Juninho has a special relationship with Teesside and the Middlesbrough supporters.When Boro signed him in 1995, the Little Fella was the South American Player of the Year.
It was the equivalent of Huddersfield signing Neymar at the start of the this season.
In fact, it was far more significant than that because English clubs rarely signed South Americans in those days, especially Brazilian internationals.
Most squads were made up of British and Irish players with a smattering of Scandinavians.
Boro were breaking new ground and the people of Teesside took the club’s exotic new acquisition to their hearts.
Philip Tallentire has twice travelled to Brazil to interview Juninho about his life and career and, for the first time, the highlights of those interviews are available to download on two exclusive Gazette podcasts.
Part One covers his early years as a football-mad kid growing up in a middle class suburb of Sao Paulo through to his Boro debut against Leeds in November 1995.
Rejected as slight teenager, Juninho was on the verge of giving up the game but he eventually signed for Ituano. From there he joined Brazilian giants Sao Paulo and he soon emerged as one of the nation’s most talented young players and made his debut for his country on his 22nd birthday in February 1995.
Boro boss and England coach Bryan Robson spotted Juninho playing for Brazil at Wembley four months later and immediately set about signing the playmaker for his newly promoted team. He eventually got his man and the rest is history.
The interview took place in Juninho’s office at Ituano’s HQ, the club he co-owns and runs, so the sound isn’t perfect, but Boro fans will be fascinated by what he has to say. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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