Sunderland's long-awaited return to European football arrives on Wednesday night, with captain Granit Xhaka promising passion and intensity as the Stadium of Light hosts AZ Alkmaar in the club's opening Europa League fixture.
The last time Sunderland competed in continental competition was in 1973, during a European Cup Winners' Cup campaign against Vasas of Budapest that was partly motivated by the need to fund floodlight upgrades at Roker Park. That tie, played amid industrial unrest and financial hardship on Wearside, drew a modest crowd of under 23,000 despite a 3-0 aggregate win sealed by a Dennis Tueart penalty. Sunderland's European run that season ended in a narrow aggregate defeat to Sporting Lisbon, with club officials reportedly falling victim to pickpockets during the trip.
More than five decades later, the picture looks markedly different. Around 49,000 supporters are expected to fill the Stadium of Light for the visit of AZ, who have won five and drawn one of their opening Eredivisie fixtures this season. The match will be broadcast globally in high definition, a far cry from the black-and-white transmissions of 1973.
Xhaka, who has featured in two losing Europa League finals during spells at Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen, is eager to add a different chapter to his European résumé with Sunderland. "The stadium will be on fire," the 33-year-old Switzerland international said. "And I want to see our players on fire, on and off the ball. I've always been a dreamer and, for me, it's a big, big dream to reach another European final and to get it with this club."
Sunderland's qualification for Europe followed a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season, a campaign that culminated in a win over Chelsea at the Stadium of Light. That result prompted Xhaka to declare on the pitch afterwards: "This is just the beginning; we want more." His commitment to the project was further underlined by his decision to reject interest from former Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, who wanted to bring him to Chelsea this summer.
Manager Régis Le Bris, who has risen from coaching academy football at Lorient to leading Sunderland into Europe, said the club's progress reflects the players' effort rather than luck. "It's a privilege to be here," Le Bris said. "I'm proud but we've earned it, the players worked very hard last season. Now we have a good opportunity and it's important to go all in. We want to be strong in both the Premier League and Europe. The players are looking forward to facing AZ; they're excited. They want to be involved in this competition."
Le Bris's connection with playmaker Enzo Le Fée dates back 14 years, to when the Frenchman coached him as a 12-year-old in Brittany. That relationship now continues on a much bigger stage, with Sunderland's squad boasting several players with prior European pedigree, including Nordi Mukiele, Reinildo, Omar Alderete, Noah Sadiki, Le Fée, Brian Brobbey and Xhaka himself.
The club's rise has been rapid. Just five seasons ago, defender Luke O'Nien was playing League One football against the likes of Accrington Stanley and Fleetwood. Now he is part of a squad preparing for continental fixtures, including a trip to the San Siro in December — a fixture that has already inspired "Mackem in Milan" t-shirts among fans, retiring Newcastle supporters' old taunt about never seeing a Mackem in Milan.
Under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the club hopes this European return will be the first of many rather than a one-off. Xhaka, for his part, believes the dressing-room atmosphere gives Sunderland a genuine chance. "To succeed in Europe you need energy in the dressing room, and that is what we have," he said. "If you don't have this desire, this hunger, this mentality to compete every single day, forget about this level. But this team has it... I'm very positive and optimistic that we can go very far in this competition."
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.