Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough FC

Middlesbrough F.C. crest
Full name	Middlesbrough Football Club
Nickname(s)	Boro
Founded	1876
Ground	Riverside Stadium Middlesbrough England
Capacity	35,049
Chairman	Steve Gibson
Manager	Gareth Southgate
League	FA Premier League
2005-06	Premier League, 14th
Home colours Away colours

Middlesbrough Football Club are an English football club, commonly known as The Boro, that currently plays in the FA Premier League. The team plays at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough, North-East England. The current manager is Gareth Southgate who was appointed on June 7, 2006 by current chairman of the club Steve Gibson. The official mascot is Roary the Lion. Middlesbrough won the League Cup in 2004, the club's first major trophy since its formation in 1876.

History

Formation and foundation (1876 to 1919)

Middlesbrough F.C was first formed by Middlesbrough Cricket team players who needed to stay fit during the winter. Shortly before turning professional in 1899, several members of Middlesbrough FC split to form Middlesbrough Ironopolis. Both teams made their debuts as professional teams within a week of each other in December 1899. After three years it was clear that both clubs were becoming more successful and club officials knew that only an amalgamation would give them a serious chance of a place in the Football League. On 7th May 1892 an application was made to the FL under the name of Middlesbrough and Ironopolis Football and Athletic Company Ltd. The application failed and both clubs went their separate ways once more, as Middlesbrough FC reverted to their amateur status. They won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The following year, 1899, MFC turned professional again in an attempt to gain entry to the Football League, and on 18th May 1899, backed by local neighbours Newcastle United and Sunderland, they were admitted to the Second Division, narrowly ahead of Blackpool.

Boro’s first season in the FL was not a success, as they failed to win an away game, finishing 14th out of 18 teams. The 1901-02 campaign saw Boro finish 2nd, to gain promotion to the First Division, where they would play their home games in their new ground, Ayresome Park, with a North Stand designed by Archibald Leitch, that would be their home for the next 92 years.

By February 1905, Boro had not won an away game for two years, and in an attempt to remedy this the board sanctioned the controversial transfer of Alf Common for a then record fee of £1000. The following season, Steve Bloomer arrived from Derby County, and by 1907-08 Boro had secured their highest finish in the top division, finishing sixth, just two points behind champions Aston Villa.

National scandal was to follow in 1910, when Boro defeated local rivals Sunderland 1-0. It was to emerge after the match that Boro manager Andy Walker had offered Sunderland’s players the sum of £2 each to let Boro win the game. The Sunderland players told their manager and he took it further. Walker was given an indefinite suspension from the FL, and Middlesbrough’s season petered out to a drab conclusion. Four years later, Middlesbrough enjoyed their highest finish to date, as they ended the 1913-14 season in third place, before the First World War intervened.

Mannion, Hardwick and a missed opportunity (1919-1946)

Many believe that the record of third place would have been beaten if it was not for the outbreak of World War II, in the final season before the war Middlesbrough finished 3rd in the first division with an excellent young team that included England Captain George Hardwick and the legendary Wilf Mannion. The following season Middlesbrough were heavily tipped to challenge for the Championship and along with Everton F.C. were the favourites to win the title, sadly that great team never saw its best years as World War II intervened and deprived the people of Middlesbrough of seeing if their team was capable of being champions of England.

The post-war years (1947 - 1972)

Some seven years later after the war had ended the team, although still very good, had lost a number of its players to retirement. The club still managed to finish sixth in the 1950-51 season but many people felt that the Middlesbrough teams best years had been lost to the war. In 1954 the club was relegated from the first division for the first time in 25 years. They would not return to the top flight of English football until former World Cup winner Jack Charlton became the manager.

Return to the top... and near oblivion (1973 - 1986)

Jack Charlton was appointed manager of Middlesbrough in May 1973, replacing Stan Anderson, and in his first season led Boro to the Second Division Championship, by a then record points margin, guaranteeing promotion as early as March 23rd 1974. In their first season back in the top flight, Boro finished a credible seventh, and missed out on European football by just one position.

