Under the stewardship of Peter Reid, the Black Cats secured back-to-back seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on European competition on both occasions.
But what happened to the players who turned out for Sunderland during such a memorable and enjoyable period in the club’s modern history?
Here, we take a look at where every player to have played for the club during the 99-00 and 00-01 campaigns are now:
1. Thomas Sorensen
In 2017, Sorensen announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 41. Now, the former Sunderland goalkeeper appears as a pundit on international TV and spends much of his time in Australia. Photo: Alex Livesey
2. Michael Gray
The former Sunderland defender is currently a pundit and appears regularly on television and radio Photo: Laurence Griffiths
3. Niall Quinn
Quinn now lives in Kildare in his homeland and occasionally appears as a television pundit Photo: Clive Brunskill
4. Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips is back in the North East and is managing non-league outfit South Shields. Photo: Michael Steele