Michael Chopra Recalls “Devastation” Following Newcastle Debut Penalty Miss

Michael Chopra described his initial Newcastle debut as “a dream come true,” which quickly turned into a nightmare after he failed to convert his penalty during a shootout. During an appearance on the recent Total Sport Newcastle United podcast, Chopra stated: “It was amazing. I’d worked so hard to get to this point. I knew leading up to the game I was going to be on the bench – John Carver was telling me I had a great chance of featuring.” He continued, quoting: “I had all my family there watching, and to actually come on and play my first game in front of thousands of fans at St James’ Park wearing the black and white stripes – my dream had come true.” He added: “I’d go to sleep every night thinking when’s this chance going to happen. The sacrifices I’d made up until this point were worthwhile.” Chopra further explained: “It didn’t end up to be the right result I wanted. It went to a penalty shootout and being a Geordie and wanting to be a hero I put my hand up to take one – and I missed.” He recounted the aftermath: “In the changing room after, I was standing in the shower, devastated, crying my eyes out and I remember Alan [Shearer] came in and said ‘Chops don’t worry about it. What you’ve got is a lot of bottle. We’ve got players out there that we signed for 12 million and they didn’t want to take one – how do you think I felt when I missed against Sunderland?'” Chopra concluded his reflection on the incident, stating: “For him to come down from the box to the changing room and do that – it was a big thing for me. That was one of the things that stuck in my mind.” The complete episode is available for listening on BBC Sounds.