Under the stewardship of Peter Reid, the Black Cats secured back-to-back seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on European competition on both occasions.
But what happened to the players who turned out for Sunderland during such a memorable and enjoyable period in the club’s modern history?
Here, we take a look at where every player to have played for the club during the 99-00 and 00-01 campaigns are now:
5. Chris Makin
Makin retired from football after failing to overcome a hip injury in 2010 and has appeared as a television pundit in the middle east since Photo: Alex Livesey
6. Paul Butler
Butler was most recently a player at League Two side Chester City in 2009, where he also had spells as captain and assistant manager. However, Butler doesn't appear to be involved in top-level football at the moment. Photo: Alex Livesey
7. Alex Rae
Rae was appointed as manager of Scottish Championship side St Mirren in December 2015. However, after an unsuccessful start to the 2016-17 season, Rae and his assistant David Farrell were sacked by the club. Rae is now Rae assistant manager at Reading Photo: Graham Chadwick
8. Stefan Schwarz
Schwarz retired from playing in 2003 but does not appear to be involved in top-level football at the moment. Photo: Mark Thompson