Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

02:00 PM-06:00 PM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Soccer

Middlesbrough's foreign legion: Where are they now?

It's funny how time flies, isn't it? Although it feels like it was just beyond the horizon of rec...



Middlesbrough's foreign le...
Soccer

Middlesbrough's foreign legion: Where are they now?

It's funny how time flies, isn't it? Although it feels like it was just beyond the horizon of recent memory, in fact it is already two decades since that exciting Middlesbrough side featuring the likes of Juninho was looking forward to life in the Premier League.

Having won Division One (now known as the Championship) in 1994-95 under Manchester United legend Bryan Robson, they spend big - at least by '90s Premier League standards - on Nick Barmby (£5.75M) and the aforementioned Brazilian Juninho (£6M). 

As history shows us, many highs and lows followed over the next two years, including relegation on a controversial technicality, and the arrival of more big names from abroad like Fabrizio Ravenelli.

Last year, we were fortunate to enjoy an in-depth chat with Bryan Robson on Team 33 about that period of Boro's history including how players were attracted and how international players were allowed to settle, which you can listen to here: 

But if you're curious about what has become of Middlesbrough's foreign players from that era, then wonder no more...

Juninho Paulista

The most beloved of the foreign contingent, the former Brazil international arrived from Atletico Madrid in 1995 in the first of three spells on Teeside. 'The Little Fella' returned on loan in 1999-2000 before spending a further two years at the Riverside Stadium between 2002 and 2004.

An articulate speaker, the club's cult hero has been a regular on the BBC and was one of their studio analysts when his home country hosted the World Cup last summer.

He is also the President of his first club, Ituano FC from Sao Paulo State.

Juninho at the Riverside in November 2014 (Richard Sellers / EMPICS Sport)

Fabrizio Ravenelli

The 1996 Champions League winner with Juventus only lasted one season at Middlesbrough. In fairness, he did deliver on the pitch though, netting 31 goals in all competitions in 1996-97, including a hat-trick against Liverpool.

Before retiring in 2005, he later played for the likes of Lazio, Marseille and Derby County.

In the last few years, he has tried his hand at management, first with the Juventus youth teams and then with French club AC Ajaccio. That latter arrangement lasted less than six months as he was sacked in November 2013 with his team in a downward spiral.

 

Emerson

The Brazilian, famed for his long mane of hair, never settled at Middlesbrough in his spell there between 1996 and 1998 - one of over a dozen clubs he would represent in a career which did not end until 2008.

His last club was Brazilian lower league club Madureira Esporte Clube.

Emerson (Michael Steele / EMPICS Sport)

As recently as three years ago, he was playing Showbol (or Indoor football to you and I) in Brazil, winning a trophy in 2012, and as the picture shows, his distinctive hair is still intact.

Branco 

Another of Boro's Brazilian contingent, the centre-back had already started to develop weight issues by the time he began playing for the former Premier League club in 1996 - just two years after winning the World Cup.

He only made a handful of appearances for Middlesbrough before leaving after less than a year, retiring in 1998.

He has been involved in coaching in his native Brazil, most recently with Guarani in 2013 where he resigned after two months in charge.

 

Jan-Age Fjortotf 

The ex-Norway centre-forward stayed at Middlesbrough in the 1995-96 season, in the middle of a five-year stay in English football.

Since retiring in 2002, he has been working in the media, firstly as a commentator and then most recently as a pundit on Sky Sports Germany, as well as being active on Twitter: 

 

!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer