reynolds, a millionaire later jailed for tax evasion, before pulling out over contract details.

Read part two of our exclusive chat with Tino tomorrow.