|
GIBSON LOOKING TO CAP TURNAROUND
By Damian Spellman of Betting Zone
The man who rescued Middlesbrough from the brink of oblivion is desperate to see his faith rewarded 20 years on by lifting the UEFA Cup tonight.
Boro chairman Steve Gibson's labour of love will come to fruition in Eindhoven if skipper Gareth Southgate gets his hands on the trophy.
It was he who stepped in back in 1986 after the gates to Ayresome Park had been locked and saved the club which he has since dragged back up by its bootstraps.
"We are in the UEFA Cup final, I like saying it," said Gibson. "I've said it a lot and I will continue to say it - but I don't want the disappointment of not leaving as champions.
"But words are cheap, the players need to want to win it. There is a buzz around this place at the moment - a real want by the players to bring this trophy home."
Victory over Sevilla would provide the perfect conclusion to a compelling fairytale for one of the Barclays Premiership's most respected, but private chairmen.
"You dream, that's what football's about," he said. "We have made the progress we've wished for, perhaps a bit slower than we anticipated, but we are getting there.
"Everybody knows we won the Carling Cup, everyone knows we are in Europe and everyone knows we are in the UEFA Cup final - having tasted it, I want it to continue.
"Anything else but winning it would be a huge disappointment, not just to me, to the club, to the players, to the fans and the town.
"We are geared up to winning - it's a 90-minute game and we will be as prepared as we can be.
"Steve (McClaren) will have all the players ready, they will give as much as they can."
Boro's presence in the final is down to remarkable fightbacks in the last two rounds, and Gibson admits he can scarcely believe they made it against both Basle and Steaua Bucharest.
"I still can't quite believe it," he told the club's official website, www.mfc.co.uk. "It's not impossible, but it's all improbable.
"To require four goals in a game in both games - it happens once in a lifetime, we did it twice in a month.
"Three goals in a second half - how often does that happen? And for Massimo Maccarone to score them both in the 89th and 90th minute - it's dream world.
"By the time it had reached 3-3, there was an inevitability around the Riverside and when the fourth went in, we all got a little bit out of hand and a little bit overwhelmed.
"It was a magical moment. I just pray we will be celebrating at the final whistle on Wednesday."
BACK TO UEFA CUP FINAL MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
|
|
|
|
