Middlesbrough legend Juninho on the verge of shock comeback

18 February 2009 15:13
Former Middlesbrough forward Juninho has been offered a four-game contract with Garforth Town.[LNB] The Unibond League may come as a bit of a culture shock for the former Brazil international - but he is a friend of the non-league club's owner Simon Clifford.[LNB] Samba style: Former Boro forward Juninho set to come out of retirement and play for non-league Garforth[LNB] Arteta for England? He joins Almunia, Distin, N'Zogbia, Malbranque and Aliadiere among others who could catch Fabio Capello's eye[LNB]West Ham 1 Middlesbrough 1: Zola's core values give Hammers reason to be hopeful[LNB]WEST HAM UNITED FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]Juninho, who celebrates his 36th birthday on Sunday, originally flew to England last week to watch Brazil's match against Italy at the Emirates Stadium. [LNB]But he stayed on after being invited by Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson to attend the FA Cup tie against West Ham on Saturday and that gave Garforth the chance to make their move.[LNB]It is understood that Juninho has been considered for a coaching role with Middlesbrough but the Brazilian's business commitments back home in South America would make any long-term move to England difficult at this stage.[LNB]Clifford sees Juninho's links with the club as just one component of a '30-year plan' for the club, in which they will find future Brazilian stars. [LNB]He said: 'At Garforth Town we are looking over time to grow our youth development scheme, taking the best players from the numerous Brazilian Soccer Schools franchises around the country and feeding them into the first team.[LNB]'We have always had a 30 year plan at Garforth Town which won't bear its greatest fruit for a number of years but is based on that which I saw at Sao Paulo when I visited Brazil. Sao Paulo produced Juninho.'[LNB]Juninho scored 14 goals in 68 games for Brazil in an 11-year international career that started in 1995. He last played in England for Middlesbrough in 2004 but left for a brief spell at Celtic. [LNB]Since then, he has not returned to play football in this continent - but Garforth are on the brink of bringing him back.[LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail