The stadium hosted Partizan in their first-ever UEFA Champions League, the 2003-04 edition. In the qualifiers they eliminated Bobby Robson's Newcastle United; losing 0–1 in Belgrade, but in rematch at St James' Park they won by Ivica Iliev's goal in regular time and reached the group stages after a penalty shoot-out. Despite being drawn in a tough group with Real Madrid (the previous year's Champions League semi-finalist), Porto (the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Cup and the eventual winner of the competition) and Marseille (the eventual runners-up of the 2003–04 UEFA Cup)., the stadium proved a tough ground for the opposition and the team did not lost a home game, playing out a 0–0 draw with Real Madrid's famous "Galácticos", which included players such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raúl and David Beckham; a 1–1 draw with Porto, led by coach José Mourinho; and Marseille, with its superstars Fabien Barthez and Didier Drogba, while playing some inspired football in the away matches at Madrid (0–1), Marseille (0–3) and Porto (1–2).