Boro were relegated back to the Second Division in 1982, but the club's lowest ebb came in 1986 when they were relegated to the Third Division and found themselves in a financial crisis which looked likely to cause bankruptcy. The bailiffs even locked the club out of Ayresome Park and they had to play their first home game of the 1986-87 season at Hartlepool United F.C.'s Victoria Park. Lifelong fan and Teesside businessman, Steve Gibson, then came along and saved the club with a takeover deal involving Bulkhaul Limited, Imperial Chemical Industries and Scottish and Newcastle Breweries. Gibson was founder and chairman of Bulkhaul Limited, which was established in 1981 and is dedicated to the global transportation of bulk liquids, powders and gasses. He has often been seen as a fan funding his passion, rather than a businessman working for profit. This meant that the fans were quickly won over and he continues to be held in the highest regard by the fans of his club.

Rioch revival... and more ups and downs (1986 - 1994)

Manager Bruce Rioch and his players pulled together after the takeover and finished second in the Third Division behind A.F.C. Bournemouth to win automatic promotion to the Second Division. A year later they won the Second Division promotion/First Division relegation playoffs, after defeating First Division Chelsea to send them down, and achieved a second successive promotion which landed them in the First Division.

Middlesbrough endured a difficult time in 1988-89 and spent the whole season fighting a battle against relegation which was eventually lost on the final day. Their dismal form continued into the following season and a second successive relegation looked on the cards. Rioch was subsequently dismissed in March 1990 and his successor Colin Todd just managed to save Boro from the drop. The same season saw Middlesbrough play in their first Wembley cup final, suffering a 0-2 defeat to Chelsea in the Zenith Data Systems Cup. The team was led out at Wembley by an unfit Tony Mowbray.

1990-91 saw Boro's form improve substantially and a seventh place finish was enough to qualify for the playoffs - this time four promotion places were up for grabs because the First Division was re-expanding to 22 clubs for the 1991-92 season. But the promotion dream was ended in the semi-finals when Boro lost to eventual playoff winners Notts County. Todd left soon afterwards and was succeeded by Charlton's Lennie Lawrence.

Lawrence's first season at the helm was a success, with Boro reaching the League Cup semi finals for the second time and most significantly finishing runners-up in the Second Division - booking their place in the inaugural Premier League.

Boro were mid table in the Premiership come Christmas 1992, but a run of seven defeats beginning in February dragged them down the table and they were relegated after losing their penultimate game of the season. The board kept faith in Lawrence but he resigned a year later after failing to achieve promotion back to the Premiership.

Robson revolution (1994 - 2001)

Lawrence's successor was 37-year-old player-manager Bryan Robson, who had just ended an illustrious 13-year playing career with Manchester United F.C. and was a former England captain. His first season was a great success as Boro lifted the Division One title and were promoted back to the Premiership after a two-year exile. 1994-95 was the club's last season at Ayresome Park, from which they were relocating after 92 years to their new home at the Riverside Stadium on the banks of the River Tees.

Boro went on a massive spending spree after their promotion to the Premiership, paying £5.25million for 21-year-old Tottenham Hotspur F.C. winger Nick Barmby and £4.75million for 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder Juninho Paulista. The policy looked to have paid off as Boro stood fourth in the Premiership in October, but a terrible run of form followed and they slid to 12th place in the final table. Boro's dismal away form - just 8 goals in 19 games - also helped end their dreams of European football.

Robson paid £7m for Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and £4m for Brazilian midfielder Emerson during the summer of 1996, but Boro spent the season battling relegation instead of chasing a top-five finish. Their difficult task was compouded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas, as punishment for the club's failure to fulfill a fixture against Blackburn Rovers F.C.. The club's explanation was that so many squad members had been hit by a flu virus that it could not field a competitive team; however the Football Association rejected this explanation after originally telling the team to do this saying that they would not be punished, effectively a backstab by the FA.

Meanwhile, Boro were building up an impressive cup run and reached the first senior cup final of their history in March, where they faced Leicester City F.C. in the League Cup. The deadlock was not broken until extra time, when Fabrizio Ravanelli's goal looked to have secured the trophy for Boro. But Leicester then scored an equaliser and went on to win the replay, through a goal from Steve Claridge.

