Juninho keeps Middlesbrough waiting

MIDDLESBROUGH, England (AP) -- Brazilian World Cup star Juninho is expected to decide by Monday whether he's rejoining Middlesbrough for the third time or staying at Atletico Madrid.

Although the two clubs are reported to have agreed a fee, the player's father and agent, Osvaldo Giroldo, said his son hadn't yet decided what to do.

"He would love to come back to English football," he told the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette newspaper from his home in Sao Paolo. "There are a lot of comments being used in the press which are not true. They have not come from Juninho.

"There have been dealings between Middlesbrough and Atletico, and Atletico have accepted the conditions. They now want to know if Juninho accepts the deal. If he doesn't, then he can remain at Atletico.

"But there has also been interest from other English and Spanish clubs and we are considering what to do," Giroldo said. "A decision like this is not made overnight. No deal has been done yet and we need a little time to look at the situation."

Seemingly out of favor under previous coaches, Juninho returned to the Brazilian squad for the World Cup and played in several of the games. He made a brief appearance in the final as a late substitute for Ronaldinho.

Juninho was hired by then Boro manager Bryan Robson ina 4.75 million pound (US$7.2 million) move from Sao Paolo in Nov. 1995. He joined Atletico for 12 million pounds (US$18.2 million) after Boro's relegation in July 1997 but his spell in Spain was wrecked by a badly broken ankle.

He returned briefly to Boro on loan in September 1999 and remained an Atletico player despite going back to Brazil to play for Vasco da Gama and Flamengo.

Boro manager Steve McClaren, who was assistant to Sven-Goran Eriksson in the England coaching hierarchy at the World Cup, wants 29-year-old Juninho as his next acquisitiion having hired Italian Under-21 striker Massimo Maccarone from Empoli in a 8.1-million-pound (US$12.3 million) move.

 

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