Middlesbrough’s incredible cup run

Middlesbrough had a squad full of very good players during 2005/2006 season. The manager Steve McClaren could rely on players like the goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, the Dutch international Reizieger, English international defender Gareth Southgate, the veteran midfielder Ray Parlour, the Spanish playmaker Gaizka Mendieta, the Australian forward Mark Viduka, the Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the ‘golden’ substitute Massimo Maccarone and many other good players.

So, The Boro started their participation in The UEFA Cup from the qualification round in September. They beat Greek side Xanthi 2-0 at The Riverside Stadium and held a 0-0 draw in their visit to Greece in the second leg. The victory won them a place in the group stage of the competition.

Middlesbrough met Grasshoppers Zurich in the first match of the group stage. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored the only goal of the game in the 10th minute and secured the three points for his team. Then, Boro recorded a 3-0 victory over Dnipro at home and almost secured their place in the direct eliminations of The UEFA Cup.

After a 0-0 draw against the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Boro had to play against the Bulgarian team of Litex Lovech. Massimo Maccarone put on display his first really good performance of the competition. The Italian forward scored twice within the last 10 minutes and secured the first place in the group for his team.

The long cup run for Middlesbrough continued with very difficult matches against Stuttgart. Steve McClaren’s players recorded an amazing 2-1 away victory over the German team and despite they lost 0-1 at home, Boro proceeded to the next round.

Roma waited for the English team in the 1/8-finals. Yakubu converted a penalty into a goal in the 12th minute of the first leg at The Riverside stadium. Then, Boro lost 2-1 in Italy, but because of Hasselbaink’s away goal the team reached the quarterfinals.

But what is the special thing in Boro’s cup run? In the quarterfinals. Middlesbrough lost 2-0 to Basel in Switzerland. Then, Boro conceded an early goal… So, Steve McClaren’s players had to score 4 goals to qualify… And they did it! Maccarone scored in the very last minute to send Boro into the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, Middlesbrough lost 0-1 to Steaua in the first leg. And, this time, conceded 2 early goals at The Riverside Stadium… Again 4 goals needed. Guess what happened. Maccarone scored the fourth goal again in the last minute, with a great header.

But in the final match Boro were so unlucky and lost 0-4 to Sevilla. However, the cup run was very incredible for Middlesbrough. Now, the team is in The Championship, but The Boro are very close to their return to The Premier League and we are waiting to see whether they can achieve something like this!