In the post-season of 1995, the England football team hosted a four-team Umbro Cup as part of their preperations for the following years European Championships. Joining the hosts were Sweden, Japan and current World Champions, Brazil.
The pre-tournament hype surrounded the prospect of the first viewing of the 18-year-old striking phenomenon, Ronaldo. In the final match of the round robin format, the PSV hot-shot scored Brazil's second goal over Terry Venables's team in a 3-1 win at Wembley. however, it was another player, scorer of a sublime free-kick to equalise Graeme Le Saux's early goal, and Brazil's current Player of the Year who came out of the game with reputation firmly enhanced.
Oswaldo Giroldo Jr, or Juninho as he would become known, was a diminutive attacking-midfielder and part of a successful Sao Paulo side of that era, who had scooped a number of domestic titles as well as the 1995 Copa Libertadores. Already part of the 'Selecao', and in the cross-hairs of Europe's top clubs, a move abroad beckoned.
So then, cue relative near disbelief when in October of that year, Middlesbrough FC, newly promoted to the Premier League and backed by enterprising young Chairman Steve Gibson, announced they had captured the playmaker for a club record fee of £4.75m. Boro had just moved into the Taylor report friendly Riverside Stadium. The forecourt adorned the decrepid wrought iron gates from their previous home at Ayrsome Park, which were locked shut by administrators when they were close to extinction in 1986. The arrival of a Brazilian international footballer brought a sense of excitement and expectation not just to a club, but to a region as a whole.
For the struggling industrial town of Middlesbrough, anywhere south of Doncaster is considered exotic, so when a boy from Sao Paulo strolled into town, the place went delirious. The natives flocked to the Riverside to see their new star, Juninho's impish figure emerged from the bowels of the stadium to perform a few keep up's to the delight of his new worshippers. He may have known little or nothing about his new team, but that mattered none to the fans who instantly took 'the little fella' to their hearts. It wasn't long until the feeling was reciprocated.
By 1995, English football had only been allowed back into Europe for a couple of years following Heysel, and most domestic defences had yet to be fully exposed to the quick feet and minds of top foreign attackers. Only a year previous, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister had been brutally tormented by the rapier movements of Romario and co in the Camp Nou, and Juninho began to inflict similar pain on the leaden-footed lumberers he encountered.
Juninho made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Leeds United at the Riverside, setting a goal up for Jan Aage Fjortoft, before scoring his first goal a month later in a 4-1 defeat of Manchester City. In his first season at Boro he returned only two league goals, but that does not do his contribution justice. He was a constant menace, causing a trail of destruction wherever he went. His nimble footwork left defenders desperately swiping at fresh air, leading to panic attacks in and around opposition boxes. Individually he excelled, collectively he inspired. Middlesbrough were rejuvenated by their little magician and finished in a respectable twelfth position, sandwiched between Chelsea and Leeds.
But in order to fully understand this unique and unusual love affair, we must recall the heartbreak of the 1996/97 season. Buoyed by the success of Juninho, Bryan Robson was further armoured by the arrivals of Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson. Despite the star turns, the side struggled overall, and after having three points controversially deducted for failing to field a team against Blackburn Rovers, the Teesiders were relegated.
Juninho's own form was imperious, not only did he score ten league goals and put in numerous brilliant displays, but he won the hearts and minds of fans all over the country with his selfless determination, straining every sinew in a desperate attempt to keep his team afloat. After failing to beat the drop on the final game of the season, one of the enduring images of the campaign was seeing little Juninho sat crestfallen on the Elland Road turf, sobbing uncontrollably, genuinely sharing the hurt of lifelong Boro fans. Just a week later there was more anguish as they lost out to Chelsea in the FA Cup, having already lost the League Cup final to Leicester.
With the World Cup at the end of the following season, demotion to the second tier of English football meant Juninho had to leave and was transferred for £12m to Atletico Madrid, taking with him the blessings and adoration of every Boro fan. His time at Atletico started well until a broken leg curtailed his progress. After that Juninho failed to regain his form in the Spanish capital and was subsequently loaned back to Boro as well as to Vasco de Gama and Flamengo back in Brazil, before returning to the Riverside for a second permanent spell in 2002. Although he finally gained glory with the 2004 League Cup, Juninho could never fully recapture the brilliance of his first spell in the North East.
After seeing out his career with Celtic, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Sydney FC, Juninho renewed his affiliation with his beloved Boro by rejoining them as their 'South American Representative' in 2009.
There are players who have played more games and scored more goals for Middlesbrough Football Club, but surely there can be nobody that has managed to create such an immediate and indelible bond with the people like that little fella, Juninho.
Name: Oswaldo Giroldo Jr ‘Juninho’
Age: 36 (February 22nd, 1973)
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Clubs: Sao Paulo, Middlebrough, Atletico Madrid, Vasco Da Gama, Flamengo, Celtic, Palmeiras, Sydney FC
Club level honours: 1993 Copa Libertadores, Supercopa Sudamericana 1993, Intercontinental Cup 1993, Recopa Sudamericana 1994, Copa CONEMBOL 1994, Brazilian Champions Cup 1995, Brasileiro Serie A 2000, Copa Mercasur 2000, Football League Cup 2004
Nationality: Brazilian
Caps/goals: 50/5
National honours: FIFA World Cup 2002, FIFA Confederations Cup 1997
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