The name Massimo Maccarone is one that Middlesbrough fans will remember fondly, mostly thanks to the fact he was part of the team that led the Riverside team to a League Cup win in 2004.
He joined the club from Empoli in 2002 for €9m, and left in 2007 to AC Siena on a free transfer, spending time out on loan at Parma and the aforementioned Siena along the way.
The former Italian forward spoke to Gianluca Di Marzio’s website about his time at Middlesbrough, where he will always be in the record books for his goals against FC Basel and Steaua Bucharest in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup.
The appreciation is mutual, as the 44-year-old couldn’t speak any higher of Middlesbrough fans, as he revealed that his wallet always stays shut when he heads to the north of England.
He said: “After those goals, I no longer paid for my drinks. There’s always that story I tell: after the quarter-finals against Basel, there were a few people outside and they knew that I always went to an Italian restaurant in the centre.
“It was a glassed-in restaurant, but they very respectfully stayed out there to chant at me without going in. Then I went to say hello to them it was a nice thing. When I went downtown, they always offered me a drink.”
All this comes off the back of Middlesbrough’s current EFL Cup run, as they prepare to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their semi-final, after Michael Carrick’s men won the home leg 1-0.
Maccarone added that while he didn’t get to watch the first game, he immediately checked the result at the first opportunity.
He said: “It’s a beautiful thing and I’m pleased, because after so many years, Middlesbrough have the opportunity to go to win a trophy. I know that in 2004, we were the only ones to bring a trophy in the club’s history. We did something important. I know the atmosphere there, the desire and passion of the Born fans. They care a lot about the team.”
