Ex-Sunderland star opens up on 'brave' 2004 transfer from Newcastle United

Former Sunderland defender Steven Caldwell has reflected on the decision to join the Black Cats from bitter rivals Newcastle United, suggesting that it was a “brave choice” that ultimately paid off.

The Scot became the first player to cross the Wear-Tyne divide since the turn of the millennium when he departed St. James’ Park for the Stadium of Light in 2004, and would go on to cement his name in Mackem lore when he scored a winning goal against Leicester City to seal promotion and Sunderland’s return to the Premier League the following year.

Reflecting on the call to swap black and white for red and white, Caldwell told RG: “It was a brave choice, but I wanted to join a big club in the Championship. I wanted to join a team where I could achieve promotion and stay in north east England. I love that area and how passionate the people are about football.

“I'm probably the only person in the world who loves both Sunderland and Newcastle the same amount - they’re both tremendous football clubs. I got a bit of stick from Newcastle fans but nothing too serious, and in fairness, they understood that I wanted to be playing 40-50 games a season and respected my decision. I’ve been back to St. James’ Park many times and always get a brilliant reaction from Newcastle fans.”

Addressing his subsequent role in Sunderland’s promotion, he added: “We were in a tight fight with Ipswich and Wigan for the top two promotion spots, and we went on our best run at the most important time, winning 11 of our last 13 league matches.

“When it came to that Leicester game, it was still in the balance. We were drawing 1-1 and not playing well, but to score the decisive goal was amazing. I’m very proud to have a significant role in Sunderland’s history. It was one of my proudest moments Out of all the 16 goals I scored in my career, it was by far the most important.”

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Caldwell would go on to earn promotion from the Championship again later in his career, helping Burnley to achieve top flight football for the first time in 33 years via the 2009 play-offs. Speaking about his time at Turf Moor, he added: “There was always an expectation for Sunderland to achieve promotion, but there was no expectation whatsoever at Burnley. You felt the same spirit and momentum throughout the season, and at the start of the new year, we started to believe we were capable of achieving this.

“We played a lot of games and had a tight core group, and the confidence was high. To play a final at Wembley with 90,000 people watching was a dream of mine… I’m very proud to have achieved that at Burnley, a club that never dreamt of being at that stage until my team did it.”

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