Brilliant Boro journey started with Bryan Robson gesture – ‘he had me at hello’
For players of a certain era, the pull of working with Bryan Robson was something they couldn’t turn down. The former Manchester United and England captain was a legend in the game before the Premier League era of astronomical wages and social media accounts.
His reputation was forged on the field, in the white hot contest of a midfield battle. He usually came out on top. Injuries may have reduced his playing time in key periods of his career, but there was no doubt of the size of the coup Middlesbrough pulled off when he was appointed as player-manager of the Teessiders in 1994.
It was the start of a special time on Teesside, with Wembley finals and international stars gracing the Riverside to play a brand of attacking football which had fans flocking to games in their droves.
One such signing was Norwegian striker Jan Age Fjortoft. The front man had impressed in England with Swindon Town – then a Premier League side of course – having hit the limelight with an explosive spell at Rapid Vienna in Austria.
He would go on to score eight goals in 36 appearances for the Teessiders in a two-year spell in the North East, and has revealed that he was sold on a move as soon as he spoke to Robson and assistant Viv Anderson.
He told four four two”Bryan Robson had me at ‘hello’. It was brilliant to be involved in such a journey. His stature and profile, and the progress of Boro, really appealed to me.
“The first thing he and his assistant Viv Andersin showed me was the Riverside Stadium. I wanted to be a part of where the club was going. I spent two years there and it was a terrific time.”
It was a time when Boro attracted some of the game’s top names to the Riverside, but one man stood out for Fjortoft – Brazilian playmaker Juninho.
“Juninho was one of the best footballers I ever played alongside,” he added. “As the No 9, I had him, Nick Barmby and Craig Hignett around me – top players. Juninho and I were in sync from his first pass. I remember his superb pass to put me through on goal against Leeds. He was on another planet.”
“I’m realistic and my passion was to p;ay football. They bought Fabrizio Ravanelli, who remains a good friend, then a promising youngster in Mikkel Beck.
“I played a few games and scored, but I wanted to do it regularly. Howard Kendall took me to Sheffield United and I had a fantastic time, despite losing the 1997 play-off final to Crystal Palace at Wembley.”
Fjortoft would go on to star for the Blades, hitting 22 goals for the Bramall Lane club, before moving to Barnsley, He left England in 1998 for Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt and saw his career out with spells at Stabaek and Lillestrom in his native Norway.
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