Boro's three point deduction eventually cost them their Premiership status and they were relegated on the final day of the season after a draw at Elland Road. A week later they lost 2-0 to Chelsea F.C. in the FA Cup final and became the first English club to lose both major cup finals and be relegated from the top division in the same season.

The board kept faith in Robson and they were rewarded with promotion back to the Premiership as Division One runners-up the following season. During this period, Robson also acted as a coach to the England team under Terry Venables. Two more secure mid-table finishes followed, but Boro found themselves battling relegation come the 2000-01 season. Venables was appointed to work alongside Robson and they comfortably avoided the drop.

Reaching new heights under McClaren (2001 - 2006)

In the 2001 close season, Robson left the club by mutual agreement and was replaced by Steve McClaren - the Manchester United F.C. assistant manager who was regarded as one of the finest coaches in Europe and was also one of the most prominent coaches in the England team. His first season saw Boro finish 12th in the Premiership and reach the FA Cup semi finals.

An 11th place finish followed in 2002-03, a marginal improvement on the previous season's finish but slightly disappointing considering Middlesbrough's early season form suggested that they could qualify for Europe.

The following season, 2003-04, was easily the best in the club's history as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton Wanderers F.C. 2-1 in the League Cup final. This success also ensured that Boro would qualify for Europe - the UEFA Cup - for the first time.

They reached the last 16 of the competition and started the season very well, hovering around the top six until November, but a horrendous number of injuries almost sucked them into mid-table and out of the UEFA-cup qualifying places. UEFA cup qualification was eventually achieved after a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. If City had won then they would have qualified in Boro's place, and they almost made it when they where awarded a penalty kick in the final minute, but Mark Schwarzer saved Robbie Fowler's spot kick.

File:Boro Eindhoven.jpg

Supporters at the UEFA Cup Final

2005-06 was a mixed season for Middlesbrough. Dismal mid-season form saw them sucked into the bottom half of the Premiership, and at one stage they looked in real danger of being relegated (notably after their 7-0 loss to Arsenal FC), although a subsequent recovery — which included a 3-0 win over eventual champions Chelsea — saw them finish fourteenth. In McClaren's last Premiership game against Fulham F.C., Steve picked an all English 16 with 15 of the players (except Malcolm Christie) coming from the local area and the average age of the team was less than 20, Lee Cattermole was the captain for that match making himself Middlesbrough's youngest ever captain of the first team.

On 27 April 2006, Middlesbrough reached the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, with a victory over FC Steaua Bucureşti 4-3 on aggregate in stunning fashion, being 3-0 down on aggregate after 25 minutes of the second leg. This was the second time in the competition that 'Boro found themselves 3-0 down after 25 mins of the return leg and yet still going through as they beat FC Basel 4-3 in the Quarter Finals. On 4 May, McClaren was chosen to take over as the manager of the England national team after the 2006 World Cup. Martin O'Neill, Tony Mowbray and Alan Curbishley had been linked with the manager's job at Middlesbrough, with Steve Gibson expecting whoever took over to achieve a Champions League place in the near future.

Boro fans watched from the stands as their Middlesbrough team lost 4-0 in the final to Sevilla FC. Trailing Sevilla 0-1 at the break, McClaren opted for a very attacking line-up for the second half with four strikers, which had worked to great effect in the quarter and semi-finals. Middlesbrough were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after what looked like a rather clumsy shove on Mark Viduka in the box. Nevertheless, Middlesbrough were forced to push on in desperate search of an equaliser, and as a result conceded three goals in the last 10 minutes. Whilst playing in European matches, a popular chant amongs fans was 'Just a small town in Europe'

Southgate takes over (2006 - present)

Template:Current sport section To replace Steve McClaren, Chairman Gibson began the search for a new manager. Martin O'Neill, Terry Venables and Alan Curbishley were all candidates for the job, but for numerous reasons they were decided against being appointed to the job. Gibson then looked within his own club and decided to make club captain Gareth Southgate the next manager of Middlesbrough F.C. Southgate signed a five-year contract and decided to finish his playing career, at the age of 35, to focus entirely on his new job. This made him the second youngest manager in the Premiership at the time. His appointment was controversial as he does not currently possess the coaching qualifications required to manage a Premiership football club. However, at a Premier League meeting on November 22, 2006, Southgate was granted a dispensation to continue in his role until the end of the season, during which time it was announced that he will study for the Uefa Pro A Licence.

