IT has not happened for seven decades, but Bruno Guimaraes admits he has spent a lot of the last month visualising the moment when he could become the first Newcastle United player to lift a trophy at Wembley since the 1950s.
Jimmy Scoular was the last Magpies captain to lift silverware after a Wembley final win, having skippered his side to victory in the 1955 FA Cup final.
Bob Moncur entered Newcastle folklore when he hoisted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup above his head in 1969, and Guimaraes has the chance to emulate both players when he wears the captain’s armband in this afternoon’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
It will take a huge collective effort for Eddie Howe’s side to beat the current Premier League leaders, but if they do, it will be Guimaraes’ job to receive the trophy and finally end 70 years of hurt on Tyneside.
“I have thought about it many times,” said the Brazilian midfielder. “Since we have got to the final, I have been thinking about it a lot.
“I don’t want to get too excited about it because we have to focus on the game first, and we know we will have to play a very good game to win. But, of course, I have been thinking about being in that place.”
Guimaraes was part of the side that failed to make history two years ago, when Newcastle suffered a 2-0 Carabao Cup final defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
Back then, the Magpies underperformed at Wembley as they were beaten by first-half goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.
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Five of the players that started that game are set to be back in the starting line-up this teatime, but Guimaraes is confident his side will be a completely different proposition with the experience of their last final appearance to fall back on.
“I feel the team is more confident now,” he said. “When you have been in a final before, you get more experience as a team. Of course, we have changed some players, but the base is still there.
“We are feeling confident, and we feel as though we are in a much better moment than we were when we were facing Man Utd in the final. We are hopeful we can go there and play our best football because, on our best day, I think we are really a great team.”
Newcastle lost to Liverpool at Anfield earlier this month, going down 2-0, but while Guimaraes respects Arne Slot’s side greatly, he is confident he and his team-mates can turn the tables at Wembley.
“It will be a good game against a top team,” he said. “In my opinion, they (Liverpool) are now the best team in the world. They have proven that in the Premier League, to be clear by 15 points.
“But to be honest, I would always prefer to play against good teams because they play, and that gives us the chance to play as well. We will have to be focused, and we have to think about us, what we can do as a team to surprise them and play our best football.”
