Fabricio Coloccini's Newcastle career breaks down into three very different phases.
He struggled in his first season as the club were relegated, then found his feet during promotion from the Championship.
The new club captain is North East player of year for 2011.
Colin Young asked the Argentina defender to give him three Spanish words that sum up each of those three periods of his life and career.
Phase One - Welcome to the Barclays Premier League
Ambicion - Ambition
On my first day I wanted to do well. I watched the squad and saw we have great players, big players. We had Owen, Martins, Duff, N'Zogbia, Beye, Geremi, a lot of good names, and Keegan was the manager. I thought: 'Why shouldn't we win a cup and qualify for Europe?'
Frustracion - Frustration
The first year was hard because I didn't know English football. It was very different to Spanish football. It is more physical, the game is quicker here and it is more tactical in Spain.
Here, it is attack, counter-attack, attack and you have more space because, when the team attack, it is with five, sometimes six players, so you have to defend with four. In Spain games are more defensive so there is more time to recover and you can go forward to press the striker and your full backs and partners come in to support.
The first few times I played for Newcastle, I went forward and then I'd look back and see a big hole and say: 'Whoa, look there, there is a problem.' For the fans to watch, English football is the best in the world. For a defender, if you had a choice, it would be Italian or Spanish football. But I prefer it here.
Tristeza - Sadness
Why? Because we went down. We had a lot of problems, four managers. It was hard for the squad and the club. We tried to do well and, when we were back home, we were sad because we'd lose or we couldn't do what we wanted. When I knew the atmosphere was not good, that was hard.
Earning his spurs: Coloccini scores against Tottenham
Phase Two - Promotion
Tranquilidad - Calmness
First you worry and then you say: 'OK, relax.' I was worried because we went down, then it was the relief of going back up and knowing the whole plan came together. I didn't think about leaving. We all had the chance but this was not my first option.
I came here because I had always wanted to play in England. When we were relegated, in my head, I wanted to come back to the Premier League with Newcastle, for everyone - for the fans, for the players and the staff.
I didn't want people to look back on my career and say: 'You were relegated from the Premier League with Newcastle, perhaps you were not a very good player.' I wanted to put that right and I knew I had to stay.
Aprendizaje - Learning
It was about learning about the league, learning about England and learning about football here. Everything. In the Championship it is more physical and the difference when you make a mistake in the Premier League is that you are punished, but in the Championship you can make a mistake and may get away with it and not concede a goal. That season helped me. I had to work to be stronger and improve in English football. It was a great experience and it helped me a lot because now maybe I am stronger than when I first came.
Diversion - Fun
It was good. When you win you can enjoy football and life more. We went to some different stadiums and we kept winning - and we did enjoy it, and so did the fans.
Team spirit: Coloccini and Steven Taylor (right) at Manchester United
Phase Three - Return to the Premier League
Crecimiento - Growth
I have grown up as a footballer and as a person. But everything around has grown too; the club, the level of the team on the pitch, the staff, and upstairs, the boss, who is trying to do the right things. The new signings are exciting and they have settled in, which is one of the key things.
The club have invested well. You can sign a player and find they are not suited to English football. It is very different compared to when I came. The atmosphere at the club is fantastic. In the changing room you have people who are champions and when you have that you push in one direction, and it shows on the pitch.
Regularidad - Consistency
It is no good to play really well in one game and then not in the next. It is about consistency. I won't change because I am captain. I am the same man in the changing room and on the pitch but I enjoy it more because we try to play football more than other years. Sometimes, when we can't play well, we have to play directly and we do that but teams know we can play with the ball on the floor.
Sueños - Dreams
The dream is putting Newcastle at the top level. But that is not for today, or this year, but looking forward. We need to keep at this level all season and then maybe we can think about other things. Of course, it would be nice to be the first captain to lift a cup for Newcastle in such a long time. But maybe we have to put our dreams not too high. Now we are growing up and improving and we want to get to 40-45 points and then we can dream of better things.
