Middlesbrough beat Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of the EFL Cup quarter-finals to win the tournament after 20 years. The Championship side had its glory days in the mid-1990s with the signing of two stars, Zuleno and Lavinari, and reached two consecutive EFL Cup finals in '97 and '98, and is now coached by Man Utd star Cavanagh, who is expected to bring back the old days. The team is now coached by Manchester United's Cavic.
In 1994, Middlesbrough hired the legendary Manchester United footballer, Jensen Brynner, to lead the team. The most notable acquisition was the Brazilian Zulianu, nicknamed "The Little Giant", in 1995 for a then sky-high price of 4.75 million pounds, a midfielder with exquisite footwork, which brought a lot of entertainment to the Premier League at that time.
In 1996, Middlesbrough signed Zuyuntas' goal scorer Lavinari, the Italian "white head" scored 16 goals in 33 matches in the first season of EPL, but unfortunately the team was relegated that season. In addition, England's "bad boy" Gascoglione joined Middlesbrough in 1998, also attracted attention, but the midfielder was already in a slump that year.
