Colin Alcide
UEFA Cup (2004/05)
Remember how you were surprised when Carlo Sertori popped up in a previous article? Well, here’s another shock. Alcide made an unexpected appearance in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup with Welsh side The New Saints, facing Swedish outfit Östers IF. It was a remarkable chapter in a career that had largely been spent in the English lower leagues, known more for his physicality and presence than European pedigree.
Alcide is best remembered at Lincoln City for his time under John Beck, where his powerful style made him a fan favourite in the mid-to-late 1990s. His brief UEFA Cup cameo years later may have been a surprise to some, but it means the hard-running striker joins the list of Imps alumni to have played on the continental stage.
Darren Huckerby
UEFA Cup (1999/2000, 2000/01)
Kit friends!
If Alcide was a surprise, nobody will be shocked at this entry. Huckerby enjoyed two successive UEFA Cup campaigns with Leeds United at the turn of the millennium, playing alongside talents like Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka. He memorably scored in a 6–1 demolition of Beşiktaş during the 2000/01 campaign.
Huckerby’s early playing days, however, included a loan spell with Lincoln City during the 1994/95 season, when he was still finding his feet in the professional game. While his time at Sincil Bank was brief, he caught the eye of Newcastle United and was whisked away.
Huckerby went on to become a Premier League regular and earned England B honours. His performances in Europe helped Leeds reach the latter stages of the competition and added a continental highlight to a career that would later see him become a cult hero at clubs like Norwich City and Manchester City.