George Boateng whom Southgate has known and played with for several years, was appointed captain. Several players, including Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Franck Queudrue and Doriva left the club in the summer while left sided Argentine Julio Arca was signed from local rivals Sunderland A.F.C for a fee of £1.75m, and young Frenchman Herold Goulon from Olympic Lyon on a three year deal.

Southgate's competitive debut started with a 3-2 defeat to newly promoted Reading, despite his team taking an early 2-0 lead and controversially having a goal disallowed. After a 4-0 loss against Portsmouth, Southgate signed two international defenders to strengthen up his backline. England international Jonathan Woodgate joined his home-town team on loan from Real Madrid, Chelsea's German international centreback Robert Huth, and Charlton Athletic's Jamaican international striker Jason Euell were all signed in the closing days of the transfer window.

First Team coach Steve Round left the club on 15 December 2006 following a "difference in philosophy and ideas" with Gareth Southgate, and was replaced by Colin Cooper.[1]

Lee Dong-Gook arrived from Pohang Steelers in the January transfer window, while Ray Parlour, Ugo Ehiogu and Massimo Maccarone all left the club for free.

Middlesbrough have won nine, drawn nine and lost eleven of their twenty-nine Premiership games so far in 2006-07, including a surprising home victory over reigning Premier League Champions Chelsea. The team have also lost away from home to all three newly promoted Premiership sides this season. They registered their first away win of the season at struggling Charlton in mid-January, their first away win since April of the year before. They comprehensively beat Bolton 5-1 at home in January, their biggest victory of the season so far. Middlesbrough currently lie 12th in the table with 36 points from 29 games - slightly better than last season, but their dismal form in the early part of the season has prevented them from attaining an even higher position.

In the cups, Boro suffered an embarrassing home defeat in the Carling Cup to Football League Two side Notts County in the second round. They drew 1-1 at Hull in the FA Cup, with the replay resulting in an exciting 4-3 win. A 2-2 draw with Bristol City followed, setting up another exciting replay. It was a nerve-wrecking 2-2 draw, with Boro winning 5-4 on penalties, setting up a tie at the Riverside with former player Tony Mowbray's West Brom, a game which itself ended 2-2 and going to another replay at The Hawthorns. Once again the replay resulted in a Middlesbrough victory via penalties, after a 1-1 draw in normal time, setting up a tie with Manchester United in the quarter finals. The final result, 2-2 set up another replay, as Middlesbrough came from behind to be leading 2-1, before George Boateng conceded a penalty for handball. Cristiano Ronaldo struck from the spot to force a replay, which saw another Ronaldo penalty win the game for United 1-0 and end Boros run.

Boro went unbeaten for the first eight games of 2007 with four wins and four draws in league and cup competitions, before it ended at Stamford Bridge with a 3-0 defeat.

Stadium

File:With gates.jpg

Riverside Stadum 2006

Main article: Riverside Stadium

Middlesbrough originally played at Linthorpe Road, before entry to the Football League forced them to move to an improved stadium and Ayresome Park was built for the start of the 1903 season. This was their home for the next 92 years until the Riverside Stadium was built in 1995 in the wake of the Taylor Report, which called for all major stadia to be all-seater. The Riverside Stadium was named by the supporters of the club after a vote.

Supporters

Middlesbrough fans can be found all over the world, in places as far apart as Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sleaford and New York, and have supporters clubs in all of these places, as branches of the Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club, which features its own team in the local football league.

Traditionally supporters come from Middlesbrough itself and the immediate towns of Stockton, Redcar, Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick and Yarm. Supporters from Darlington and Hartlepool are limited due to the towns own teams respectfully. Middlesbrough have one of the highest proportions in Britain of season ticket holders living within a 15 mile radius of the town.

Prominent supporters clubs include the Official Supporters Club, the Middlesbrough Disabled Supporters' Association, Derbyshire Reds, and Middlesbrough Supporters South.

