Bruno Guimaraes admits he has imagined himself walking up the Wembley steps and lifting silverware.
Now, the Brazil international gets the chance to become the first captain to lift a trophy in 55 years. And if the Magpies can triumph over serial winners under the iconic Wembley Arch, it would mark their first major silverware since 1955, when Jimmy Scoular lifted the in front of the old Twin Towers.
Eddie Howe has always urged his players to envision success, including dreams of lifting the Carabao Cup.
"Do I picture lifting the cup? All the time," admits Guimaraes ahead of Sunday's Carabao Cup Final. "We celebrated beating and that night, the fans can get drunk, but then we move on to the next game. Lifting it now would be unbelievable.
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"Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn't think about it, in my first season as captain to lift a trophy for this club for the first time in a long, long time. Wow. It would be massive."
Despite the years of disappointment on Tyneside, he insists that he and his fellow players feel no pressure. Upon signing from Lyon for £40million, he told fans of his intention to finally bring trophies to the club - a sentiment that remains unchanged three years later.
When he arrived in January 2022, Newcastle were at the bottom of the and staring relegation in the face.
However, since the club has managed to avoid the drop three years ago, they have secured a fourth-place finish, participated in the and made it to two semi-finals and two finals.
Bruno, discussing the pressure, stated: "There's no pressure for us, no pressure. I've been here for three years and this is my second final. There's no pressure. I'm very happy and hopeful. If we win, the city will stop for us. It will be massive.
"When I signed for the club, I always said I wanted to put my name in the history books, and Wembley is another big step. Let's see."
Newcastle's performance in the 2023 Carabao Cup final was one of their poorest under Howe, with 33,000 travelling supporters witnessing a disappointing display. Guimaraes confessed he'd played poorly that day and left the field in tears after a 2-0 defeat to .
Will Newcastle be better for the experience?
"It's difficult to say but now we are getting used to finals. I think we have more experience now. In a 90-minute final, anything can happen; we have to be ready for this one. We're more used to it, a second time in three years is very good for the team. It's something we're getting used to and we're hopeful we can win this.
"It would be a fantastic achievement for the owners, the team, the fans and everyone in the city."
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