The Greatest Comeback Since Lazarus
9Sadly, Middlesbrough football club are irrelevant now.
Sadly: because once upon a time they were one of the most exciting teams in English football. The decade that was, for one reason or another, called The Noughties, was home to lots of quirks in football: billionaire owners, winter footballs and the advent of ‘The Barclays’. Many teams flourished in this space: Sam Allardyce and his Bolton Wanderers team, Alan Curbishley’s Charlton Athletic and Tony Pulis’ Stoke City to name a few.
None captured the imagination quite like Middlesbrough in what can comfortably called the club’s golden age.
It took in a trophy, a Premier League record and a European final.
In today’s film we discuss The Greatest Comeback Since Lazarus, to paraphrase Alastair Brownlee. Middlesbrough’s story from Cardiff to Eindhoven in the 2000s.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
01:05 – Context
05:10 – 2003/04
13:05 – 2004/05
25:00 – 2005/06
35:20 – Legacy
References:
Flight, T. Yer Joking Aren't Ya? The Full Story of Middlesbrough's Unforgettable 1996/97 Season (Pitch, 2020)
Spencer, P. Everybody Round My House For A Parmo: Middlesbrough's Journey from Cardiff to Eindhoven (Pitch, 2022)
Voice, Words & Edit: Jake Doyle
What If Football is a form of footballing storytelling that takes the audience down a different path to our current reality.
What If Football covers football in all forms, from the Premier League to the Champions League, European football and the EFL as well as international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships.
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