Middlesbrough supporters main rivals are arguably equally Newcastle United and Sunderland. There is no notable rivalry with their immediate neighbours Hartlepool United and Darlington. This is mainly because the clubs have very rarely been in the same league. In fact some Middlesbrough fans indirectly support the two clubs by looking out for results and occasionally attending games when Middlesbrough are not playing. Middlesbrough also have a historical rivalry with Chelsea, mostly notably because of meetings in the Play Off final of 1988, the FA Cup Final in 1997, League Cup Final in 1998 and contrast in supporter backgrounds.

Famous supporters include:

• Bob Mortimer (comedian)
• Roy 'Chubby' Brown (comedian)
• Stephen Tompkinson (actor)
• Chris Rea (musician)

Honours

• League Cup

Winners 2003-04; runners up 1996-97, 1997-98

• UEFA Cup

Runners up 2005-06

• FA Cup

Runners up 1996-97

• Football League First Division (new)

Champions 1994-95; runners up 1997-98

• Football League Second Division (old)

Champions 1926-27, 1928-29, 1973-74; runners up 1901-02, 1991-92

• Football League Third Division (old)

Runners up 1966-67, 1986-87

• FA Amateur Cup

Winners 1894-95, 1897-98

• Anglo-Scottish Cup

Winners 1976

• Zenith Data Systems Cup

Runners up 1990

Club Staff

Board Members

• Chairman: Steve Gibson
• Chief Executive: Keith Lamb
• Finance Director: Alan Bage
• Commercial Director: Graham Fordy
• Operation Director: Terry Tasker
• Media & Communication Director: Dave Allan

Team Management

• Manager: Gareth Southgate
• Assistant Manager: Malcolm Crosby
• First Team Coach: Steve Harrison
• First Team Coach: Colin Cooper
• Reserve Team Coach: Steve Agnew
• Goalkeeper Coach: Paul Barron
• Head of Medical Department: Grant Downie
• Club Doctor: Brian Blacklidge
• Youth Academy Director: Dave Parnaby
• Youth Coach: Paul Jenkins
• Youth Goalkeeper Coach: Stephen Pears
• Youth Physio: James Baldwin
• Head Of Scouting: Ron Bone
• Club Secretary: Karen Nelson
• Kit Manager: Alex Smith

Players

Current squad

As of 24 February 2007

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Mark Schwarzer
2	DF	ENG	Stuart Parnaby
3	DF	ARG	Julio Arca
5	DF	ENG	Chris Riggott
6	MF	ESP	Gaizka Mendieta
7	MF	NED	George Boateng (captain)
8	DF	ENG	Jonathan Woodgate (vice-captain, on loan from Real Madrid)
9	FW	AUS	Mark Viduka
10	MF	BRA	Fábio Rochemback
11	FW	ENG	Malcolm Christie
12	DF	AUT	Emanuel Pogatetz
14	DF	GER	Robert Huth
16	FW	JAM	Jason Euell
17	DF	POR	Abel Xavier
18	FW	KOR	Lee Dong-Gook
19	MF	ENG	Stewart Downing

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	FW	NGA	Yakubu Aiyegbeni
21	GK	ENG	Ross Turnbull
22	GK	AUS	Bradley Jones
24	DF	ENG	Andrew Davies
25	MF	ENG	James Morrison
26	DF	ENG	Matthew Bates
27	MF	ENG	Lee Cattermole
28	MF	ENG	Adam Johnson
29	DF	ENG	Anthony McMahon
32	GK	ENG	David Knight
33	DF	ENG	Andrew Taylor
35	DF	ENG	Graeme Owens
38	DF	ENG	Seb Hines
41	MF	ENG	Josh Walker
42	FW	ENG	Tom Craddock

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
30	FW	ENG	Danny Graham (on loan to Carlisle United)
31	DF	ENG	David Wheater (on loan to Darlington until February 2007)
34	MF	ENG	Jason Kennedy (on loan at Bury)
––	DF	ENG	Kevin Burgess (on loan to Darlington until June 2007)

For recent transfers please see List of English football transfers 2006-07.

