JUNINHO is convinced that Steve McClaren is better-equipped than Bryan Robson to lead Middlesbrough to their first major trophy.
Robson introduced Juninho to the English game when he lured him to Teesside from native club Sao Paulo in a £4.75m deal in 1995.
Under two years later, a Boro side which also featured Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson had lost both the Coca-Cola and FA Cup finals as well as their Premiership status, and a disillusioned Juninho made a £12m move to Atletico Madrid.
Now he is back for a third spell at the Riverside - he played under Robson again three seasons ago while on loan - and once more dreaming of that elusive silverware.
McClaren, who succeeded Robson as Boro manager over 18 months ago, re-signed Juninho from Atletico for £3.8m last summer following his World Cup-winning exploits with Brazil.
But the midfielder found himself on an emotional roller-coaster shortly after sealing his return to Boro when he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in a low-key pre-season tournament in Italy.
After surgery, performed by specialist James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama, and six months' intensive rehabilitation, Juninho this week drew a crowd of over 19,000 to the Riverside for his goal-scoring comeback in Boro Reserves' 9-0 romp against Bradford City. Despite also breaking an ankle five years ago, he insists the injuries haven't taken the edge off his game.
"I'm just the same, but with more experience,'' said Juninho, who turned 30 last weekend.
"As the years go by, you gain more experience and you can transfer that to the pitch.
"My biggest ambition is to win something here and get a place in Europe - that's one of the reasons I have come back.
"When I was here the first time, we had a great squad, but we didn't get the trophies and went down.
"If you ask any of the supporters, they would say they had a very exciting season with the two cup finals. But I think is is a more experienced team; it's not just about 11 or 12 players, there are 15 or 16 who can play in the first team.
"There's more competition and I think this squad is good enough to win trophies if we are mentally strong.''
While Robson had a reputation for being gung-ho at times, McClaren is seen as more studious in his approach. And Juninho, who admits he hasn't kept in touch with Robson, acknowledges the differences in managerial style.
He said: "They have their own way of managing, but I think the objectives are the same - to make Middlesbrough a bigger club. They have a different way of working, but it's the same ambition.
"The Riverside feels like home to me. It's my third time here and I think the fans realise I care about the club, so I think I deserve to win something with Middlesbrough.
"And there's no better training ground than this in Europe, so Middlesbrough deserve to win things.
"This is the best relationship I have had with any set of fans in my career.
"But I'm not planning to stay here for ever, because it's in my mind to finish my career in Brazil.''
Juninho admits his post-World Cup trauma took its toll on him, but maintains he never doubted he would return to action.
"It was the worst time in my football career,'' he said.
"But I've had a lot of support from the physio here, Bob Ward, and from the club and my family.
"There wasn't a time when I thought I would never play again, because I knew the surgery had gone well.''
Juninho, now pushing for a first-team return, yesterday hit a highly-optimistic note by suggesting he may be able to help Boro launch a late bid for Europe this season.
"It will be hard, but I think we could do it,'' he claimed.
Read more about Middlesbrough here.
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