THE weather was more Sao Paolo than South Bank, but even a sun-kissed Riverside and the return of the prodigal son failed to stir the passions of the Teesside public yesterday.

Whereas Juninho's arrival in Middlesbrough in 1995 saw 5,000 down by the Riverside on a bitterly cold November day, only a couple of hundred people braved a glorious summer's afternoon to welcome him back.

His appearance was worth the wait for those loyal fans who roared their approval and excitedly shook maracas as he signed autographs and took their adulation.

But one could not help but notice the limitless enthusiasm that greeted Juninho's first spell on Teesside was missing yesterday.

When Juninho's every move was tracked by journalists nearly seven years ago, yesterday's press conference held to unveil the midfielder was only attended by a handful of reporters.

Perhaps the hour delay in Juninho's appearance was stage-managed, as significantly more fans were outside the Riverside waiting to greet him when he finally appeared at 3pm.

A banner written in Portuguese welcoming the 29-year-old was draped across railings, and there was a smattering of Brazil shirts among the crowd.

One fan even wore a jersey from Atletico Madrid, the club Juninho joined from Middlesbrough in 1997, with the player's name daubed across the back.

But a lot has changed since Juninho first stepped onto the Riverside turf in November 1995.

Middlesbrough have been relegated and promoted, lost three cup finals and become accustomed to Premiership mediocrity.

Fans can only live on empty promises and unfulfilled dreams for so long, and even Juninho's pledge to bring that elusive first trophy back to Teesside will be taken with a salt-cellar's worth of sodium chloride.

But Juninho and Steve McClaren, wearing leisure shirts that appeared to have the club's new sponsors hastily plastered on, were wearing the broadest grins in Middlesbrough.

Even chief executive Keith Lamb broke into a smile, albeit a rueful one, when Juninho had the temerity to float the idea of his Brazil teammates joining him at the Riverside.

The promise of Juninho weaving his magic again will bring the crowds back to Boro, whose gates dipped alarmingly at times last season. But it seems the opportunity to shake his hand no longer stirs the senses among Middlesbrough's footballing public - fair weather or foul.

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