Notable former players

Listed according to year of Middlesbrough first-team debut:

Player Debut(s) Tim Williamson 1901 Alf Common 1905 Steve Bloomer 1906 Jacky Carr 1911 George Camsell 1925 Syd Jarvis 1928 Wilf Mannion 1936 George Hardwick 1937 Dicky Robinson 1945 Alan Peacock 1954 Brian Clough 1955 John Hickton 1966 Willie Maddren 1969

Player Debut(s) Jim Platt 1971 David Armstrong 1972 Graeme Souness 1973 Bobby Murdoch 1973 Craig Johnston 1978 Tony Mowbray 1982 Colin Cooper 1985,1998 Bernie Slaven 1985 Gary Pallister 1985,1998 Nick Barmby 1995 Juninho Paulista 1995,1999,2002

Player Debut(s) Fabrizio Ravanelli 1996 Emerson Moises Costa 1996 Branco 1996 Paul Merson 1997 Gianluca Festa 1997 Paul Ince 1999 Christian Ziege 2000 Christian Karembeu 2000 Alen Bokšić 2000 Gareth Southgate 2001 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 2004

Managers

Dates Manager(s) 1899-05 Jack Robson 1905-06 Alex Mackie 1906-09 Andy Aitken 1909-10 John Gunter 1910-11 Andy Walker 1911-19 Tom McIntosh 1920-23 Jimmy Howie 1923-26 Herbert Bamlett 1927-34 Peter McWilliam 1934-44 Wilf Gillow 1944-52 David Jack 1952-54 Walter Rowley 1954-63 Bob Dennison 1963-66 Raich Carter

Period Manager(s) 1966-73 Stan Anderson 1973-77 Jack Charlton 1977-81 John Neal 1981-82 Bobby Murdoch 1982-84 Malcolm Allison 1984-86 Willie Maddren 1986-90 Bruce Rioch 1990-91 Colin Todd 1991-94 Lennie Lawrence 1994-01 Bryan Robson 2001 Bryan Robson with Terry Venables 2001-06 Steve McClaren 2006- Gareth Southgate

Notable matches

Coventry City 2 Middlesbrough 1 (FA Premier League, 15th August 1992)

Middlesbrough's first Premiership match. They were relegated at the end of the season.

Leicester City 1 Middlesbrough 1 (League Cup Final, 1997)

Middlesbrough's first appearance in a major cup final. They lost the replay 1 - 0 at Hillsborough.

Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0 (FA Cup Final, 1997)

Middlesbrough's first appearance in an FA Cup final. They conceded the fastest goal in a Wembley cup final to Roberto Di Matteo after 42 seconds.

Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0 (League Cup Final, 1998)

Middlesbrough made the final despite playing that season in the (then) First Division. Boro held Chelsea well for ninety minutes, but extra time goals from Frank Sinclair and Roberto di Matteo gave Chelsea the trophy. It was also the Middlesbrough debut for Paul Gascoigne, who was booked almost immediately after coming on as a substitute.

Manchester United 2 Middlesbrough 3 (FA Premier League, December 1998)

No club had won at Old Trafford in the Premier League for 18 months, so the match was seen as completely hopeless by most fans, including Century FM radio commentator and ex-Boro striker Bernie Slaven, who declared that if Middlesbrough won the match he would bare his backside in Binns department store window. Boro took a 3-0 lead at one point, and managed to resist a late comeback to 3-2 for their first win over United in 68 years. Slaven lived to regret saying this, though he stuck to his word. He painted the scoreline onto his posterior before baring it in front of all the local press and a 2,000 strong crowd who had gathered in anticipation, before adding "Maybe there'll be a full-frontal if we win the league". In the end, Slaven's activities drew more press attention than the actual win.

Middlesbrough 2 Bolton Wanderers 1 (League Cup Final, 2004)

Middlesbrough's first major trophy. Joseph-Désiré Job scored the fastest goal in League Cup Final history, although this record was broken the following year by Liverpool's John Arne Riise against Chelsea. Boudewijn Zenden doubled the lead in the seventh minute with a penalty, before Kevin Davies pulled one back for Bolton midway through the first half.

Middlesbrough 3 Baník Ostrava 0 (UEFA Cup Round 1, 2004)

Middlesbrough's first match in European competition. They drew the return leg in the Czech Republic 1-1 to progress. They eventually made the last 16, going out to the eventual finalists Sporting Lisbon.

Middlesbrough 3 Chelsea 0 (FA Premier League, 11 February 2006)

A huge upset that turned heads all over England. In the first minute, Fabio Rochemback scored and then near the end of the half, Stewart Downing struck giving Boro a 2-0 lead at half-time. Chelsea were unable to recover and Boro ultimately sealed the victory after Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored in the 67th minute. Even the Chelsea manager, José Mourinho, famous for his one sided and biased analysis of matches, conceded that the result was deserved and shook the hands of the entire Middlesbrough team.

Middlesbrough 4 Basel 1 (UEFA Cup Quarter Final 2nd Leg, 6th April 2006)

Arguably Middlesbrough's greatest ever match. 2-0 down from the first leg in Switzerland, Middlesbrough went 1-0 behind after 23 minutes and looked like they were going out of the tournament, needing four goals to go through. Mark Viduka equalized in the 33rd minute to give them hope, before scoring a second after half-time. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored a superb long-range goal with twelve minutes left, before Massimo Maccarone scored the winning goal in the very last minute, to jubilant celebrations at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough 4 Charlton 2 (FA Cup Quarter Final Replay, 12 April 2006)

A match to rival the latter, Middlesbrough went into the match having drawn with Charlton, but this game was to be more exciting than at the Valley. Fabio Rochemback's 30-yard free-kick gave the home side an unlikely lead but it was cancelled out by Bryan Hughes' volley. James Morrison scored to give Boro the lead again, while in the second half Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink smashed in the third. Charlton substitute Jay Bothroyd interfered in the Addicks' second, his shot bouncing off Gareth Southgate. But Boro restored their two goal advantage when Mark Viduka jinked past two Charlton defenders and put a scorching strike past Thomas Myhre. It was the second time in a fortnight that Middlesbrough got through to the semi-finals of important tournaments and set up a thrilling finale for the end of the season.

Middlesbrough 4 Steaua Bucharest 2 (UEFA Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg, 27th April 2006)

In what seemed like a repeat of the previous UEFA Cup match at the Riverside, Middlesbrough made it hard for themselves once again, already 1-0 down from the first leg, Dica made it 1-0 on the night then Goian made it 2-0. Once again needing to score four goals in order to progress, Massimo Maccarone scored in the 33rd minute to give them some hope of making a dramatic comeback. In the second half, a Mark Viduka header on 64 minutes, a goal from Chris Riggott and a spectacular diving header, again from Maccarone in the 88th minute completed another massively unlikely comeback.

Middlesbrough 0 Sevilla 4 (UEFA Cup Final, 10th May 2006)

Argued by many as the most important match in the history of the club, as well as Steve McClaren's final game as Middlesbrough's manager before taking over as England manager from the departing Sven-Göran Eriksson, Middlesbrough had the opportunity to become the lowest ranking club ever to win the UEFA cup (having finished 14th in their domestic league). It was an exciting match, not least from the controversy caused by the denial of a penalty due to a foul on Mark Viduka. However, a brace from Enzo Maresca and goals from Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté gave Sevilla a 4-0 win in PSV Eindhoven's Philips Stadion. This was also Middlesbrough's 64th match of the season, including all Premiership, FA Cup, League Cup and European games and replays- no other British side played as many matches that season, which was evident in the Cup Final performance.

Other Information

The official historian/statistician of Middlesbrough FC is Harry Glasper.

The official mascot is Roary the Lion, played by Andrew Morgan of Yarm.

Trivia

• The nickname "Smoggies" was first used as a derogatory term by opposing supporters. It was then used by Middlesbrough fans in a somewhat self-deprecating manner before finally being adopted as a badge of pride by Boro supporters. An example of this can be seen on the banners carried to UEFA Cup away ties proclaiming "Smoggies on Tour."

External links

• Official website
• Middlesbrough - Premierleague.com
• Middlesbrough F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• Supporters' fanzine website
• Middlesbrough Fc website
• Supporters' fanzine website
• Middlesbrough FC Team News from Carling
• Boro-Stat (Supporters Stats & Graphs Website)